Live from CVC! Q&A: How long should veterinary team meetings last?
Speaker says quick and dirty is the way to go when it comes to veterinary team roundups.
Q: Our team members never show up on time to our team meetings and everyone seems bored to tears. How long should these meetings last?
“I don’t believe in hour-long meetings,” Bash Halow, CVPM, LVT, told attendees in a session on team training at CVC Kansas City.
Halow is a firm believer in quick, problem-focused roundups—he suggests picking two or three topics and sticking to those items only. He says team members like being productive and getting things done—if a meeting goes on and on you’re going to lose everyone’s attention and motivation.
So what is the magic time limit? Halow says 20 minutes—definitely no more than 30 minutes. After a half hour everyone starts getting restless. He also gave another piece of advice to help save your meeting.
“If they can read it, they don’t need it,” Halow says.
He says there’s nothing worse than a team leader reading a handout word-for-word. Also, if the meeting agenda is looking a little scarce, Halow says to go ahead and skip the weekly gathering. He says it's better to meet when there are real issues to discuss.
Find out if your veterinary team meetings are a snoozefest and take this quiz.
