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Team Briefing
When utilised properly team briefings are one of the most effective ways of spreading information around a business and are the ideal mechanism for passing feelings and ideas back up the chain for decision making purposes. Equally importantly they motivate teams by involving all members and can strengthen relationships within an organisation.
Unsuccessful team briefings can be boring at best; and at worst can be counterproductive and become liabilities. A major factor in determining the success of any meeting, but particularly a team briefing, is how seriously they are taken. It is the Manager's responsibility to ensure the meeting has a clear purpose and structure.
Below are some key questions to ask when preparing content for a team briefing:
- Is the information relevant to the audience? The majority of the content must be relevant to all audience members to maintain interest.
- Will the meeting inform team members about current issues? This is an opportunity to deliver both corporate and local information and messages.
- Is the content delivered in such a way that encourages feedback? This is crucial as team briefings must be focus on two-way communication. Allow the team to ask questions and provide responses. Equally importantly, feedback must make its way up the management chain in a timely manner to aid the decision making process at senior levels.
Content alone will not ensure a successful team briefing. The delivery and attitude of the organiser is just as important - a positive brief delivered in an unenthusiastic way will lose impact and authority. If a Manager sees the team briefing as a waste of time, so will his team members.
Team briefings do not need to be overly formal and should be used as a platform to build relationships within the team. This can be done by bringing in a personal dimension, for example by informing team members about each others' achievements inside and outside of work, family events, upcoming occasions and so on. These may not be directly relevant to the Company but they help team development.
T.I.P. (To Improve Performance)
- Ask open ended questions to get feedback.
- Plan and practice before delivering.
- Either answer questions or get answers to the team as soon as possible.
Remember: Communications is a two-way process and team briefings are a way of developing that process.
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