In an age of digital communications, PR professionals may be inclined to forget traditional meeting formats for sexier cyber alternatives; however, organizations across all
industries are employing the town hall concept to host successful face-to-face meetings. Consider Welch's: The relatively small company has a big brand to maintain, and
its executives use town hall meetings as an opportunity to engage employees, share business information, answer questions and foster an open communications environment.
To pull off a town hall meeting, consider Heather Perkins', Welch's assistant manager of corporate communications, proven best practices:
*Format it for success. Town hall meetings should have a consistent format at their base, but communicators should always be ready and willing to evolve their strategy
to meet the organization's changing business needs. Welch's executives host meetings twice a year to bring together their corporate and R&D employees, and the meetings follow
a standard schedule: Introduction, break-out sessions, general session and Q&A session.
*Executive involvement is essential. As Perkins notes, employees want to hear from senior execs, especially when they don't have access to them on a daily basis. As
communicators, it's your job to involve senior managers in meeting planning sessions, and to coach them on how to tell the company's "story." These informal town hall meetings are
perfect opportunities to humanize top-level executives who often seem out-of-reach to employees.
*Content is king. A town hall meeting is not your average boardroom snooze fest. They should be a dynamic, engaging and fun platform for fueling interactivity, and for
giving employees the low-down on the company's current goings-on. Thus, when planning the meeting, communications practitioners should take a story-telling approach to delivering
messages. Those messages, though, must be timely, strategic and tangible. Perkins offers these examples for strong meeting content:
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"The story:" The state of the business in terms of the industry, financial measures and outlook.
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Tangible priorities: Including customers, new products/services, and sales and marketing strategies.
*Pacing is everything. What makes everyone hate meetings so much? One word: boredom. Making a meeting stimulating isn't necessarily easy, but it is essential if you
want it to have any impact - especially when the goal is employee engagement. Thus, the pace of the meeting must be dynamic, and there must be a high level of interaction.
Because of the world's obsession with digital communications, PR professionals may be inclined to forget traditional meeting formats for sexier cyber alternatives. One person
should never be talking "at" the audience; the number of speakers, as well as the time they are given to speak, should be limited. Also, when discussing financials, all numbers
should be put into a context that is relevant to the audience. Town hall meetings are not budget planning sessions; spend too much time stuck on numbers, and your pace will come
to a grinding halt.
Consider these methods for maintaining a lively pace:
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Balance "speeches" with breakout sessions in which employees can discuss what they heard with one another.
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Set aside time for feedback. If people feel uncomfortable shouting out commentary, provide note cards so they can write their opinions down anonymously. Then read the
feedback aloud and generate a discussion.
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Rehearse the content, but be flexible. Sticking to a predetermined program will make the pace seem stilted. If an interesting point arises and gets employees talking,
don't rush through it just to keep on schedule.
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Incorporate games and prizes into the mix.
*The tone will make you or break you. Town hall meetings should be built on a fun, relaxed environment. The tone of all discussions should be conversational. When
selecting senior managers to present to the group, try to single out the "class clowns;" after all, some people are naturally more engaging than others, and it will behoove you to
choose speakers who can get an audiences laughing even if the subject matter is dry.
*Measure the outcomes. After the town hall meeting, send out a survey to find out what worked and what didn't. These suggestions should be considered when planning
future meetings.
CONTACT:
Heather Perkins, [email protected]