Take a meeting, entrepreneurs? You should

Hello, Gladys, Is there any value to holding office meetings when I only have four employees? And one of the employees is a delivery guy. I own a dry cleaner. I'm working right next to these people so what's the point? My wife says that I should hold regular meetings. What can I say in a meeting that I can't say while working right next to them? -- EE

I agree with your wife. Company meetings are important to help you get things done no matter how many employees you have. It will help you to be a better leader in your company and it can boost morale and give a feeling of empowerment to you and your employees. And, in the end you can build a bigger and stronger business.

Don't try to wing it, get prepared for your meeting. In order to make certain that you cover the important things have a format and agenda that you follow.

I often advise business owners to open staff meetings by reciting the mission statement of the company. Too often staff as well as management can forget what their company stands for. Making this your opening comment with each meeting is one way to reinforce this important message.

Make sure that you allow input from your employees. Sometimes the boss is so busy getting his or her point across that it is easy to forget that the people closest to your customers are your employees. Encourage your employees to submit ideas and suggestions to be discussed in meetings. And make sure to include your delivery person. You just might be surprised at the suggestions and ideas that a delivery person can have that might help you to better serve your customers..

I had a client who owned a grocery store and it was his delivery person who noticed that a senior citizen high rise had recently opened on his route. He told his boss about the seniors and suggested that the company invite the seniors to visit the store and maybe they could become new customers. The owner took the delivery guy's suggestion and invited the seniors to come to the store for coffee and pastries. He sent a chartered bus to pick them up and brought them to the store. The seniors enjoyed the food, did some shopping and were introduced to the store's delivery service. Within six months the store's business had increased significantly. So include everyone on the staff in the meeting.

Keep your meeting brief -- and start it and end it on time. How frequently you have office meetings is up to you, as there are no set rules on these things, of course. I have always preferred brief weekly meetings.

And don't allow the meeting to become unfocused. Make a point to develop a written agenda so that you can stay on point. Staying on point helps you to stay on time.

Meetings should be held during normal business hours. It is unreasonable to expect your employees to come in earlier or to stay late. So respect their time.

Finally, holding regular staff meetings will help you to think about your business and what you want from it as well as what you want from your employees. It will also help your employees feel like a real part of your business and therefore empower you both to make the company successful.

Gladys Edmunds, founder of Edmunds Travel Consultants in Pittsburgh, is an author and coach/consultant in business development. Her column appears Wednesdays. E-mail her at gladys@gladysedmunds.com. An archive of her columns is here. Her website is gladysedmunds.com.