The Importance of Discussion

So you are running your business whether it be with a couple of employees or many employees. Regardless of staffing numbers there is one important piece we need to ensure we do not miss. This is team meetings. It can be a daunting task preparing staff meetings and even more so with the requests of having everyone there but to have the success you are yearning for we need to encourage all to be involved and to have them on a regular.

In order to keep your business moving in the right direction we need to always be talking and discussing. Your employees can give you a lot of insight as they are working first hand with your customers and certain aspects of your business. These meetings allow for people to express what things are going well, what concerns there may be along with plans you have in the future. It is important to be inclusive and encourage everyone to be apart of the meeting. If you are able to alot time for a monthly meeting you will have a much larger success rate. Without having the important discussions, you are more likely to see your goals not accomplished due to lack of communication and push from others in the business. Here are some pointers in having a business meeting run smoothly.

• Have a lead who presents and runs the meeting
• Try and have your meetings during work hours to encourage participation
• Refreshments during meetings can go a long way
• Ensure you have an agenda typed out for everyone. It can be handy to have these sent off prior to the meeting for everyone to look over
• Keep the meetings short and suit to encourage meaningful discussion
• Your agenda should include Past, Present and Future. This allows for a refresher of what was discussed at the last meeting, what is happening now and the plans for ahead. This helps in creating the success for your short and long term goals
• Allocate someone to take meeting notes/minutes so nothing is forgotten and there is proper documentation
• If you have a larger group it can be beneficial to start the meetings with an icebreaker activity
• You may have employers who are more spread out geographically. It is just as important to include these employers in the communication. Whether you have clear concise communication with them about what is taking place via phone, email etc. Or with technology now it is easy to set up skype so it is like they are there. If that is not readily available to you conference calls work just as well.