Something that many salon and spa leaders dread is conducting team meetings. Most fret over how to keep the team’s attention, have them participate and insure that important messages get delivered. It can be a challenge.
Let me offer different ways you can engage your team in the meetings to make it memorable for them and a proactive use of time for you.
- A change of scenery. Move your meetings; go outside, to a restaurant, on a mini field trip. Get creative. I’ve often coached salon and spa owners to take their team to the Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons or high end venue for coffee just so the team can experience the height of customer service. They are then challenged to write down their experience and share during the trip. Then they have to come up with what they can add to their service experience based upon what they observed.
- Videos. Before your next meeting, review your topic and search for videos that can be used as an analogy or example of what you want to cover. This can help the team see something from an outside perspective. Look for inspirational videos or anything that can help you make your point.
- Games. If you want the team to brainstorm on something important, look up brainstorming games online (I googled this and there were over 544,000 results!) One example could be to take an idea and play target practice with it. Prior to the meeting, share an idea you have with the team and give them a chance to come up with a question about it. In the meeting, stand up and go around the room rapidly giving them the chance to ask their question. This can help to stimulate more ideation.
- Role play. Based on the issue being covered, make it experiential. One time, I coached a client who was struggling to get her team to perform consultation and retail follow through to set up a two-seat fine dining table for the meeting and to dress up like a server in a classy restaurant. She then had two team members sit for their “meal” and had to demonstrate what their service experience was like compared to how it could be. Instead of food and water or drinks she inserted retail products and services as what was being served. She demonstrated many scenarios of the wrong way to do it and then the right way and continued to rotate the team members in and out so they got to feel what it’s like when things are rushed, forgotten or half done. They saw a significant increase in customer service and, ultimately sale growth from this exercise.
One last thought, prior to the meeting do your research so you can come up with strategies like these. If you rush into it then you’ll get the results you planned for. Preparation is crucial. I can help you in that regard. I have meeting preparation and guideline forms as part of my book, Interdependent Leadership which you can find in my store. With the right planning and team involvement, you can make your meetings dynamic, engaging and get the impact you are looking for!
