How to conduct the workshop?

First, you need to decide what you need the workshop for and whether it is necessary at all. In some companies, meetings becomea kind of "debriefing": the chief "releases steam", but no one brings anything useful from these meetings, and the same thing is repeated time and again. And sometimes meetings become a meaningless ritual, but still all continue to gather on a certain day, because "it's so necessary". No sense, only working time is wasted.

therefore You need to hold workshops only if you really have something to discuss.. Perhaps there is some information thatyou need to communicate to all employees at once, and corporate dispatch here can not do. Or you need to make some decision, and before taking it you want to get acquainted with the opinion of the collective.

Then you need to decide on the time and place of the meeting. Often meetings are held in the officechief, but many employees may feel uncomfortable. It's not even that the boss's office can be associated with a "call on the carpet." Simply the chief and so the chief, and in his office he is a king and a god. And some workers will simply be afraid to express their opinion in such a situation.

therefore it is desirable to hold a workshop in a neutral territory. This can be a meeting room orconference hall. If there are special rooms for these purposes, it's better for you to go to the workers, rather than invite them to yourself. So you will let them know that they are full participants of the meeting, and not just an audience, called to reverently listen and give way.

Also the time at which the workshop will take place is very important: correctly chosen time will help to makemeeting as productive as possible. It is not necessary to gather at the beginning of the working day (employees have not woken up yet and the working rhythm has not entered) and at the end (employees are tired and want to go home). Do not also hold a workshop before lunch (all thoughts of employees will be on food) and immediately after it (after a hearty dinner it is thought badly). therefore the optimal time for the workshop is 10-11 am (provided that the working day starts at 8-9, and not later).

For the workshop to be successful, It is necessary to clearly define its purpose and make a list of issues that you are going to discuss. Otherwise, a meeting scheduled for an hour maytake a few hours and go through the scheme "started for health, and finished for the rest." And you can not put yourself too many tasks: you risk not to solve any, because you will try to keep within the allotted time, in the end for each specific question of time will remain negligible.

What about concerns that concern workers? You can, of course, allocate time for them at the end of the meeting, but are you sure you will succeed? Better take, say, one workshop a month to resolve issues that the workers themselves want to discuss. In this case, it is especially important to monitor the regulations so that the meeting does not drag out.

Outlining the range of issues, Determine which employee you will invite to the workshop. Why invite the entire department if questionsdirectly affect only a few people, and the rest will be bored during the meeting? Therefore, invite only those who will really be useful to the meeting. Of course, there are times when a meeting needs to be held for the whole team, but you do not need to pull people off from workplaces, if there is no real need for it.

During the meeting, you need to keep a record or at least mark important ideas for yourself. Because it is one thing to discuss, but quite another to realize all this. Do not have to rely on your memory, sometimes it brings us to the most inopportune moment. At the end of the meeting, it is better to once again talk important conclusions: first, to make sure that everyone understood each other correctly, and secondly, to check whether you have forgotten anything.

The workshop is not an event for a "tick". To make it successful, you need to carefully prepare for it, only then the meetings will help make the work more effective.