I plan to write some general, some management, and some veterinary technician blogs. This one is focused on managers, supervisors, administrators, well heck, anyone who leads staff meetings. Are your meetings shallow, dried up, stale and generally a bore? Here are some great ways to liven them up!
I hope this helps with your staff meetings! My final recommendation: show the staff you are working hard to make the staff meetings enjoyable, because they are useful in many ways! If you want to discuss your staff meeting strategies I am always available to at david@davidlissrvt.com.
- Feed the masses! It may be looked down upon by some but I feel that food is a great way to get attendance and encourage participation in staff meetings. It’s also a nice way to show appreciation to the staff for their hard work! Pick different types of snacks, and don’t forget your vegan or vegetarian staff members and any other dietary requirements that differ from the mainstream. Encourage healthy eating amongst your employees by picking healthier options. I try to provide a variety of rotating options at my staff meetings: Mexican food, sandwiches, snack platters, gourmet salads, etc!
- Make it lively! Be the cheerleader, coach, principal and best friend all in one. Encourage and support the staff with good news and progress and make a conscious effort to build staff morale. Energy and positivity are required at a staff meeting. Channel this attitude while remaining firm on policies and rules. Staff meetings should not be about all the bad, negative or poor things that happened in the previous time period. The staff meeting should be a town hall meeting to discuss current challenges, growth opportunities and successes. I always use an upbeat tone, energy, and positivity to lead staff meetings!
- Get buy in! Your staff have ideas, things to say, and suggestions to make. Post a blank agenda on the bulletin board or an empty envelope with little pieces of paper where the staff can write potential agenda items. Post this one week prior to the meeting and then review the topics for inclusion. Recognize staff for achievements, acknowledge new staff joining the practice, review new equipment, policies, and celebrate positive changes. A great way to direct the culture of the business is to introduce challenges, get staff solutions, and then implement new policies based on these staff suggestions. This is called “bottom up” management, versus traditional “top down” management structures. The majority of my staff meetings are made up of discussions around the agenda items I have included. My meetings tend to be less of me talking at the staff, but more discussion amongst the staff, which I find productive.
- Encourage learning! At every staff meeting I include a 15-20-minute continuing education presentation. I encourage other staff members to also present. It could be on a topic that was new and relevant, like a new drug, or some issue that arose recently at the practice. Example topics include: reviewing a difficult case (what went right and wrong), new drugs on the market, equipment that was recently purchased, or general topics like ECG’s, CPR, nursing care, and client communication.
- Shut down the haters! Staff meetings should absolutely encourage open communication. They should also foster healthy debate and discussions. However, staff meetings are no place for directed negativity. I have a rule at my staff meetings: any complaint is always paired with a suggestion. If the complainer has no suggestion to rectify the issue they may not present the complaint. Also, passive aggressiveness is not tolerated. Staff are to politely and respectfully “call out” each other or departments if there is an issue, and that person or department will not respond defensively, but will respond calmly and professionally. Personal problems are also to be kept out of the staff meetings.
- Consider the size: If you regularly hold staff meetings of 10 or more people in multiple departments really consider your goals. I find smaller department meetings that are held regularly are more effective than large 10+ people meetings with multiple departments. Supervisors in the department meetings can report issues to a management meeting to deal with inter-departmental issues versus entire departments discussing issues at a large general meeting.
I hope this helps with your staff meetings! My final recommendation: show the staff you are working hard to make the staff meetings enjoyable, because they are useful in many ways! If you want to discuss your staff meeting strategies I am always available to at david@davidlissrvt.com.
RSS Feed
