The goal of a staff meeting is not just communication, decision making or problem solving. The meeting process should send members away with a sense of energy and commitment. How do you do that?

Effective Staff Meetings

Meetings need an inclusion activity to set the mood.

Agree: A mover and shaker (often the one running the business meeting) likes to get to the business at hand immediately. However, the mood of a staff meeting is set in the first few minutes. Ice breakers are a great way to start the meeting. This can be as simple as giving everyone 30 seconds to express their expectations of the meeting. The information on the next page is included for a staff discussion. Copy the article and have each one read it. Then ask discussion questions such as, "Do you agree, disagree? Have you felt the impact of this study in our business? What can we learn about our marketing plan?"

Disagree: Board meetings need official minutes. Staff meetings don't. When significant decisions are made, these need to be recorded in an official staff manual.

Disagree: If you are invited, attend. Try to figure out how you can get the most out of that meeting and how it can be of value to you. Look at every meeting as an opportunity to fulfill your dream.

Agree: Without regular communication, team members lose momentum, confidence and focus. They become distracted and diverted. Regular staff meetings provide great potential for a focused staff.

Disagree: Sit opposite the leader so that you can talk directly to the leader and other members of the staff also.

Agree: Milo O. Frank, in his book How to Run a Successful Meeting in Half the Time says you should mix business with meals if your objective is to establish a social as well as a business relationship. But what meal?

Breakfast is best, lunch is longer, at dinner you're dimmer!" -- Milo O. Frank

Frank says that breakfast is best because everyone is fresher and has something else to do; therefore, the meeting is usually short. He feels that at luncheon meetings you have a tendency to waste a lot of time ordering food and traveling.

Dinner can be the best or worst – the best for the social approach and the worst for a specific business objective because when you are tired, it is hard to think clearly.

Great meetings take planning and timely execution. As a meeting planner you are responsible to see that the proper mood is set, and the purpose is met. Meetings do not have to be boring or unproductive.

Planning effective meetings is one of the communication services offered by Advantage Point Systems, Inc.

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