- Give up control. Let your team members decide the purpose, timing, structure, and ground rules for meetings. This will help them feel some ownership in the meetings and will engage them more. Our consultants at Bryant Consultants also recommend that you come prepared with a solution if you have a challenge or concern for discussion.
- Ask questions. This is a great way to get your team members thinking and talking about the meeting. Some questions you can ask include:
- What is the best possible use of our meeting time?
- What’s our goal?
- When and how often should we meet?
- Who should lead these meetings?
- Who should take notes?
- How can we make these meetings fun and interesting?
- Consider departmental meetings. If your team is large, you may want to consider holding departmental meetings once a month. This will give each department a chance to discuss their issues and priorities.
- Be mindful of lunch meetings. If your team insists on meeting during lunch, make sure to give them enough time to eat and relax. You may also want to consider rotating the meeting location so everyone can leave their office. The dental consultants at Bryant Consultants agree it’s ideal if you can have a long lunch and start eating and listening simultaneously, and then you can move into the team builder.
- Focus on employee growth. Ask your team members what they would like to learn and what they can teach others. This is especially helpful when you have long-term employees and new team members. This information can be used to create training programs and opportunities for team members to share their knowledge.
- Share the office KPIs. Make sure they know that measuring your success matters to you. When they’re filling out their scorecard, that information is important, and you’re using it as a measuring tool. Sharing practice statistics can help your team members understand how they contribute to the business’s success. It can also help them identify areas where improvement is needed.
Following these tips, you can create a team meeting environment where everyone feels comfortable participating and contributing. This will lead to more productive and effective meetings.
If you’d like further information on tackling this topic, contact Bryant Consultants today by calling (877) 768-4799.
April Brogan
Director of New Business & Practice Relationships