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Have you heard of walking meetings?

Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on April 14th, 2010

Source: Victoria Walks

“Have you heard of walking meetings?” from Victoria Walks:

Philip Moran is the CEO of Merri Community Health Services (MCHS). As CEO of a large community health service, Philip traditionally spent much of his time sitting in his office, sitting in various meetings, and sitting in traffic getting to and from meetings. Like many people working in an office environment, it was common for him to spend more than 8 hours a day being mostly sedentary. 6 years ago, Philip decided to become healthier and more physically active in his daily life. He changed his diet and started exercising more. He wore a pedometer and walked 10,000 steps a day. He then decided to combine walking with some of his meetings as well. Noticing that he could become more physically active at work, Philip began to take other managers and staff for a wander during supervision meetings and catch-up discussions.

Walking meetings were best suited to internal, one-on-one or small group meetings. These half hour wanders became a welcome opportunity to get some fresh air and exercise, and a chance to have real and open conversations. Philip found that meetings with staff in the office tended to be more formal and focused on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and targets; whereas walking meetings tended to be what business analyst and consultant Colin Pidd describes as ‘below the line’ discussions – allowing for a genuine conversation about ‘what’s really going on’ for the person and the organisation. In addition, “going out for a walk is a really good way for us to remain connected to the local neighbourhood and to be in contact with what’s happening around us”. A stroll to the nearby park, local streets and shops is a chance to explore the suburb beyond the boundaries of the office. Given that prevention is a strong focus of MCHS’ work, walking at work is consistent with the values of the organisation. “It is easy to do. All you need is a pair of good shoes and a bit of conscious planning”. Walking meetings boost morale, help staff feel more connected to the organisation as well as to the local neighbourhood, and it gives your body a great workout at work.

Article from Victoria Walks.

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5 Responses to “Have you heard of walking meetings?”

  1. Samuel Says:

    April 14th, 2010 at 12:22 pm

    I like this idea. Combine it with an iPad (or similar) and the meeting can be even more productive.

  2. ruben Says:

    April 15th, 2010 at 10:33 am

    @Samuel an iPad? You are surely missing the whole point.
    I love the idea of a walking meeting anything to get bums off rotating seats and eyes refocusing on the distant. If you need to take notes or record reminders use a small notepad and pencil.

  3. Samuel Says:

    April 15th, 2010 at 12:30 pm

    @ruben – point taken. There is a huge benefit in dropping the tech and formality from meetings to focus on big picture/distant things. It’s also great for connecting people and forming communities from people that can barely tolerate each other in more traditional meetings.

    Most of the meetings I go to are data-heavy: dozens of graphs, diagrams and pictures, and endless tables of almost meaningless numbers. The material in these meetings still needs to be discussed, and the addition of some sort of tablet would allow these ‘specifics’ meetings to share some of the benefits of the ‘ideas’ meetings.

    After sitting through 3-hour meetings where the only bit that concerned me was 5 minutes at the start, I fully appreciate getting bums off seats.

  4. Helen Says:

    May 17th, 2010 at 1:49 pm

    What a fantastic Idea.
    I am a home based business and found that a after a year of working at my computer with little need to move about it had significantly taken its toll on my health. So now I start and finish my day with a brisk half hour walk and have been surprised how it can change your perspective on an issue or task to solve whether it’s the oxygen to the brain or the change of environment or perspective . . . who cares. I prepare a newsletter for a large national company and this is a great idea for a story.

    Keep walking and enjoy ALL the benefits

  5. Simon Says:

    May 17th, 2010 at 7:35 pm

    Brilliant! Just need to workout how to type into my laptop while walking. I tend to take my laptop to meetings so I don’t need to print off large amounst of paper (the environ responsible bit). And like Samuel, I almost always have large chunks of data/papers/reports (often on climate change!), so the reality is that this idea is of limited use. BUT it is useful. It does remind us to keep active. That is why I walk to work (and most other places). Here’s another idea; maybe rather than meeting up for coffee (i.e., sit down and drink) we can meet up for a ‘coffee walk’, an ddrink as we walk!