Effectively Conduct “Daily Huddles” to Set the Work Day Right
A daily huddle is a short meeting, usually taking only about 15 minutes, conducted by the team leader before the start of the day or shift. The team discusses the tasks before them for the day and any news about the company—sales promotions, changes in policies, new officials, etc. is announced.
Sports teams also conduct daily huddles, along with many other groups or organizations. This practice has been proven to be an effective leadership and management tool. Although it is expected that any employee should already know what she is supposed to do on a daily basis; daily communication with her supervisor or manager will help her become more engaged in her work and more involved with the organization or the project.
Daily huddles in the workplace are also an effective way of improving internal communications within a company. Messages are easily understood, and there is an open exchange of thoughts. This informal nature of conversation allows a more open and warm discussion. Employees feel freer to share their ideas or to express their opinions when asked. They become more confident in raising their concerns or issues at their level and, in turn, these can addressed and resolved.
Though it is still part of the workday, a daily huddle provides a good bonding activity within teams or units in the organization, as it makes them feel more attuned and coordinated.
- How to Write and Conduct Daily Huddles Part 1
- Effective Daily Huddles Free Download Part 2
- Additional Sources Part 3
part 1
Here are some tips to effectively conduct the daily huddle:
- Encourage everyone to attend the daily huddle. Make this activity a daily practice to instill commitment among all employees and make it something for them to look forward to.
- Break the ice by beginning the discussion with good news that brings a positive vibe, or a light topic that allows everyone to have a good laugh. This will help to get everyone talking.
- Daily huddles can also be an opportunity to get to know each team member on a personal level. Make it a point to squeeze in a topic in the daily huddle agenda which will allow everyone to share something about themselves or their experiences.
- Even if the daily huddle is just a short meeting, it is still important to document what was discussed. Make recording it easier by using a daily huddle template.
- On the other hand, the daily huddle is not the right venue to investigate issues or to scold employees. Save these topics to be discussed during one-on-one meetings with individual employees.
- When teams regularly have daily huddles or daily updates via status.net, they will notice that there are fewer emails and interruptions during the day. Employees become more focused, and their work expectations are clearer, making them more productive and efficient.
part 2
Effective Daily Huddles: Free Download
Download Daily Huddle Template DOCX
part 3