Team meetings can be a waste of time or a productive, enriching experience. When carried out effectively, they can accomplish many goals.
Meetings can be a way to touch base, share knowledge, recognize accomplishments, and to air issues. They can reinforce value and vision, and they can welcome new team members.
Short morning huddles can be a great place to discuss progress on a goal, get a handle on the day’s workload, and ensure everyone is on the same page.
How to Keep Employees Engaged During Meetings
Think about each meeting’s purpose: The most effective meetings keep your team motivated, engaged, and educated. Your employees need to understand policy changes, learn about any specials you plan to offer, and be prepared if someone is ill or planning a vacation.
Make the intent of the gathering clear from the outset.
Always seek team input: This can be accomplished by allowing different team members to run parts of the meetings or introduce topics. If you are leading, discuss topics that impact the entire team. Prepare an agenda in advance, or keep the same format each time.
Be respectful of everyone’s time: Keep the meeting moving, sticking to a timeframe, an agenda, and redirect the conversation if it strays off point. Do allow sufficient time for questions, however.
If a topic is proposed but not discussed, follow up with the team member who made the suggestion and ensure that it is addressed at another time. This follow-through shows your employees that you value their time and input.
How Team Meetings Benefit Patients
Effective team meetings ultimately lead to a better patient experience. The information given to patients needs to be correct, consistent, and delivered in a manner aligned with your values.
No matter which team member a patient interacts with, the information should be the same. Team meetings are an effective way to solidify protocol and facilitate the exchange of information.
Always remember that the purpose of any meeting is to achieve a goal. The meeting itself should not be the goal. Other forms of communication, such as one-on-one meetings and huddles with different departments, may be better substitutes for a lengthy meeting.
A team meeting is something to which your team members should look forward to, a venue in which they can share their ideas, air concerns, and ask questions. Done correctly, meetings can bring a team closer together and solidify the practice’s objectives.
To learn more about team-building and holding effective meetings, call our dental office consultant and schedule a consultation today.
