Staff Meetings – Are they necessary and how to make them effective!

Staff meetings are necessary but can seem like a chore. Firstly, it is sometimes difficult to find the time to hold the meetings especially if that one member of staff that really needs to hear your message is never available. But you’ve preserved and the meeting is going ahead. What about meeting notes? Will you, the person leading the meeting try and take notes at the same time? Will you ask for a volunteer at the meeting?  How detailed will they be? Let’s unpack these questions.

Are meeting notes even necessary? Absolutely they are. You cannot rely on yourself or indeed any of your team to remember a meeting verbatim. In fact, everyone will remember what was said and what was important really quite differently. Good meeting notes act as a reminder of what was discussed and agreed and when. This can help with effective staff communication in the future and gives clarity to everyone. It stops a culture of ‘misremembering’ and stops people picking out the parts of the meeting that are positive for them and ignoring the parts that aren’t. 

Who should take the notes?   Not the person leading the meeting. You cannot successfully lead and take notes, both tasks will fail if you try. It needs to be someone you trust and who will rise to the challenge of the task. It is not worth asking someone who clearly does not want to. You need to brief the note taker on your expectations and with clear guidance backed up by email. Use technology, if appropriate, remembering not to record the meeting without consent of those present.

The Agenda?  You have got one, right? No, but you can’t just make things up as you go along as it means some items will be forgotten. Don’t worry it needn’t be too formal or too long. It can be as simple as

1.   Welcome – this is really important and include introductions for new members of the team as well as acknowledging who isn’t there.

2.   Achievements – all including small ones

3.   Up and coming events, promotions – what the team need to be focussing on in the next few weeks. Be positive.

4.   Concerns – issues that you or others may have that are work related

5.   Staff News – Good news about staff in or out of work

6.   AOB – or any other competent piece of business – a chance for questions

7.   Date of next meeting

This above could be 30 minutes if managed well

When?

You will never please all your staff when arranging meetings and the timings will be different from business to business. The most important thing to remember is that you should pay your staff for attending the meeting. If you are able to hold the meeting during all of the staff’s working day, then that’s great. If you have staff on different shifts and days, then you need to pay those staff for staying late or arriving early. That extra pay you will receive back in enhanced productivity. If 2pm on a Thursday is difficult for some of your team, try moving the day and/or time once in a while. You know your business or your team, work to the advantage of you looking flexible. Again, that pays in staff morale and productivity.

Final Thoughts

All of this is of course common-sense. But sometimes when we are bus-sense. But sometimes when we are busy spinning so many other plates, the planning and execution of meetings falls by the wayside.

Enjoy your meetings and the Staff will too! Show that you can actively listen to them and make these something that you look forward too and not a chore.

Let me help you:

·       Sign up for a course on Purposeful Meetings

·       Sign up for a course on Active Listening

·       Use my phone-a-friend service