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Good Evening.
I'm facing a scheduling difficulty with my staff meetings.

Supervising 11 directs, I have four that do not work M-> F. They are in 3 days a week. Has anyone run into this with their weekly staff meetings. Do I alternate days so as to not always miss the same person, set up an additional meeting with the directs not in on that day, have it be thier responsibility to review the meeting notes and present questions, or ???

Thanks

jhack's picture

Couldn't they join via teleconference?

John

ehyde111's picture

Teleconference? Yes, they could join. I'm not sure that requiring time in the middle of the day (staff meetings are 1215 PM for an hour) from someone on a scheduled day off is the right thing to do.

Chris

rthibode's picture

Hi Christopher,

I think we need more details to be able to help out. Are you saying there isn't a day of the week when all your employees are present? If not, is it the nature of your workplace that demands this, or are the 3-day-a-week workers on some sort of flex time? Can you change which days they work?

In any case, I think the preferred option is to find a way to get everyone together once a week. Barring that, I think alternating days might be the best of the options you presented. Catching up by reading notes doesn't allow for any team building and doesn't allow absent people to contribute ideas to the discussions as they occur.

Your idea of setting up a separate meeting for all four directs who aren't working on the regular meeting day confuses me -- if there is one day that your part-timers are all there, then why not move the regular meeting to that day?

ehyde111's picture

The four directs are part-time, three days a week. We keep relatively the same # hours / day, so having everyone there on one day would heavily weight that day and have one come up short. Because of the nature of the business, we cannot realistically shift work from one day to the next.

Monday Direct #1 and #3 are there
Tuesday, #2 and #4
Wednesday, #2 and #3
Thursday, #1, #3, and #4
Friday, #2 and #4

Right now, staff meetings are on Thursdays. If that remains, do I need to review the items covered in the meeting with direct #2 individually?

juliahhavener's picture
Licensee Badge

Right now you are effectively excluding that employee. If other arrangements can't be made, I think you must, at the least, fill them in on what went on.

Is there a possibility of paying that person for attendance by phone? We've done this in the past when major scheduling issues arise for this type of meeting. I don't mind paying an hour of overtime if I have it available to me so that I don't have to take another hour of time to bring them up to speed and get their input on a topic already covered and done.

ehyde111's picture

Julia,
That's a reasonable expenditure on my part. I don't mind covering the hour of time. Is it reasonable to expect that of an employee on their day off? That's what I'm struggling with. The staff meeting is at 12:15PM, and that puts a damper on any plans that exist.
-Chris

juliahhavener's picture
Licensee Badge

You can always ask. If that time is planned for already, then you can see what can be done. Perhaps not every week, but they can go every other week. The worst that happens is you're back where you started with giving them an update. You might be able to move the meet day on occassion so that one of the others calls in.

My peers at the time were more than happy to call in for an hour in order to be involved in the staff meeting and decision making/information exchange that goes on then.

Then again, I could be wrong. I just don't see any harm at this point in asking them.

ehyde111's picture

Certainly, you're right, no harm in asking. I'll give it a go and let everyone know how it goes.
Thanks

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

Chris-

Have you asked the person who is off that day what might work for them? Please don't think I'm suddenly becoming an anarchist or democratic boss, but it sure wouldn't hurt.

I wouldn't move the day around. I'd figure out some way to get the information to the missing member. Ask one of your team to take notes, and fill them in. Choose your #2, if you have one.

Mark