Fed up with his staff constantly checking emails and alerts on their smartphones, Paul Devoy decided in September to ban all phones, tablets and laptops from meetings.
Consequently, the head of Investors in People, the UK body that sets workplace standards, says meetings have become much more productive as attendees are entirely focused.
The distracting pull of digital devices and the detrimental effect that has on our ability to concentrate is well documented. In one Stanford University study, people who regularly attend to electronic alerts and messages do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who concentrate on doing one thing at a time. It is not the technology that is at fault but our inability to manage it.