A Step by Step Guide to Getting What You Want Out of Staff Meetings in 15 Minutes a Week

A Step by Step Guide to Getting What You Want Out of Staff Meetings in 15 Minutes a Week

Staff meetings can keep a project on track or completely derail it. It seems as if they have a tendency to run on endlessly and repeat the same information. It's like being trapped in a time warp without the fun that some repeats could have. They are necessary but sometimes they seem to do more harm than good, cutting into what could be productive time and not providing solutions. A staff meeting does not need to go longer than 15 minutes so people can get back to their productive time and the manager can get back to problem-solving and priority-setting for their team. Here is one suggested method for getting control of your staff meetings and getting what you want out of them.

1. If your team is so large that it would have to go longer than 15 minutes for each team member and the team leader to have 2 minutes for their part of the meeting, back up and look at the attendee list. You've either combined teams with too many purposes or are including people at too many levels. Organize the attendee list so there are representatives for each part of the project and there are fewer than 7 people, including yourself. That allows a little time for pleasantries.

2. Schedule 15 minutes at the same time and on the same day each week. Be sure that you choose a time that does not already have conflicts. Be sure that you have the support of upper management if you are not the upper management so your meeting importance and value are understood and the time will not be interrupted. Your performance record once your team is consistently on track will make this an easier sale. Be sure that the selected representatives to the status meeting have a designated substitute if they are unable to come.

3. Have a standard agenda. Keep a template online where anyone who needs it can access it at any time. This allows the representatives and their substitutes to keep their part in mind and prepare properly. Each representative or substitute has work to do before the meeting. Their job is to gather the information from the rest of their part of the team and provide a clear, concise summary of the information you need. In their 2 minutes, they have to be able to tell you where they are on the plan, if there are any obstacles, and what suggested solutions they have if any.

Conclusion: Requiring relevant, clear, concise communication from the attendees will keep your meetings short and productive. Visible successes as a result of short, productive staff meetings will result in better project management and less stress and frustration. This may not be the ultimate solution but it's a good enough place to start. You may want to tweak the guide but, for starters, good enough is good enough.

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