Let’s pick up from the previous portion of Rob’s story as they work to implement new huddle meeting and communication structure in their company.
As we began to implement the Playbook we had to change and adapt our meeting structure and how we communicate within the company. Ray recommended we needed to have a regular cadence of communication to discuss and track progress to our Success Number.
We discussed frequency of cadence extensively and ultimately decided weekly is a good cadence to make sure communication and progress stay strong. We also agreed to re-evaluate in six months.
How do the huddles work? If you remember when we developed our Success Number each of the departments and teams determined what they needed to do in order to achieve the agreed Success Number. They developed their action plans and metrics to track progress. While some of these metrics are being tracked as frequently as daily or even hourly the complete roll up and Huddle meetings are happening on a weekly basis. We also agreed that all Huddle meetings should be limited to 30 minutes.
The cadence starts with the teams getting together to track progress and agree on results. At first, it was hard to limit the Huddle meeting to 30 minutes and cover the needed material. But as I visited the teams over the next couple of months I was impressed with the effectiveness of the meetings. The teams were engaged, progress was being made, the energy was high, and they were clearly having fun. Their TeamPlay’s were also effective at jump-starting progress and they were celebrating successes regularly.
The next level meeting is the department meetings. Here the results from the team meetings are rolled up to the department level. Discussion often revolved around metrics clarification, help needed to remove roadblocks and continue progress, review of action plan issues within the department, and agreement on issues needing elevation to the company level.
Top level is our company meeting where the leadership team reviews the health of the company. As the numbers are reviewed and Success Number progress is updated, we can clearly see the playing field and where we stand. We discuss issues, actions to resolve issues, and who will do what. I also give my perspective on the health of the company and our priorities. Everyone comes out of this meeting with a clear understanding of what they need to do.
After the company-wide meeting, the participants roll the results back to their departments and then down to the teams. They report on the results from the other meetings and discuss issues and direction. The following week the cadence starts over.
I (Rob) was apprehensive that this was too many meetings and that it would not work. At first, it was hard, meetings went too long, and it seemed like we were not making progress. But as time went on things began to smooth out and I started to see significant progress being made. The key was to stay positive, upbeat, and focus on the issues and what needed to happen to meet our Success Number. Ask a lot of thoughtful questions to engage people and get them to think. Give them the support they need to be successful and coach and encourage them along the way. Generate small wins and celebrate those wins. There is nothing like winning to motivate people. As people felt this support, they became more committed to achieving the Success Number and buy in to what we were doing gradually improved.
It’s not always smooth, but it’s working and it’s getting everyone much more focused on what only they can do and what they should be doing. I am really excited to see our results as we complete this first year and move into planning for next year.
