Building a Culture with Stand-up Meetings

You may be all too familiar with the following scene at company meetings. At the end of the meeting, your employees gather up their belongings hastily and you hear them grumbling to each other about how this information could have been relayed in a memo. Disappointing as it may be, they might be correct. Instead of allowing these negative meetings to continue happening, consider the benefits of stand-up meetings. At KiwiCommerce, we start our days with 20-minute stand-up meetings. Understanding what these meetings are and how they help can allow you to see their benefits.

Understanding Stand-up Meetings

When you hear about a stand-up meeting for the first time you might wonder if it literally is a meeting where you stand up. In this case, the name is indeed quite telling. At these meetings the employees all stand up and of course, accommodations are made if necessary. You may wonder why anyone would want to stand up for the duration of a meeting, especially if you’ve been subject to particularly long agendas in your career. The fact that the meetings are stand-up style is a strong indicator that they aren’t going to last for a long time.

Knowing How We Function

Businesses can conduct stand-up meetings in a variety of ways. Our meetings in the morning are about 20 minutes long. Companies can determine different lengths if doing so suits their purposes, but the point is to be brief. The major goal of our meetings is to discuss what happened yesterday and what will happen today, and each employee shares. During this time, employees can receive guidance from one another and get a clear picture of what they are going to achieve that day. Now that you know what the stand-up meetings are and how they are conducted here, you can begin to learn about the benefits.

Motivating Employees

At many jobs, people come in and immediately start work. They may be rushing in the door after encountering a great deal of traffic, or they may feel in a frenzy about the stack of work on their desk to complete today. These beginnings are not necessarily motivating and can cause the day to start on a stressful note. Instead, bringing all of your employees together, discussing plans and gathering feedback can motivate everyone to have a productive day. Also, think about how much more productive you might feel if you had the chance to recap your successes of yesterday or get support on anything that you’re struggling with. You also don’t need to feel as though your work goes unnoticed as everyone is working towards a goal.

Staying Updated

Regardless of how large your company is, you may feel as though you never really know what is going on in other departments. This situation can leave you feeling detached from the business, especially in a larger company. By participating in a stand-up meeting, you get to know what is happening at the company in general. Also, you have the opportunity to receive and provide feedback. Even if you do not work with someone on a regular basis, you can still get to know this employee. Therefore, we believe the stand-up meetings help to develop a sense of community.

Procuring Solutions

When you are struggling with a task at work, you might try to hide it or put it to the bottom of your to-do list. You may feel as though you aren’t allowed to make mistakes or that you must always know which direction to go in. A stand-up meeting encourages you to share your struggles with your colleagues, as they do with you. In addition to feeling as though you can release this burden from your shoulders alone, you can also get feedback and support. You’ll know that your colleagues are there to help guide you to a suitable solution. These interactions among employees certainly lead to a strong rapport.

Prioritising Issues

Since these meetings are generally short, the issues that are of the highest priority come to the forefront. At some work meetings the same topics are brought up time and time again, even if the problems are menial, meaning employees may leave feeling as though nothing has been accomplished. During these stand-up meetings however, we prioritise the issues. Employees can leave feeling a greater sense of accomplishment knowing that the company has made progress.

Generating Quality

Remember that a major goal of these meetings is to work toward solutions together. Instead of sitting down at your desk for another day of feeling lost and confused, you can head to your desk with confidence. Even if you do like to work alone and to tackle challenges by yourself, remember that even the most independent people need guidance sometimes.

Establishing a Routine

Think about the last positive habit that you wanted to integrate into your life. You probably followed some sort of routine to make that change come into fruition. When you participate in a stand-up meeting every morning you are getting the chance to establish a new and healthy habit. Having a routine to start your day at work can actually have a useful effect on the rest of the work day.

Energising Yourself

While standing up at a meeting for 20 minutes isn’t the same as getting in a workout at the gym, it is certainly better than starting your day ready to take a nap in your chair. When you think about how tired you sometimes feel at the start of a work day, you may recognise how beneficial it could be to have some time to stand up when that day begins. This eCommerce consultancy allows its employees to begin their days in an invigorating manner and even our teams working remotely are able to join in via video link.

At KiwiCommerce, we feel the benefits of stand-up meetings, and our clients have reported the same. A culture helps to provide expectations for the company, and it also infuses a sense of unity. We know what we are working towards together and we feel proud of our accomplishments. Try it in your office from tomorrow morning!