Capital One Gets Control of Meetings

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Discover how Capital One reduced unnecessary meeting time leading to an increase in productivity of 5%. Request info

I. SUMMARY

Challenge: Capital One is an enterprise that constantly strives to maximize productivity. Internal surveys revealed that meeting overload was a growing productivity challenge for associates.

Solution: The Capital One Productivity team partnered with Cohesive Knowledge Solutions (CKS) to develop a ground-breaking meeting efficiency seminar called TeamMeeting. The seminar was based on CKS' Info-Excellence Get Control of Meetings seminar methodology. The training session delivered insights that improved the necessity and clarity of meetings while also introducing new coaching concepts. Over 1,800 associates participated with the following results:

• Post 60-Day Survey: Two months after experiencing the seminar, participants reported a 13% decrease in meeting volume and a 38% improvement in meeting quality. Reductions in meeting volume provided participants with the opportunity to re-allocate 5% of their time towards more productive activities.

• Post 1-Year Survey: Results were sustained over one year. 88% of associates continued to utilize best practices a year after training.

II. SITUATION

Capital One (COF) has earned a sterling reputation for innovation, customer service and leadership in the diversified financial services sector. Capital One manages $80 billion in assets for 50 million customers worldwide.

Capital One’s Productivity team isolated meetings as a major opportunity to increase productivity. Associates reported that low value meetings were consuming more than 36% of their work day. Internal surveys reflected serious concerns about the quality and quantity of meeting.

III. ACTIONS

Capital One’s Productivity team, led by Matt Koch, made the bold decision to design a meeting productivity training solution with the following principles in mind:

1. Grounded by data: Partnering with Cohesive Knowledge, Capital One gathered as much information as possible via focus groups, surveys, external research, observation, etc.
2. Customize and target solution: The seminar objectives were carefully tailored to reflect the exact needs of Capital One associates. Capital One survey data was incorporated into the seminar to gain added buy-in from participants.
3. Fit the solution to the culture: Capital One has a corporate culture that expects excellence while always doing the right thing by the customer, the associate and the company. The seminar was designed to resonate with these core values.
4. Apply intellectual rigor: Actual results were measured carefully against seminar goals and a pre-intervention baseline survey in order to validate participants' 1.5 hour time investment in the meeting seminar. 1,800 surveys containing over 100,000 individual question responses were collected and analyzed during 2004-5.

IV. RESULTS

Post 60-Day Survey Metrics: An analysis of post 60-day survey responses documented significant improvements in the value of meetings at Capital One. An average of 9 days were saved per associate per year.

• Meeting volume dropped by 13%: Participants reported a reduction in meeting time of 13%. Reductions in email volume provided participants with the opportunity to re-allocate 5% of their time towards more productive activities.

• Meeting quality improved by 38%: Participants documented an impressive 38% increase in meeting quality. There was a 41% increase in the number of associates agreeing that most of the meetings they attend are efficiently run.

• Leadership gains: The seminar helped to empower associates to take control of the meeting environment via a new style of information coaching. 60 days after training the percentage of associates comfortable with meeting coaching had risen by 24% to a total of 85%.

Post 1-Year Survey Metrics: Capital One and CKS conducted a post 1- year survey to determine if results could be sustained over time. The findings were extremely positive:

• 88% continued to leverage seminar best practices
• 83% would recommend the seminar to all associates
• 80% believed that the seminar made them more productive
• 77% indicated that they continued to apply coaching principles gained in the seminar

V. CONCLUSION

The Capital One Productivity team did an excellent job of diagnosing and addressing an all-too-common productivity challenge: meeting overload. They partnered with CohesiveKnowledge to develop a highly effective break-through training experience that resulted in major time-savings, improved productivity and a better work/life balance for associates. Results were sustained over one full year.

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