12 Topics to Discuss in Your Next Staff Meeting

There are lots of people who dread going to meetings. They feel like they aren’t productive, are a waste of time, or that they could be doing something better. In reality, a regular staff meeting is incredibly important. They simply have to be used productively. With the massive rise in the number of people working remotely, it is more important than ever for teams to communicate, collaborate, and make sure they stay on the same page. Choosing the right topics for your staff meetings can help boost engagement and build excitement in your team.

In today’s era, team meeting templates are a standard workplace tool. They are used to foster a sense of collaboration when it comes to decision-making. Usually, team meetings take place either weekly or once per week. The frequency could vary with the size of the team. This tool is essential for keeping everyone on the same page, ensuring that people move in the same direction.

When looking at the benefits of a staff meeting agenda, the most significant advantage is that a staff meeting could be used to keep people on the same page, particularly when a clear staff meeting agenda is used. A simple staff meeting agenda can be used to layout a team meeting’s purpose, ensuring that everyone stays on the same page. To maximize the meeting’s importance, set clear team meeting objectives like reviewing progress, planning for an upcoming event, or discussing process matters. Then, no matter what types of staff meeting a company uses, the staff meetings have the greatest chance of being successful.

Docket offers a free trial, allowing you and your team to experience the benefits of using agendas such as the templates included in the app.

When evaluating a staff meeting agenda template, it is important to make sure that any weekly team meeting agenda clearly lays out the workplace meeting topics. Typically, these types of meetings are going to cover similar meeting topics from week to week. This is why it is important to have a weekly staff meeting agenda template that will expedite the process.

Common staff meeting topics include:

First, it is important to cover ongoing projects. Ongoing projects should be at the top of the list to make sure that everyone is updated on what everyone is working on and where members might be stuck.

Successful staff meetings should also cover the recent performance of the team in various capacities. Review what went well and what didn’t. Ask your team, “where do we need to make a change?”

This should be one of the most interactive meetings ideas, where everyone gets involved in reviewing some of the top goals the team should have for the next quarter.

Industry news is an example of a team meeting topic that should be on every team meeting agenda. Staying up-to-date with the latest trends will keep your team agile and thinking about how to address an evolving market.

Whether it’s tradeshow season, campaign launch, or an upcoming sale, work with your team to ensure everything is in order before the big event.

Is everything working the way it should? Do team members feel empowered and engaged with proper communication and resources? Take some time and ask the hard questions to iterate and improve the way you get work done.

This is an important topic for all types of business meetings and types of meetings in a company, as the company needs to know what customers are saying. Review recent reviews or case studies and breakdown learnings into actionable next steps.

One of the out of the box meeting ideas is to review designs or products that the company might be rolling out in the near future. Non-designers can provide UX feedback before final products are delivered to end-users.

If new products are being released soon, the company’s team members need to know how to use them. Invite a product manager to perform a walkthrough or guided training. One fun team meeting idea is to hold a quiz after the training. The winner gets bragging rights or something better!

Take a moment to reiterate the strategy, what steps the organization is taking to achieve its goals, and highlight its efforts and where they fit in.

On a weekly or bi-weekly basis, look into the backlog with your team to update, prioritize, or prune tasks and projects. A clean backlog helps to maintain transparency with other departments in an organization.

Another common type of staff meeting template is dedicated to review of the quarterly or annual budget. Look over the P&L. Does everything make sense? Is everything on track as expected? Do any adjustments in spending need to be made?

To improve participation, look at how to improve staff meetings. Coming up with creative meeting titles examples is an excellent place to start. Encouraging everyone to follow themes for staff meetings, such as dressing up or preparing, is also a good idea. Some of the other fun virtual team meeting ideas include ice breakers, lunch and learn events, hosting the meeting outdoors, or even asking people to find a fun virtual background for virtual meetings. Show and tell events, pets, and potlucks are other fun ways to make meetings more engaging. The better everyone participates, the more productive the meeting is going to be.

Docket offers a free trial, allowing you and your team to experience the increased engagement and alignment that comes from a better-prepared team, and better meetings.