The Daily Huddle is a structured meeting with the goal of coordinating tasks and communicating information with the project team in a near-term scope. The meeting is usually brief, informal, but frequent – often daily. This technique is used for communicating and for the project team’s everyday meeting process to accomplish workers’ involvement.
Application
The daily huddle is a short, daily meeting to convey information updates, confirm or coordinate daily tasks, and to identify and resolve issues.
Due to the short target durations, meetings are often held as ‘stand-up’ meetings to ensure quick updates. During these meetings, key information such as safety concerns, important deliveries, or last-minute changes can be quickly shared with the team.
Rules for Great Daily Huddle
Best Practices
- Use a dedicated facilitator for an effective and productive meeting.
- Focus on the How, not the Why. Try to produce solutions-based discussions instead of status-based presentations.
- Engage everyone who attends.
Process
To effectively conduct the meeting, encourage everyone to attend the daily huddle. Make this activity a daily practice to instill a sense of commitment among all employees. Use ice-breaking strategies by beginning the discussion with good news that brings a positive vibe, or a light topic that allows everyone to have a good laugh. Then you can continue with topics related to safety, project progress, deliveries, inventories etc.
Do
- Keep it short and solution-oriented.
- Stick to the agenda.
- Start on time and end on time.
- Ask questions that will encourage your employees to be proactive.
- Make sure participants aren’t interrupting each other.
Don’t
- Forget that the details matter.
- Use daily huddles as a venue to scold employees.
- Try to use daily huddles for problem-solving, which requires discussion and a thorough review of all options. If problems are brought up, quickly determine a different time and place to dive into those topics further.
Business Drivers
- Improve the performance and engagement of employees.
- Improve internal communication among team members to address issues on a regular basis.
Benefits
- Keeps the team connected and maintains healthy team dynamics.
- Streamlines communication to ensure messages are easily understood.
- Provides an open exchange of thoughts.
- Reduces interruptions and rework.
Complementary Methods
- Onboarding
- Last Planner System® (LPS)
- Visual Management
Resources
- Book: Beyond the Morning Huddle: HR Management for a Successful Dental Practice, by Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca