4 things to put on the agenda for the first meeting of 2017
With the holidays fast approaching it’s worth putting some time aside to consider your first meeting of 2017 and what to talk about…
With Christmas parties, end of year deadlines and general wrapping up activities, you’re not likely to be thinking about 2017.
But a quick bit of planning can help you get one main task out of the way, making your return to work in the new year that little bit easier.
Here’s a guide to setting the agenda for your first meeting of 2017…
Talk about 2016’s success
Start the year on a positive by looking back over the previous year’s success.
Take in everything from the big wins to the smaller victories. And try and name check the staff members who helped the company succeed.
But it’s not just about giving a roll call of success stories – you need to show what the company can learn from them and how they can implement changes in the new year.
Provide new targets
Once you’ve gone over the previous year, it’s time to start looking forward and setting new goals.
Whether you’ve decided to increase the targets from last year or reduce them to make them more reachable is all down to how you want to motivate your team. But you should have clear targets and good reasons for setting them.
Try breaking them down to make them more manageable – this could be into team-based targets, monthly goals or by person.
Look at areas to improve
Being critical of your staff is never particularly nice but it needs to be done.
Look for specific areas that need improvement, providing some suggestion of how to do it and what the results might look like.
Talk it through with your staff. People are happy to flag up areas they’re having issues with, so it might be worth opening the topic up to the floor before you get started.
Air some grievances
Again, this is one that should be led by your staff, not you.
Grievances could be to do with anything from how management are paid to the lack of quality coffee in the office. Try and offer solutions or reassurances throughout and take notes to show you’re taking the problems seriously.
Once the ball is rolling, try and keep it under control and don’t let it get too personal. If it does get personal, ask the person making the accusations to stay back and discuss it with you one to one.
Posted by Ashleigh Sharp
