Three Golden Rules for running a great toolbox meeting.

Toolbox or team meeting...whatever you happen to call it, no doubt your goal is the same - to bring your team together and share information with them.

So how can you make these meetings more effective, more interesting, and get better results from your team?

1. Time it right!

Ideally you want to be looking at a session first thing in the morning before people get distracted with the day, and you are better to run one great one than multiple average ones. You want people to be enthusiastic to attend!

It is critical to respect people's time, so start and finish on time. Prioritize the important things first, and if you don’t get to something  - push it to the next meeting (that’s why you put the least important things last!)
Throughout
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2. Make it relevant.

Nothing worst than going to a meeting with no point! Plan your meetings, have an agenda and make sure that the information is interesting and relevant for the team.

Throughout the meeting ask open-ended questions to ensure the team understand and are all following along.

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3. Vary the voices.

Anything super serious, like policy updates or safety messages, should come from the boss, but could others be involved in the meeting?

Delivery of messages by others within the session can help future leaders have the opportunity to be involved. It doesn’t always have to rest on your shoulders, give others a guideline, an open-door if they have any questions and time to perfect their delivery before the meeting.

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Extra warm fuzzies are:

- Meetings outside the office or regular environment

- Food and treats for the team

- Guest speakers

- Opportunities for questions within the meeting, not just at the end.