Use one-on-one meetings to build a buzz with your team

Do you know what your team members are working on? Have you asked? Helen Moll, practice manager at East Side Animal Hospital in Evansville, Ind., holds 15-minute one-on-one "buzz" meetings with each team member once a month to stay up to date. During these meetings, she asks four questions:

1. What have you been working on this month?

2. What are your goals this month?

3. What are you planning to do differently?

4. How can I help?

"I log each response to help employees stay accountable," Moll says. "We also review any recommendations from their annual review and update the status of vacation and sick time and their personal pet care compliance."

At staff meetings Moll presents summaries of what everyone has accomplished and the things they're working on. This keeps the team's work transparent and helps promote cooperation among employees.

"I sell the benefit of these meetings to team members by explaining it's like an inventory of skills and accomplishments throughout the year," Moll says. "I log all of the information they provide and encourage them to reflect on it during their annual self-evaluations. The buzz meetings help us monitor performance monthly rather than annually."