Do you feel like your company does a good job of keeping its employees “in the know” on new processes, new business, product and service updates and other key operating details? If your company isn’t doing it already, now is a good time to suggest holding weekly status meetings with your entire team.
A team status meeting is all about unifying the “big picture” of the company. Bringing everyone together, sharing key updates, answering questions and keeping the team motivated and on track for the week ahead. Led the right way, a status meeting serves as an invaluable driving force of productivity and success. Here are some steps to an effective team meeting:
Establish an agenda for the meeting. It’s important to approach this time together with a plan, and the agenda can act as a roadmap to keep everyone on track. Here some ideas for things to be included in an agenda:
- Team Accomplishments:
- This will help start the meeting off on a positive note and affirm those that contributed to the successes as well as motivate everyone to continue working hard.
- General company news and announcements (new hires, vacation updates, administrative issues)
- Big picture items and projects that are on the horizon
- Open the floor for general questions, comments, and concerns
- Prepare for next week’s status meeting this week. Once you have a template established, it is easy to take notes as business is happening and fill in the blanks throughout the week. You’ll be surprised at how this leads to a smooth and productive outcome at the next meeting.
- Respect your team’s time. We have all experienced the drudgery of a long, drawn out meeting that was going nowhere. For the best results, it’s important to keep your team meetings as concise as possible, so that they are of benefit to everyone involved.
