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Hi, this is Anne Warfield with Impression Management Professionals
Today we want to look at what techniques
can assist you in encouraging more involvement from employees at staff
meetings. What can you do to bring them to be more
involved? The biggest frustration that most people have with meetings is
that the presenters seem to be sharing information, but not explaining the context
of the information. And as a leader, it's important that you
share the context of the information. This means that you're not just
there to read a memo, or reiterate whatever that
you heard, but instead, you're there to think about
why your audience should care about what you're sharing. What difference
the information will make to them. And how they can use
this information. So you want to encourage them to be more involved
at your staff meetings. Here's some of the things that you can do. One, read
the information ahead of time and prioritize. Start with the most important information
at the beginning of your meeting. Then state why the information is important to them.
For example, instead of saying we're moving to a lunch schedule,
everyone needs to take lunch between 11:30 and 1. Tell them why
the change is taking place. You might say something
like, "Due to the need to deliver higher customer service and to make sure
we're available to clients during lunch hours, you will now be having
everyone take lunch between 11:30 and one. I realize that for some of you
this means a change in the times that you do lunch, and we'll work with you to make sure
this transition goes as smoothly as possible." Notice I didn't
give an option on whether you would do this change or not, but just
we would make it as smooth as possible. So before the meeting begins,
tell them the key areas that you'll be covering. This will be a
roadmap that will give clarity to the meeting. And if you've just stated some
thing and you realize you've not clarified it for the group, follow up by
saying, "The reason this is important to you is..." have people
at the staff meeting answer the question, "Why is this important to you?"
This will allow you to see who's really grasping the context of the
message that you're sharing. Another thing is to have different people
in your group lead certain sections of the meeting, rather than having it all fall
on your shoulders. And the last one is, make sure your staff meetings involve
common topics that are high involvement. For example, what
common topics that are high involvement. For example, what
successes have we had lately? Who did you catch doing something good?
What time-saver did you use recently? And what is getting in the way
of our delivery better customer service. These are all
questions that require not a yes or no answer, but a more robust
discussion. Keep in mind that most staff do want to participate
in meetings. The problem with 90% of the staff meetings is
that they're in a lecture format rather than an interactive format.
Always ask yourself, "What do they need to know this?
And what information and format is best for them to
remember this information?" So think about, why do they need to know
this? And what information and format is best for them
to remember this information?
Keep in mind that most staff do want to participate in meetings
The problem with 90% of the staff meetings is that they're in a lecture format, rather than
in an interactive format. So here's your take action:
Ask yourself, "Why do they need to know this?" And
what format is best for them to remember this information?
At the moment of need? May you go forth and have a great
outcome focused day, filled with fabulous results.