Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Employee Meetings.

This is topic Employee Meetings. in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 10-19-2003, 07:58 PM:

I've been to my fair share of employee meetings, and ran my fair share. I was just wondering what most managers basically go over during the course of the meeting.

Also, it seems that during most meetings an argument over something or another always seems to comes out. Now, sometimes this is a good thing - it gets whatever problem out in the open so that it can be discussed and resolved. Other times its a topic that is not appropriate for the general staff and should be brought privately to management...so that needs to be said. Just mostly wondering if you guys run your meetings as a "manager run" meeting with no imput from the staff, just the managers talking - or as an "open forum" meeting, so that the staff can imput. I've seen it done both ways.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 10-19-2003, 08:27 PM:

Ours are a bit of both, Rachel.

We start with a general rundown of how everything's doing. It's sort of a "positive reinforcement" element so the staff doesn't think we're just calling them in to bitch. During this "segment", we touch on items that came up at the last meeting & discuss how those issues are doing. Most of them show improvement, but not all, so this makes for a good segue into areas we want the staff to pay more attention to. Then, we go over any serious issues, though it's not something that happens too often anymore. These items are staff-wide, and we're careful to avoid any finger pointing (those issues are dealt with individually). Through this period, the staff is welcome to ask questions or make suggestions (so long as it's topical). "New business" is reserved for later.

Finally, the assistant managers get time for any comments they want to bring up, and then it's an open forum (for as long as it seems constructive).

We don't have any hard-and-fast schedule for these meetings... generally, we hold them when there's enough on the list to cover a good hour or so (makes it worthwhile to drag everyone in).

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 10-19-2003, 11:48 PM:

It's funny you mention it. I have had employees 'removed' from the building a few times during employee meetings.

We always go over saftey issues and 'the rules'. Most of the time it is just great to have everyone on staff in the same room at the same time.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 10-20-2003, 01:50 AM:

I only do meetings for the booth staff (7-8 people) and usually very informal. I jsut go over issues that have come up and changes in policy.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 10-20-2003, 02:30 AM:

Meetings can be very productive if a meeting ajenda is carefully planned, conducted, and followed.

If not, they are nothing more than a bunch of employees sitting on their asses getting paid listening to useless information they already knew.

That's one thing I liked while I was in the navy. We had a weekly Department Head meeting where all the key personnel were assembled at a "worktable" in an informal atmosphere. We all had a chance to discuss issues that came up through the course of the week and got them resolved. Part of our discussions involved up-and-coming events and methods of implementing them the most efficient way possible.

I have attended these meetings for 3 years until I retired. There was not one meeting I can think of that was a waste of time. They were in a relaxed atmosphere and were conducted very well. The meetings were chaired by the Department Commander. The meetings usually lasted one hour. Rarely did they ever exceed that time.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-20-2003, 08:34 AM:

When I was at the "Other Supply? Dealer" in SLC we had meetings every Monday a.m.. The sad thing is that there was little to discuss at these meetings and they often turned into a joke session for most attending. At my present employer we are SO BUSY there is little time for any staff meetings. I wish though that we did have them as it does allow for better organization, and it helps all employees to be better organized overall.
Mark @ CLACO

Posted by Chris Liczbinski (Member # 1957) on 10-20-2003, 12:56 PM:

We have employee meetings about twice to three times during the year, depending on how much of the staff is new and what our budget allows. All together we are about 25 people so to pay everyone for 2 hours makes our general manager schedule meetings scarcely.

These are usually held Saturday at 8am. We all go into an auditorium and the managers go over different topics they feel needs to be addressed. About one hour is talking about how we can make the experience more enjoyable for the customer and how we can improve ourselves, whether it be smiling, taking care of consession lines efficiently or using good etiquette on the radios we use to communicate.

Booth meetings are held rarely as we only have 4 people and if something needs to be said it is not hard to get us together or talk to us separately. I believe the meetings we have help the staff re-dedicate themselves to full customer satisfaction (even if only for a week or two).

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 10-21-2003, 05:10 PM:

I used to hold my employee meetings right before any drastic change in attendance. So before Holiday Season, before Spring Break, before and after Summer.

I would use the time to go over a list of all those little things that just couldn't disseminate properly to every last staff member (and I had 25 or less usually). I'd also go over what to expect with the increase/decrease in customers. It was usually just a chance to get everybody back on track and remind them to tighten up again for a few more months before they could relax a bit.

After I yapped for awhile, I'd let my assistants bring up anything I forgot, and then it was open forum. Usually with some staff members picking on one particular manager being "too strict" or showing favoritism... or it would be the time where the staff would indirectly inform all the managers that certain staff wasn't pulling their weight. Usually those who were spoken of knew who they were and started flying right after the meetings.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-21-2003, 08:42 PM:

We have meetings every Tuesday afternoon from 4 to 6 at the Cornerstone Pub.

So what if it just HAPPENS to perfectly coincide with Happy Hour?! [Big Grin]

Posted by Nicholas Roznovsky (Member # 861) on 10-22-2003, 01:29 PM:

I had a PoliSci research class in school that had a weekly "lab" every Thursday from 3-5 at a local beverage-oriented establishment. I never missed that class. [beer]

I have had employee meetings rather infrequently in the past, and only when there was a major issue which needed to be addressed. For minor policy changes and reminders, I've found that it's much easier to print up a memo and include it in the envelope with each employee's paycheck. I save a lot on payroll by not having to convene everyone and I don't have to try to strech out a meeting when I only have a few topics to cover.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 10-22-2003, 01:42 PM:

A employee newsletter is a useful communication tool. It can be on paper, or electronic. It should be frequent and timely, with information pertinent to employees (e.g., benefits information, policy announcements, etc.). If you decide not to have group meetings in person, management should always have an "open door" policy and a suggestion system (allowing anonymous suggestions too) to encourage employee input. Supervisors should also be expected to "walk the floor" and not hide from their employees or customers, or be "out to lunch" at critical/busy times. Pitching in during very busy times or a crisis helps keep immediate supervision grounded in what is really happening in the theatre.

Posted by Timothy Ervin (Member # 733) on 11-01-2003, 12:29 PM:

We just had a staff meeting. I have my staff meetings once a month. I usually discuss areas they need to improve on, praise them on the good job they are doing, go over customer service, give them a chance to discuss their concerns, complaints, etc. I also annouce the employee of the month, upcoming movie promotions. Our meetings are always good and positive and its a chance to get together to discuss new ideas, and suggestions. I have never had a bad staff employee meeting. I usually have them in the morning and have donuts, juice and milk or if we have the meetings at night after the last show ends (sometimes my staff would rather have it that way) I will get pizza for them.

Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 11-02-2003, 01:16 AM:

I hold my staff meetings much like Scott. Before drastic business changes. I.E. warn them of less hours, re-motivate them for business again. This has always seemed to work for me. I try to praise just as much as bitch, but bitch noticably with necessary changes. I tend to be informal with open forums, but many won't voice opinions. I always have an outline of what is covered and sometimes give employees a copy so if a policy changes they can't claim ignorance. I always plan my meetings in a pre-meeting with assistants.

Posted by Blake Zaugg (Member # 1455) on 11-09-2003, 12:35 AM:

We have a staff meeting every two months, and a newsletter the other months. We always start with snacks, and a quick game and then run through our agenda. Unfortunately the agenda is usually heavy on things we need to improve on and light on things the staff are doing well. We divide up the agenda so that each manager has something to talk about. The meetings usually only last about an hour so we just hold them in the lobby after the 4:00 matinees go in, then we are done before they get out. Sometimes we will break off into groups and do additional training after that.