Part 2 - Field Guide

9 Do's and Don’ts for Productive
 Employee Meetings

1. DO plan and prepare meetings from an employee’s perspective. With every item on the agenda, answer the question, "What's in it for me?" from the employees’ point of view.

    DO NOT use the meetings as a forum to discuss individual problems or other downers which don’t apply to the group as a whole.

2. DO start and finish the meeting with positive, upbeat topics. Have employees each share a good news story about your company, your market, your products, a sale, or a customer satisfaction story.

   DO NOT dwell on topics that do not pertain to the majority in attendance. Such topics should be dealt with one-on-one.

3. DO use multi-sensory materials, such as audio, video, grease board, hand-outs articles, etc.

    DO NOT simply stand in front of the room or camera and communicate verbally.  

4. DO recognize any group or individual staff accomplishments.

    DO NOT reprimand anyone at a meeting.

5. DO encourage participation. Assign certain topics to be presented or chaired by staff members, encourage questions, and as often as possible, compliment and thank them for their participation.  

    DO NOT let the participation escalate into "mutiny sessions". Don't ignore complaints, but answer them quickly and move on, or suggest you’ll answer the concern in a one-on-one after the meeting.

6. DO have your meetings on the same day and time consistently. This way the staff can plan around them, and you avoid the old, "I thought the meeting was next week" excuse. (By the way, if you are getting excuses for non-attendance, chances are your staff feels your meetings are a waste of their time.)

    DO NOT change the meeting day or time unless it's for a very good reason, and then never make a habit of it. Changing the meeting sends a signal that employee meetings are not important, and shows a lack of respect for your staff's time. Also, never delay the meeting start time because an attendee is late.

7. DO keep meetings as short as possible, 1 hour max.  Whether your meetings are 30 minutes or 1 hour, always keep them to that amount of time.  Morning meetings are best.  Research has proven the human mind is much more receptive, and retention levels are higher, in the morning.

    DO NOT try to cover too many topics at one meeting.

8. DO plan ahead and not just for the next week.  Write down topic ideas for future meetings and then start gathering info. Create a file, then when you see articles, videos, or other ideas for effective training meetings, keep them in there.  Prepare - Prepare - Prepare!

    DO NOT plan meetings the night or the day before.  It's a recipe for disaster.  Your staff will not only notice it, but they will absolutely know it!

9. DO lighten up. Make them fun! Have surprise visits by Santa at a Christmas employee meeting, or have coffee and birthday cake if a member is celebrating a birthday. Keep them informative and entertaining!

    DO NOT limit attendance to "sales" staff. Everyone who has customer contact, from the receptionist to the accounts receivable clerk, should be invited when your agenda covers areas of interest to them. 

Properly planned and executed meetings can be one of your most effective management and communications tools.       

The litmus test is to ask your staff how they feel about sales meetings.  If they say you have too many, they are too long, or they are in the 89% that think meetings are “usually a waste of time”, yours probably are!