Stand-up meetings, also known as huddles, are an important part of being a team, but it’s not something that people often think about. Because of this, people don’t often think about how to make them better or more productive. Some people don’t even bother to have them.
Implementing team huddles along with these tips will change your company.
Everyone I’ve taught about having productive huddles has benefited greatly from better internal communication and company morale.
If nothing else, huddles truly unite the team. So here is the format of a productive huddle:
Good News
In the first couple of minutes, encourage everyone to share the good news. Furthermore, they can speak praise about other business areas, work with customers, their fellow employees, and so forth.
“Positive information benefits us emotionally, physically, and mentally. It can contribute in a meaningful way to a happier and healthier life.” – Tal Ben-Shahar on Medium
Everyone is so quick to share bad news, but they don’t often share the good stuff. There is enough bad stuff out there. People need to be encouraged to do so because good news is vital. It lifts people up and brings them together in their shared accomplishments.
Numbers
Next, it’s very beneficial to your huddle to review and post the key metrics from your sales funnel so that everyone has a window into the key numbers for the business. Sharing this information with people shows a sense of trust and transparency that your employees need to see.
“Being open and honest is always in everyone’s best interest. Openness creates a sense of loyalty and makes your business stand out as one that employees want to work at.” – Cameron Herold
If huddles are an important part of being a team, transparency is vital to make that true.
What Does it All Mean?
Following your review of numbers, during your huddle, you want to do a daily forecast on the monthly and yearly revenue versus budget.
“Communicate to your employees the relationship between the current finances and the company’s future success.” – Inc
For me, it was super beneficial to show my team how we were doing on a daily basis versus waiting until the end of the month to add it all up. Seeing what’s happening in real-time makes the work everyone is doing feel more real and meaningful which, of course, fosters productivity.
Department Update
Make sure to make room for department updates in your huddles. This is a glimpse into each business area. It’s also a way to systematically ensure that business areas are always focused on their quarterly top three projects.
“The daily huddle can save everyone an hour or so of needless email updates and ad hoc interruptions.” – Growth Institute
Missing Systems/Frustrations
Everyone should feel free to share missing systems of frustrations in the huddle as long as you ensure it is a no-blame environment. Welcoming people to share, even if the things are negative, helps people feel heard and worthy.
After each frustration, have someone take ownership of the problem and make sure it gets fixed. No debate or discussion should happen at the huddle. That wastes far too much time. When issues are raised and someone finds a concrete solution to solve them, the huddle and the entire workplace will be more productive.
Cheer
No matter how strange or embarrassing it seems at first, make sure everyone cheers at the end of the huddle. This will feel awkward at first, but everyone will grow to love it.
The power of a good cheer will get people pumped to take on the workday. It works at sporting events, doesn’t it? Try it and you’ll see your staff leave the huddle pumped and on a much more positive note. Huddles are a good thing, so make sure it feels like it!
Huddles are so useful in fostering a positive, hard-working, and productive work environment. Try implementing them, trust me, you won’t regret it.
If you have questions or would like more information, I’d be happy to help. Please send an email, and my team will get in touch with you!
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in August 2010 and has been edited for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
