What do the Washington State Department of Personnel (DOP), Agile Software, and the Ritz Carlton Hotels have in common? All use the “10-Minute Stand-Up”—a no-chairs-allowed daily meeting to beat the endless meeting syndrome.
Washington State DOP
At the Washington State DOP, the meetings take time—but not much—to:
- Recap the previous day’s results.
- Review plans for today and discuss how they support strategic and business plans.
- Ask questions and provide answers.
- Celebrate success stories, recognize individual or group performance, and say thank you … every day.
The DOP says its meetings also help control the rumor mill by ensuring that everybody hears the same thing at the same time. Issues get raised and addressed daily, before they develop into something worse. In short, the DOP says, stand-ups “let you shovel while the piles are small.”
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The DOP has established only two ground rules for its stand-ups:
- Don’t discuss personnel matters of an individual or private nature.
- Don’t address issues that are a matter for either labor/management communications meetings or collective bargaining.
Ritz Carlton Hotel
Cathy Olofson, writing in www.fastcompany.com, notes that at the Ritz Carlton Hotel chain, meetings follow a strict pattern (that is repeated at each Ritz facility around the world).
- Present the topic of the week.
- Review a customer service basic rule.
- Discuss operational issues.
“We tell our employees to move heaven and earth to satisfy a customer,” the Ritz says. “We have to equip them to do that—every day.”
And since impeccable dress is important at the Ritz, the meeting reinforces that value as well. No one’s going to show up underdressed for a morning meeting with the president.
Agile Software
Trainers at AgileSoftwareDevelopment.com find that since attendees stand up for the meeting, it tends to end quickly (no surprise there). And they find that the chances of false promises are reduced, as people make commitments in front of the whole team.
Agile Software meetings typically follow a three-question format:
- What did I do yesterday?
- What am I planning for today?
- What problems might keep me from doing my work?
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In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll look at how you can use short meetings effectively—plus examine an effective 10-Minute HR training resource from BLR.