BUSINESS

  PERSONNEL POINTERS

INCREASE MEETING VALUE

FOLLOW THESE SEVEN TIPS TO ENGAGE STAFF IN MORE PRODUCTIVE SESSIONS

TRUDI CHAREST, R.O.

WOULD YOU be surprised that the majority of personnel dread traditional office staff meetings? Listening to the practice owner discuss either items that don’t pertain to a majority of employees or an hour of “how we have to improve” is an unproductive and inefficient use of your team’s time. Meetings can be more impactful. Here are seven ways to make them so:

1 SCHEDULE WEEKLY VS. MONTHLY MEETINGS

Schedule shorter weekly staff meetings vs. longer monthly ones. You can still review a great agenda of information in a 15-to-20 minute meeting once a week. Concentrate on one or two topics to see more targeted efforts.

2 GET ORGANIZED

Meetings should be held on time, well prepared and to the point. Don’t wing it or show up unprepared. You have requested staff members to be present and alert, so ensure you respect their time and attention.

3 CREATE AN ACTION LIST

Show up with a checklist, containing action items for the next week, for staff members. Give each individual a copy, which will tell him or her what is expected and the time period it is expected.

4 HAVE A TOPIC REQUEST BOX

Employees on the front lines of the practice will see and hear things that need to be discussed in the meetings. Have a suggestion box or meeting topic sign-up sheet so personnel can contribute to the agenda. Be open to discuss items you may deem unimportant or trivial, but that your staff members are concerned about. Doing so shows you value their input and opinion.

5 DELEGATE MEETINGS

Mix things up by delegating. Give your department head direction, and then let him or her run with the agenda. This gives you a break from managing the meeting, and gets staff members involved and empowered.

6 BE POSITIVE — CELEBRATE

Be more positive. A commonly cited reason for staff dread is that meetings can be negative or stressful. Sometimes, what staff members really need to hear is what they have done right and well. Take time to be grateful for what they have accomplished.

7 OPEN STRONG; CLOSE STRONG

Think like a professional speaker; open strong and close strong. Each staff meeting should have an overall objective that you open and finish with so employees hear the message throughout. An example could be “greeting patients.” Open with why greeting patients immediately upon entering the practice is so important. When finishing the meeting, close with, “so this week our team goal is to ensure that every patient is greeted within 30 seconds of entering the practice.” Never leave the objective understated.

START PLANNING

Time is one of our most precious commodities, and most of us want to spend it wisely. That includes your staff. If you’re going to hold staff meetings, make them useful, fun and productive. A great meeting starts and ends with good communication and great leadership. Have an amazing next meeting! OM

MRS. CHAREST is the co-founder of 4CPSs, a practice management resource company for eye care professionals. Visit 4ecps.com, or email trudi@4ecps.com to contact. Visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.