How to Run a Staff Meeting
Make Staff Meetings More Engaging and Valuable Using These 8 Easy Steps
Every one of us has attended a staff meeting – either as a participant or as the host. Some managers treat them as afterthoughts and hold them out of obligation, while others treat them as sacred and essential team huddles, regardless of what’s happening. For new managers, the thought of having everyone looking at you or waiting to hear what you have to say can be a bit scary. Finally, staff meetings can be boring, monotonous and mind-numbing, which makes them all the more challenging for the host.
The truth about staff meetings, though, is that they are an important touch point between a manager and his or her team. They offer a chance for managers to regularly share news with employees, as well as an opportunity for employees to raise concerns or questions.
Given this importance, how do you make a staff meeting more engaging? How do you hold your team’s interest? Most importantly, how can managers ensure staff meetings are productive and a good use of peoples’ time?
Running an effective staff meeting is not complicated, nor should it be intimidating. Staff meetings are simply about effective communication, awareness and the sharing of information, such that you and your employees are in synch. Still, we have a few pointers for you.
Here are 9 tips to running a crisp and engaging staff meeting, and ensuring they are time well-spent.
1. Set a Schedule
The first step in running a staff meeting is simply to schedule it. While a weekly staff meeting is common practice, find a schedule that works for you, your business and your team, and stick to it.
Funny may it sound, but having a recurring, consistent staff meeting has three distinct advantages.
First, a regular discussion between a manager and employees is an important component of building an engaged workforce and making sure people feel like they’re both valued and part of a team. This is especially the case when the team is virtual. When employees say “I can’t tell you the last time I heard from my boss,” it’s the sign the manager has failed.
Second, for managers, having a standing meeting ensures you are prepared. While it’s entirely possible to “wing it” for meetings you schedule at the last minute, chances are you will miss something. In other words, knowing you have upcoming air-time to fill will motivate you to gather information, talking points and topics of interest between meetings. If you host them at random, you’ll likely leave some key things out.
Third, when employees know that 9AM on Tuesday is when they meet with the boss, they too, will come better prepared with issues and topics of concern than if you schedule meetings at random. Being able to plan ahead also ensures people block out the time and make it a point to attend.
If you just drop staff meetings in randomly when it’s convenient for you, a lot of value will be lost.
2. Define a Standing Agenda
How many times have you gone to a meeting that did not have an agenda? A meeting without an agenda is just a conversation that ends when it’s time to be somewhere else. Staff meetings are no exception.
A standard staff meeting agenda should:
- Help you prepare in advance
- Organize the conversation in a logical manner
- Focus discussion on the topic at hand
- Let participants know what to expect.
A standard agenda for a staff meeting doesn’t need to be lengthy or complex. All you need are a few key talking points (at a minimum) that help you drive the conversation.
Example Staff Meeting Agenda (60 Minutes):
- Announcements and News – 10 Minutes
- Recognition of Staff – 5 Minutes
- Safety Issues – 5 Minutes
- Budget Status and Planning – 5 Minutes
- Project Updates – 15 Minutes
- Travel Schedules – 5 Minutes
- Roundtable – 10 Minutes
- Action Items – 5 Minutes
My standard agenda is as follows: Announcements, Recognition, Safety, Budget, Project Updates, Travel Schedules, Roundtable, Action Items.
Just like scheduling it on recurring basis, when your team knows what to expect and what topics will be covered, it helps make for a crisp, more effective discussion.
3. Share News and Announcements
Don’t assume everyone has seen the corporate communication email, or that your entire team heard Bob finally announced his retirement. Rather than jumping in with two feet and asking your people what’s going on, kick your staff meeting off by sharing news, information and noteworthy items.
Collect issues, topics and items of interest from around the business since the prior meeting, and share them with your employees.
A News and Announcement sections will:
- Verify everyone gets the same information
- Ensure the team is aware of upcoming events and activities
- Offer employees a chance to ask questions
Not surprisingly, your employees will tend to pay far more attention in a direct conversation with the boss than they will to broadcast emails and hallway conversations.
4. Talk to the People, and Listen
Whether you like it or not, the most important tool in your management toolbox is talking to your employees as people. No need to bark orders, no need to turn it into a serious, stuffy conversation.
Staff meetings offer a great time to connect with your team, and gives you a chance to understand what’s going on and the challenges they might be dealing with. You can always take a specific issue into a private conversation.
The key to making your staff meeting engaging is to make sure you run your staff meetings as two-way conversations throughout, and not one-way flow of information.
5. Address Key Issues and Urgent Topics
Following your announcements, proceed by hitting on key topics that are most pertinent to your team or business. In busy times, this is where a majority of the time will likely be spent.
At given times in the year, this may be:
- Budget Planning
- Project Reviews
- Strategy Discussions
- New Initiatives
Use your time together as a team to address important issues.
6. Pause for Recognition
It’s not every day that someone completes a major project, earns a degree, gets promoted or does something that is worth a shout out.
Be sure to take a few moments, when warranted, to publicly recognize people. Not only does public praise make an employee’s peers aware of what he or she has achieved, but it’s a fantastic way to make an employee feel valued and appreciated for their hard work.
Also, don’t be afraid to open the floor to let your team offer any additional recognition of their peers.
7. Showcase What People are Working On
Showcasing what employees are doing is a great way to make a staff meeting more interesting and engaging. As time permits, feature a project or two that employees are working on each week. A short overview of other projects lets your employees see what else is happening in the department. It also gives employees a chance to develop their presentation skills.
As an alternative to an employee project showcase, considering bringing in an outside speaker from time to time, as a way of a making your team meeting more engaging.
Some example of guest speakers may include:
- A marketing manager to present a new product launch
- A strategy manager to share the latest information on your competitor analysis
- An HR representative to discuss changes to company benefits
A little variety each week will greatly improve the flow and engagement of your staff meeting.
8. Open Up for Roundtable
At the end of your staff meeting, be sure to open the floor to your team to bring any issues or concerns to you. Doing so helps make other team members aware of what’s going, but may also bring about healthy conversation about challenges the team is facing or opportunities for improvement across the board.
Also, since everyone is busy, it gives your employees a set time each week to catch up with you directly. Never close a staff meeting without giving your team a chance to contribute.
9. Be Flexible and Respect People’s Time
If getting a staff meeting scheduled is the most important thing, the second most important thing is to not waste people’s time.
If most of the team is on vacation, cancel. If there is nothing really new to report, or the team could use the time to do other things as you approach a major deadline, keep it short.
There is no need to soak up an hour of people’s time if you’re just trying to fill it with fluff. Make sure you adapt and keep it flexible to meet your needs, and the needs of the team.
Making Staff Meetings More Engaging
Running a staff meeting is about effective communication. Don’t be intimidated just because you’ve got the podium. Simply talk to your team about what’s going on and look to understand any issues they may be having. Bringing in outside speakers or featuring something an employee is working on is a great way to keep things interesting. Do these 9 simple things and you’ll be well on your way to being a great boss!