8 Tips for Running Great Staff Meetings at Your Dojo

How do you keep your staff on the same page? Many martial arts school owners start small, often with only one or two people running the business.  They expect processes will become easy once they finally hire a team to help them. One of the main challenges a business owner faces is managing an expanding team. In a martial arts business, organising your staff can be challenging.  Your instructors will want to command and lead a team. If you can instruct a team of instructors in a professional manner, your business operations will be smoother across the board. To help you on your way we’ve compiled a list of eight industry tips for running effective staff meetings at your dojo.

1) Know your subject and know your objective

One of your first steps towards running an effective staff meeting is making sure the subject of the meeting and your intended objectives are clear to your team. This step is important not only during the meeting but before it even happens. When you send out an invitation - be it through email, iCal or whatever scheduling platform you use - make sure you include the topic and/or objective. Understanding the direction before the meeting begins makes it easy to guide your staff back to the established agenda if it veers off track.

2) Be disciplined with your time

If you get a reputation among your staff for running overtime on meetings, you won’t be popular.  Typically martial arts schools run to a strict schedule because of class times. It’s important to be efficient and exact with your meeting schedules - start on time and finish no later than the end time. According to the Harvard Business Review, time is an organisation’s scarcest resource, yet dysfunctional meeting behaviour is on the rise. In an organisation promoting discipline, poor organisation is damaging to your reputation. If one of your instructors is running late because your staff meeting ran overtime, it’s a bad look for the whole school.

3) Give credit where credit is due

Although professionalism and a strict time frame are important, it’s important meetings don’t become all doom and gloom. Make the most of the time together by raising the morale of the group and publicly acknowledging the individual successes of your team. A positive attitude in meetings will also establish an inclusive environment where all staff members are empowered to contribute. You never know where the most creative suggestions can come from; an idea from the quiet team member who never felt confident to speak could vastly improve your operations.

4) Less is more

When it comes to whom you invite to a staff meeting, keep the numbers as small as possible. You want to empower everyone, but too many voices will negatively affect productivity. Invite essential participants only; others can be given a brief overview at a later date.

5) Set an example when it comes to technology

A 2014 study from the  University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business revealed 66% of full-time working professionals earning a salary of more than $30,000 thought it was inappropriate to write texts or emails during meetings. To ensure focus, efficiency and respect consider imposing a full smartphone ban at all meetings. Importantly, your staff members will follow your example when it comes to using technology in meetings. Make sure to set a good example from the top down of what behaviour you expect.

6) Establish a routine

Monthly, fortnightly or weekly meetings can be immensely helpful for those members of your staff who may not feel empowered to make meetings of their own.  They’re a great way to check in on the different sections of the martial arts business and align your goals. Creating routine meetings can help you ensure consistency in processes, especially for ongoing issues. Don’t be afraid to book several months in advance so your team can prioritise the meetings in their schedule.

7) Keep your focus on the service you provide.

Staff meetings are one of the rare times in a martial arts business where you aren’t in some way client-facing. It’s natural they draw particular focus to internal concerns. It’s important to continually remind your staff in these meetings your ultimate duty is to provide the best possible service to your customer. At times you may need to remind your staff, ‘it’s not about you, it’s about them’. A marginal decrease in costs may seem attractive in a staff meeting, but if it has a noticeable impact on a customer’s perception of quality, you might want to reconsider.

8) Revisit

Sending an email out to the people who attended the meeting to recap the events can be hugely beneficial to the focus of your team. Different staff members could have different interpretations of the topics covered. Everyone is likely to process the information to their own personal skill level.  Make sure you confirm in their mind your intentions for the meeting. Still struggling to keep control of the team at your martial arts business? Get started with TIMA today to receive expert tips on how to streamline your processes.

What tips do you have to run a better staff meeting?