Benefits of Stand Up Meetings
People have nowhere to hide. You cannot slump at a desk or concentrate on your phone or laptop while others are speaking around you.
Stand up meetings encourage positive body language, direct eye contact, and therefore stronger communications.
Energy tends to be more focused as it is difficult for people to gaze out the window or get distracted when colleagues are in such close and direct proximity.
They are usually succinct and therefore short in duration.
Finally, stand-up meetings can be fun!.
Origins of Stand Up Meetings
Stand-up meetings are said to have their origins in the software development industry. This way of working is often described as “agile” for obvious reasons. Other words used to describe stand-up meetings are “huddles” or “scrums”.
The primary goal of stand-up meetings is to communicate. (If this seems obvious, consider that many meetings might be brainstorms or presentations or communications updates).
Daily Stand Up Meetings
Daily stand-up meetings usually take place first thing in the morning for a short time, perhaps 5-10 minutes. Those invited to the meeting stand in a circle, or in a semi-circle next to a wall.
They are a great way of ensuring every team member knows what is going on. A secondary benefit is in organisations where several stand-up meetings might be taking place, a representative from one group can pass on any key points to the next group. (For this reason, some companies stagger their daily stand-up meetings, perhaps starting 30 minutes apart to allow for flow of information from one group to the next.)
In this way, relevant information free-flows between people and groups rapidly, and without messages getting lost in translation.
Not everyone has to attend. It is more important that the stand-up meeting takes place at the same time and day regularly.
Why a Stand Up Meeting is Better than a Sit Down Meeting
Here are some pointers to help you decide if and when you could have a stand-up meeting :
They tend to be shorter than sit-down meetings.
They strengthen communications.
They strengthen teamwork.
They get the day off to a dynamic start if you hold one in the morning.
Issues or targets or goals can be identified with steps and activities identified and agreed by the group.
Use writing and planning tools such as our products to keep a record on the wall of today’s stand-up meeting. Use this for your next stand-up meeting to edit, update or track progress.
If you regularly hear “oh no, not another meeting” in your work environment, perhaps you should consider changing some or all to stand-up meetings.