How Effective Meetings Can Enhance Communication and Performance Management

I was doing a brain storming session with a client recently and an issue they were having with the inaccuracy of their website was identified. Several office managers complained that no one was asking for their input, and as a result, the organization had a website that was improperly informing their customers about new services that were being provided.

Publics Relations
Good public relations begin at home. Happy staff equals happy customers. Meaningful and regular staff meetings can be a very powerful tool in helping your company meet the needs and expectations of your customers. As situations come up, mini-meetings and brain-storming sessions that quickly solve problems can also be used very effectively. Regular meetings held with a purpose can keep the lines of communication open.

Employees Feel Stymied
Often employees feel stymied in their ability to communicate their feelings and viewpoints to management. The staff feel like second-rate people because they are never given an opportunity to be heard. What most organizations lack is a structure to insure that the meetings are held on a regular basis.

Meeting Preparation a Must
To insure that the meetings are effective, it is important that some preparation be made before each meeting. What are the challenges that need to be addressed? What is being done about the issues that were discussed at the last meeting? What is going right? Why? How can things be made even better? By asking these kinds of questions, you are building a framework to give communication within your company a place to grow and develop.

Result Oriented Meeetings
By holding meaningful and action-oriented meetings, you make it easy for your employees to communicate with each other as well as with management. This can enhance performance management in any organization. Many times, it's not a "generation gap" that prevents teamwork within a company, but a "communication gap." By following through with a plan for communicating, you are insuring a clearer, more effective form of constant communication in your company. As a result, by keeping miscommunication to a minimum, you will have a happier and more productive group of employees.



Tom Borg is president of Tom Borg Consulting, LLC. He is a business consultant, speaker, trainer, coach and author. He works with small and mid-size businesses and organizations and helps them develop their most valuable asset – their people!
Visit his website at: www.TomBorgConsulting.com or email him at: TomBorgConsulting.com

Do the Unexpected

One summer, Elizabeth, my wife and I took a vacation through Northern Michigan. On a particular day we had several places we wanted to visit so we started out very early from the town of St. Ignace. To save time, we decided we would stop for breakfast a few hours later. However, my wife just had to have a cup of gourmet coffee before we got on the road. Problem, all the gourmet coffee shops were not open yet. We searched around and finally spotted a place that served gourmet coffee called the Colonial Lodging Bed and Breakfast. It didn’t look open yet, however, Elizabeth decided she would take a chance and find out if they would serve her.

Upon entering the bed and breakfast she discovered a most delightful man, who just happened to be the owner. He explained to her that they were not quite open yet, but he had just finished brewing up some of their special gourmet coffee and poured her a cup. Elizabeth asked him how much she owed him and he replied “no charge, have a great day!”

What the owner of the Colonial Lodging Bed and Breakfast did that day for my wife was unexpected. He left an extremely positive feeling with her. He did something that can only build good will and in the long term, his business.

Are there a lot of bed and breakfast establishment out there? Yes, and as we all know it can be very competitive in that market just like it is in your market place. So why not do something positive for your potential as well as your existing customers; do the unexpected and surprise them in a positive way.

Some of the things to consider doing for your potential and present customers that fall under this category included:
• Opening and closing your store a few minutes earlier than the posted sign indicates.
• Providing the extra few cents for a customer’s purchase so he or she doesn’t have to break a dollar.
• Acknowledge them as soon as they walk in the door with a cheery hello and “we will be right with you”.
• Make them feel truly welcome. Let them know you really care about meeting their needs and wants.
• If they couldn’t find what they wanted in your store recommend them to another place where they can find it.
• Ask them was everything alright with their purchase and mean it. If something was not, do your best to make it right.

By doing the unexpected for your potential, and present customers you will exceed their expectations and build your business.


Tom Borg is a consultant, trainer and coach. He is president of Tom Borg Consulting LLC. He works with the managers and employees of businesses and non-profits in the area of professional development and customer service training. He is the author of the book/cd “Making Service Count”. He earned his bachelors degree in administration and his masters degree in Educational Leadership at Eastern Michigan University. You can contact him at: 734-812-0526, email: tomborg@tomborgconsultingor visit his website at www.tomborgconsulting.com