How will this module help me?
Identifies ten steps to help successfully conduct regular team meetings.
Provides answers to common questions and concerns about team meetings.
Outlines case reports describing how practices are successfully using team meetings.
Shares team meeting implementation tools for you to use in your practice.
What is a team meeting?
Team meetings bring all members of the practice, such as the physician, nurse, medical assistant (MA), and receptionist (you may have to put the phones on voicemail), together to analyze the way work is currently being done and take steps to improve efficiency. In effective team meetings, each team member is encouraged to share ideas to improve the practice's workflow.
Ten STEPS for effective team meetings
Identify the team.
Meet regularly and “on-the-clock.”
Agree on ground rules.
Set a consistent meeting agenda.
Rotate meeting roles.
Solve problems as a group.
Record action items, who is responsible, and due dates.
Practice good meeting skills.
Have some fun!
Celebrate your successes.
Step 1 Identify the team.
The composition of the team may vary based on the size of the practice or the setting where care is being provided. In one setting, the team might include two physicians and their MAs, nurses, and the clinic manager. In another setting, the team may be one physician, two nurses, and a receptionist who also handles the billing. Smaller practices may invite the lab or X-ray technicians to team meetings. In larger practices, other relevant staff members, such as social workers and pharmacists, may be included.
Step 2 Meet regularly and “on-the-clock.”
Establish a regular meeting date and time during the work day, or “on-the-clock”, as the message that team meetings are part of the paid work day is important. Many teams meet for one hour every two weeks. You may find that meeting first thing in the morning results in fewer distractions. When possible, the meeting should occur “on-the-clock” and away from the clinical area to minimize interruptions.
“Our care team meetings, where we talk about patient experience, health outcomes, and time spent on specific tasks, make the practice a more enjoyable place to work and has ultimately helped us recruit and retain staff.”
Beth Averbeck, MD, HealthPartners Medical Group, Minneapolis, MN
Step 3 Agree on ground rules.
To form a supportive and respectful environment for your team meeting, establish ground rules from the beginning. As a team, create your own set of ground rules to create buy-in on team meetings and strengthen teamwork. Signing a charter or statement of purpose can help the team connect with the ground rules and their commitment to the group.
Some suggestions for ground rules are listed below:
Quiz Ref IDStart on time, end on time: Come to the meeting on time and ready to work. End on time so that team members grow to trust their time commitments.
Be present: Leave devices behind. Don't check your phone or your laptop during the meeting unless doing so adds to the topic at hand.
Stay on topic: If the discussion wanders, the meeting chair or another team member can say, “Let's take that offline,” or “That sounds like an issue to put in the ‘parking lot' to talk about at another meeting.”
Focus on the issue, not the individual: The goal is to work together to improve the work, not to blame or incriminate individual people.
Step up or step back: Speak up if you've been quiet in the meeting; step back and let others speak if you've been speaking often. During their turn as meeting chair, team members may need some practice in drawing out quiet members. To encourage participation you may say, “We haven't heard from everyone—Samuel, what do you think?” Another technique is for the chair to announce that the team will hear from everyone going in a clock wise direction, ensuring that all members are heard in an orderly process.
Give thanks: Thank each other for contributing during the meeting and afterward.
Team meeting ground rules (41 KB)Use the ground rules outlined in this document for your practice's team meetings.
Step 4 Set a consistent meeting agenda.
Many teams use an agenda template to set a consistent agenda for each meeting.
Common standing items include:
Check-in.
Shout-out.
Check-back.
New business.
Education.
Debrief.
Post the meeting agenda ahead of time, either online or on a bulletin board. Allow all team members to write in or submit agenda items. Next to each agenda item, place the name of the person responsible for leading the discussion and the approximate time allotted. Assigning a time for each item will help the meeting stay on schedule. If there are many items on the agenda you may opt to prioritize the items at the beginning of the meeting.
Meeting agenda template (49 KB)You can use this template to create an agenda for your team meeting.
Step 5 Rotate meeting roles.
Assign a different team member to the roles of chair, timekeeper, and recorder for each meeting. During one meeting, the receptionist might fill the role of meeting chair, while the nurse manager records the minutes as recorder. At another meeting, the MA might lead the meeting and the physician records the minutes. This approach can help build team culture, promote collaboration, and develop leadership skills.
Step 6 Solve problems as a group.
Team meetings are a time for everyone to engage in problem-solving to make their collective work better, not a time for leadership to communicate new policies and procedures to staff.
Step 7 Record action items, who is responsible, and due dates.
Record minutes from each meeting on a standard form and post online or in an accessible place so team members can reference it in the future. Before concluding each meeting, identify action items, who is responsible, and due dates. This information should be captured on the standard form. At the next meeting, use the check-back to report on the status of each action item and continue to monitor progress.
Meeting minutes template (52 KB)Use the meeting minutes template to outline the discussions from your team meeting.
Step 8 Practice good meeting skills.
Good habits make meetings more productive. These include:
Staying on task.
Focusing lengthy discussions by identifying important, but off-topic, items as “parking lot” issues to get back to later during the meeting or to address at another time.
Avoiding side conversations.
Making a point to respond constructively rather than negatively.
Maintaining respect and understanding for others' points of view.
Encouraging equal participation so that no one dominates the discussion.
It is important to have fun at team meetings. Promoting the team's shared purpose, respect, and friendship improves team culture and employee engagement. A bit of fun (e.g., role-playing, games, or team-building exercises) can translate into serious improvements in reaching the mission of the group.
Step 10 Celebrate your successes.
Keep a running list of the team's accomplishments and periodically refer to it. Share stories about particularly meaningful patient interactions. Tell stories about inspiring patient encounters.
“During a team meeting, the physicians told one of our LPNs how much her pre-visit planning work helps them during patient visits. She realized how important the pre-visit planning process was to her team, and she quickly became the top performer.”
Katie Holley, MHA, System Business Development and Planning Consultant, Fairview Health Services, Minneapolis, MN
Quiz Ref IDTeam meetings can help your practice efficiently and effectively solve problems, develop stronger bonds between team members, and provide better patient care. The strategies and tactics presented in this module will support your efforts to implement and conduct successful team meetings.
on-the-clockon-the-clock:
Time during which the practice team members are compensated for their time, which may or may not be during regular clinic hours.