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Meeting Makeover Internal meetings are the arteries that information flows through in your business. Everyone is so busyfocusing on their individual tasks and meeting customer needs that communication with other staff often falls away.Why have internal meetings?Internal meetings are the arteries that information flows through in your business. Everyone is so busyfocusing on their individual tasks and meeting customer needs that communication with other staff often falls away. In some businesses, I've seen 80%+communication via email. Phone, email and other operational "noise" throughout the working day only adds to this disconnection.When information flows quickly in a business, the lead times between corrective actions are reduced.This results in both a lower incidence of error and a smaller cost to the business in fixing the error or mitigating the risk quicker. This is an irrefutable fact that justifies regular internal meetings on just this point alone.Internal Meetings create Rhythm. Well run internal meetings create a beat and a rhythm to which theteam work to. Priorities and deadlines are understood. Team members understand the steps that need to be taken. Managers identify where they can help the team if they're stuck. Everyone's on the same page.Meetings facilitate Engagement. People engage by being invited into the game. If they know the business goal, the team goal and the role they have to play then they're more likely to truly plug in tothe business. If they don't know what the business is trying to achieve, how can they connect with business goals alone at their desk?TeamsDaily Meetings. The Americans call this the "morning huddle" where they all meet early first thing tohit the day running. They often stand up and meet for no more than 5 minutes. The Daily Meetingwould have a 3-6 point standard agenda using a "What, How, Who & When" focus. Aussies are a bitmore laid back and this may be overkill for you. However, I've seen it work really well in sectors thatare very deadline driven such as transport, logistics and labour services.Weekly Meetings. Weekly Team Meetings are pivotal in getting each team member engaged with skinin the game. These meetings should be very operationally focused with a standard agenda used. Irecommend rotating the Chair to share the responsibility for noting down action items. This alsoidentifies leaders within the team and develops management skills. Action points should be circulatedthe same business day to all team members as a discipline. A person should be made accountableagainst every action item. Team members are to work on open action items in the week ahead andupdate the team on progress at the next meeting. This ensures the team is constantly moving forwardand taking action.Monthly Meetings. In businesses that hold a Monthly Staff Meeting for the entire business, it generallymay not be necessary to have a Monthly Team Meeting. However, where there are specific projects,
 
milestones, performance issues, reporting and key performance indicators that relate specifically to alarge or dynamic team; it may be appropriate. This would require a specific Monthly Team Meetingagenda.All Staff Monthly Staff Meeting. The Monthly Staff Meeting is key in keeping everyone aware of where the business is at. Report the news, discuss what's working and not working. Tell stories from customerswhere we performed well and feedback that wasn't as positive. Update them on how the business performed last month against your sales targets - was it a good month, average or poor. You can keepthis broad for confidentiality. Highlight special performances from people at all levels. List new business won/lost. Discuss human resource and training issues. Even discuss administration issues briefly ("we need a new fridge") to keep this from cluttering your weekly meetings. Keep thingsmoving with the agenda. If an issue of merit comes up and clearly won't be resolved quickly, make anote of it and take it offline for discussion. Finally, you need to outline what challenges and goals areahead of you and what needs to happen in the coming weeks/months ahead. What are your key priorities? Remind everyone - don't expect them to know!ManagementFrequency of meetings. The management team should have regular scheduled meetings as outlinedabove on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis as needs dictate. The key to great managementmeetings is to keep them "high level" with less action items rather than more. Managers should have nomore than two or three key projects running concurrently and no more than five key priorities. Cappingthese creates focus and action which leads ultimately to implementation.Business OwnersWeekly Owners Meetings. Weekly Owners Meetings are critical for owners to keep in touch. These aretypically operationally focused and a great forum for updating parties on staff issues, customer issuesand service/product issues. It can also be a great conduit for scheduling time together to "work on the business" rather than "in the business".Monthly Owners Meetings. These meetings are more strategic in reviewing prior month's financialreports, operational reporting, personnel, sales & marketing and discussing progress on the business'key priorities.Quarterly or Bi-Annual Owners Meetings. These meetings are very high level and would typically be areview of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th Quarter results. Progress checks should also be made in thesemeetings of the Business Plan activities and targets. Are you in front, on pace or behind where youwanted to be by this stage of the financial year?Annual Reviews. The Annual Review is a big big deal! It's best done off-site with plenty of timeallocated. Prior to the review, owners should seek input on the business from staff, customers, keyadvisors and stakeholders. Review the prior year's performance honestly and transparently. Followingthe review, list the key priorities and goals for the business for the next twelve months and draft your Annual Business Plan.Bourke, Business Influence, 2008. You are welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains
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