Employee meetings: do you have them?

by Sheila Wyatt on November 18, 2010

As a small business owner, you may or may not hold regular employee meetings.  For many people, meetings are considered to be a waste of time.  But it’s not the employee meeting itself that is a waste of time; rather, badly run meetings or meetings with no purpose are the time wasters.  However, I would encourage regularly scheduled employee meetings that are used as a time for sharing business information amongst staff.  One of the biggest complaints I hear from employees working in small businesses is that they don’t really know what’s going on with the business, that the business owner does not keep them regularly apprised of new customer business, customer retention and satisfaction, profitability, a change in procedures.  Employees have said that they could really offer up suggestions for the business running more smoothly or being more profitable, but the owner doesn’t seem to want to hear them or take the time.

If you are a small business owner, I would encourage you to consider having regular staff meetings once a week or every other week.   Here are some tips to make them work:

  • Schedule employee meetings at the same time every week.  Perhaps your meeting is the first thing you do on Monday morning before everyone heads in separate directions.
  • Set a time limit for the meeting.  I would recommend a meeting that last NO LONGER than 45 minutes.  Also, it is a good idea to set a time limit for each of the topics on the agenda.
  • Come up with a standard agenda that can be used every week, and make sure that you communicate that agenda format to all employees.
  • Don’t do all of the talking!  The employee meeting should be structured as a means by which there is a sharing of knowledge and information between all employees.  A good way to do this is to have each employee spend about 3-5 minutes updating the group on what transpired over the last week, and any plans for the upcoming week.
  • Encourage honesty amongst the meeting members.  You can set the example by sharing any learnings you have recently had, including mistakes that may have been made and rectified.  Share information about actuals compared to goals, ask for feedback on how to do things better and differently.
  • Put your most difficult agenda items in the middle of the meeting, when energy tends to be the highest.
  • Do a meeting summary review at the end, identifying any action items that need to be taken as a result.  Send out, via e-mail, meeting minutes within 24 hours of the meeting time.
  • Ask for feedback from employees on how the meetings could be more effective.  Listen to them, and implement the ones that are of benefit to everyone.
  • Celebrate the successes.  It’s a great time to find out what is going well.

For more information on conducting effective meetings, see Robert Whipple’s recent blog post.

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Company holiday parties: good or bad?

by Sheila Wyatt on November 15, 2010

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about company holiday parties.  Before our most recent economic downturn, it was not unusual for small and large businesses to have elaborate holiday parties.  Many of us can recall the parties of the 90’s, when it was not unusual for companies to have banquet dinners, entertainment and open bars.  But there just seems to be something wrong with continuing that tradition, based on the current economy.  Especially if yours is a company that has had to cut back on staff or salary increases.  While I understand that a holiday party may be a great way to boost employee morale during stressful times, perhaps there are other ways to let employees know how much you value them, and to do it more frequently than once a year.  But that’s a totally separate topic.

This year I would encourage companies to consider, instead of having a holiday party, holding a charity drive.  Find a local charity to make donations to, in the way of food, clothing and toys.  Set aside a day or half-a-day where the company employees get together to do some sort of community service.  Ask the employees for suggestions of organizations or causes that they would like to see supported.

If, however, you find yourself  already committed to providing employees with some sort of holiday celebration, consider these alternatives.  Instead of a company dinner at an expensive restaurant, where employees bring a guest or spouse, replace that event with a luncheon for employees only.  Instead of using a caterer, have the event be potluck.  And if you are still planning to have a holiday dinner, here are some tips that you should keep in mind.

  • Make party attendance voluntary.
  • Instead of calling it a holiday party (remember, not everybody celebrates Christmas!), have it be an end-of-the-year party.
  • Choose the party location wisely, making sure that it is not viewed as sexist.
  • Review your liability insurance issues, as most don’t cover alcohol-related incidents.
  • Do not provide an open bar; distribute tickets to control drink availability.
  • Hire a taxi service or provide other alternative transportation for persons who have too much to drink.

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Great customer service: the power of language

November 11, 2010

My last blog post was about 5 critical elements necessary to create great customer service for your small business.  Today’s blog post is about the power of language and the role it plays in creating exceptional customer relations.  It’s time to start thinking about ALL of the communication you have with your customers – e-mail, [...]

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