How To Prepare for Your First Meeting With a New Team

• Outline important topics to cover. …
• Prepare talking points. …
• Ease your new manager nerves. …
• Break the ice with your staff. …
• Make it an interactive experience. …
• Keep the meeting a manageable length. …
• Leave time for employee questions. …
• Be yourself and show your personality.

First team meeting as a new manager. Do these FIRST!

Benefits of preparing for your first staff meeting as a new manager

It’s crucial to prepare before your first staff meeting as a new manager because doing so offers the following advantages:

Builds credibility

Arriving at your first meeting prepared helps you build credibility. Employees frequently desire a manager who treats business matters seriously and makes effective use of their time. It’s crucial to have specific objectives in mind before any meetings you have with your staff. Your staff can frequently tell whether you’ve thought through the purpose of a meeting in advance.

Achieves goals

It is more likely that you will succeed in achieving your objectives if you prepare for your first meeting. This holds true for every meeting, not just the first one with your staff. For instance, you probably want to meet your team and establish rules during your first meeting. You can create documents or other materials outlining your rules and ask questions as you prepare.

Saves time

Getting ready for your first meeting allows you to plan how much time you will spend on each topic. Additionally, it makes sure you cover everything you want to in order to avoid holding additional meetings. You can conduct a shorter meeting and establish a productive workplace thanks to both of these advantages.

Why is a new manager’s first staff meeting important?

A manager and their staff establish a relationship during the initial meeting. A manager can take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about their staff members’ backgrounds, objectives, and ideal working conditions. Team members are introduced to a new manager at the same time and can learn more about their leadership style and personality. This is significant because the outcome of the meeting frequently affects how the two parties’ relationship will develop going forward.

Additionally, a manager can use this meeting to formally outline the principles they wish to follow and the methods they intend to use to uphold those principles throughout the workplace. Last but not least, the first staff meeting enables the manager and employees to get to know one another. Once both sides have introduced themselves, communication and, consequently, teamwork become easier.

How to prepare for your first staff meeting

The following actions can help you get ready for your first meeting with your new employees:

1. Set goals

The first step in getting ready for your first meeting is deciding what your objectives are, such as introducing yourself, getting to know your team, learning about ongoing projects, or creating new company policies. Determine the order in which you want to accomplish each of your specific goals by writing them down. Prior to the meeting, setting goals aids in creating a clear agenda for the remainder of the meeting.

2. Gather necessary materials

It may take some time to gather the necessary supplies and materials for your first meeting, so try to do this as soon as you can. Print out these pages well in advance of the meeting, for instance, if you intend to make changes to the employee handbook. Create this presentation in advance if you want to use a slideshow to conduct a more organized meeting. Address each of your objectives, determine the resources required to realize each objective, and begin gathering the resources as soon as possible.

3. Determine a time and place for the meeting

Find a time and location for the meeting that works for everyone by working with your new staff. It is preferable to plan a longer meeting than one that will not have enough time to cover everything on the agenda. Choose a video conferencing or teleconferencing tool and make sure every team member has access to it if you intend to conduct this meeting virtually.

4. Practice

It’s a good idea to practice introducing the subjects you want to discuss or the questions you want to ask, even if you plan for this to be an informal meeting. By practicing your speech, you may find other topics to discuss or a more effective sequence for your points to be made.

5. Arrive early

Arriving early enables you to address any issues with the meeting venue or software before the meeting starts. Additionally, showing up early shows that you respect your staff members’ time and enables you to speak with your new hires informally as they arrive.

Tips for new managers

The following advice can help you run your first staff meeting as a manager effectively:

Provide background information

Use the first meeting to introduce yourself to your staff. Think about describing your background—both personal and professional—how you joined the company and your goals for the future while you’re there. By demonstrating your experience and abilities, early presentation of your credentials promotes trust among your staff.

Learn as much as possible

You have the opportunity to learn more about the team and the business during your first meeting with your new teammates. Try asking questions designed to provoke deeper answers. Ask your staff, for instance, what they feel the business could do to improve, what they feel it does well, or what changes they would like to see made in the workplace. Ask follow-up questions or count the number of people who concur with each suggestion you receive.

Take notes

Remember to take notes about what you discover about your new team and company throughout the meeting. Taking notes proves to your staff that you value what they have to say, which is helpful not only when you want to review what you learned.

Use icebreakers

If you are having trouble striking up conversations with your new employees, think about using some icebreakers. Simple quizzes or games called icebreakers are meant to introduce people to one another in a friendly environment. Create a few icebreakers to use at your first meeting, and to encourage conversation, begin by responding to the questions yourself.

FAQ

How do you run your first team meeting as a new manager?

1. Come Prepared. The success of your first meeting with employees depends on preparation.
2. set an example. …
3. Help them get to know you personally and professionally. …
4. Plan questions ahead of time. …
5. Close Strong.

What should a manager say in first team meeting?

To accomplish this, try stating something along the lines of: “Since I’m the new person here, everyone in this room knows more than I do. You bring knowledge and experiences that I don’t. Since I am a sponge, I will be learning from each of you. There is absolutely no need to degrade yourself or accuse yourself of ignorance.

What should be discussed in first meeting?

Setting Expectations At this crucial point, you should begin “Establishing how you want your team to work, not just what you want them to achieve,” as HBR advises, during the discussion of expectations in your first team meeting. “Ask questions like: How can I best support the team? to establish expectations.

What should you cover in first team meeting?

• Icebreaker.
• How can I best support the team as a manager?
• What kind of team communication is most effective for us?
• Meeting cadence – When? Where? How often?
• Expectations (for you and me)
• Questions?