Staff Meetings: Are They Really Necessary?

Meeting Planning is essential. With a little forethought, those boring meetings can be turned into productive and interesting sessions for personnel involved. Staff meetings should be conducted by an experienced chairperson for better results. Conferences held frequently will yield greater results in less time. Here are some tips for an effective meeting.

Have Goals for the Staff Meeting

Plan an agenda and distribute it before the staff meeting so everyone can be prepared.

Cover only topics relevant to everyone involved. Topics relevant to only a few can be covered at a different meeting.

Evaluate work loads and assignments. Encourage participation from individuals. Keep discussions to a minimum and do not let it turn into a "he did/she did" session.

Stay focused on the agenda topics. Forgo "chatting" among participants.

Keep track of important topics for the next scheduled meeting. Inform participants when topics will be delayed until the next meeting. Ask them to think about suggestions for the upcoming topics.

Plan a time limit and stay within the time frame designated for the meeting, if possible. Lengthy meetings turn into negative sessions when employees become tired or bored.

Occasionally revisit goals for the conferences to see if the time spent is productive. Employee time is valuable to the company. Do not waste company money by detaining work production longer than necessary.

Refreshments served during the staff meetings are always appreciated.

Regularly scheduled staff meetings are a benefit to employee production. Work schedules can be discussed, as well as new projects can be introduced. Difficulties with past projects can be discussed to help eliminate future delays. Employees can provide valuable input into company production and scheduling, if they are asked.

In our small service business, these weekly staff meetings (usually on Tuesday mornings) were an asset. Employees had excellent input to offer. Job assignments could be delegated or chosen by individual employees that really wanted to do those jobs. We allowed each individual the liberty of choosing their particular assignments and they were much more content when they felt their contribution was wanted.

These staff meetings worked well for many years. With a little planning, sessions can be productive for staff and management.

Additional sources:
http://www.managementassistance.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/6157
http://www.businessknowledgesource.com/blog/tips_for_improving_staff_meetings_025173.html