|

Morning Meetings

RAT 109 (Rawlings Agency Tips)

Do you have morning meetings every day? Or perhaps only on Mondays? I don’t know if you have noticed but whichever you have, they can be quite boring and are often meetings for the sake of meetings! The morning meeting is often the manager’s way of saying “I’m in control here”, which is fine, but is it constructive, uplifting and productive?

The purpose of a daily meeting is to pick everyone up, make sure they are on track, and then send them off into the day with a purpose. It’s a way of ensuring that everyone is singing the same tune, that they know what is happening throughout the branch and that they have a clear idea of what is expected of them.

If these aims are not being consistently achieved, why not shake up your meetings with the following tips:

  • Timing: Ideally 8:47am. This is a highly focused time right before the start of the main estate agency business day. People will have had a chance to settle in, make a cup of coffee and check any emails. It is not “about 9am” - it is precisely 8:47am and everyone knows that it will always start bang on time - and then be over just after 9am.
  • Everyone must attend including inc admin and reception staff. You are all on the same team and this is an opportunity to prove and consolidate it. It also helps each team member appreciate other team member’s tasks and issues in context.
  • Everyone stands round the table - no sitting allowed! This is a short sharp team meeting, much like a football team huddle before a match. Can you imagine them sitting down?
  • Each person must share at least two pieces of good news - max 20 seconds apiece ideally describing a result from the previous day, but it could also be something personal. eg “Mr Jones increased his offer on Drummond Road” or “I’ve just beaten the monthly offer record for this branch”, or “I bought a new suit yesterday”
  • What’s on the frontburner? Each person to describe their tasks for the day ahead - max 20 seconds per task. Rotate to the next person after each task rather than each going through all their tasks, until you eventually run out of tasks.
  • The Manager should to provide support, encouragement, congratulations and prompts, but any issues should be addressed privately after the meeting.
  • Rotate who chairs/facilitates the meeting each day. good management is about delegation and the sharing of responsibility if not accountability.
  • Wrap up within 15 minutes.
  • The following day’s meeting should demonstrate that people did indeed succeed in performing the tasks they identified the previous day.
  • Don’t use the words 'goal' or 'target'. They are “promises”! A promise is personal and committing. Anyone can miss a target, but nobody likes to break a promise!

So here's to tomorrow and a new syle of meeting! Enjoy.

Richard Rawlings
Propertydrum Estate Agency Trainer of the Year 2012