Tips To Follow For Implementing Effective And Meaningful Staff Meetings

How To Use This Program – Just Follow These Ten Steps

1. Follow the agenda as closely as possible, but also put your own funeral home’s stamp on the content.
2. Let, if possible, a regular time and place for the staff meeting.  Every funeral home is different, but generally early morning times are the best.  Possibly a 7:00 a.m. meeting every Wednesday, once a month.
3. Certainly the subject of additional pay will come up.  If the employee is salaried or hourly if they are asked to attend sometime outside their normal work week then they need to be reimbursed.  The additional cost will be more than compensated for by the benefits of the staff meeting experience.  However if the staff meeting is scheduled during their normal scheduled work time, then no additional compensation is required.
4. Have joy and fun at these meetings.  This is NOT the time for a complaint session, arguments, debates or reprimanding someone.  Reprimands and praise are safest when done in private.  Remember this is a group experience, not a private one on one experience
5. People like to eat, people like to drink refreshments – so give them some.  Food always helps people relax and enjoy themselves.  This doesn’t need to be elaborate, but it is simply a good courtesy, and shows your staff a good faith intention.
6. Don’t let one person dominate the meeting.  Keep the agenda moving forward, and don’t let the staff meeting go longer than 60 minutes.
7. Also you might if you want to ask other staff members in time, if they would like to lead the sessions.  Remember all the materials are already completed all that is needed is for someone to turn on the machine and follow the agenda – nothing more, unless you want to add something.
8. Stay the course.  It can be a disaster in management to start doing staff meetings and then do them here and there, now and then, or stop doing them altogether.  If you start them it is a powerful message to your staff that you mean business by continuing them on a regular predictable basis.
9. If possible invite a guest.  I know this sounds odd at first, but a outside guest will be your insurance policy that your staff (or most of them anyway) will be on their toes, and it will get the company “clown” under control.  People are always on their best behavior when a guest is present, and particularly if that guest is a member of the clergy, so ask you local clergy to attend – I can assure you they will be flattered by the invitation and also this is a great clergy relations idea, but it shows just how professional your funeral home is on the inside.
10. Go easy with this program.  The major idea behind staff meetings in communication enhancements.  There is now better way to communicate with your staff.  Most mistakes made in a funeral home are in the end due primarily to lack of communication between management and staff.  The staff meeting will help in a big way to address this important issue.