By Susan Lowman-Thomas, Human Resource Officer
Idaho Division of Veterans Services
December 16, 2007
Agenda - Always have a set agenda that folks get in advance. Make sure people know what will be discussed and how important their involvement is.
Benefits – Show people how they’ll benefit from attending the session…then make sure they do.
Contest – Let competition spice up the meeting. Have a contest related to the topic (guess the number of call-ins last week). Give a prize.
Distinctive – Make the meeting different from others, by making sure it isn’t tedious, uncomfortable, or irrelevant to those attending.
Energized – Create a “buzz” when folks walk in by playing peppy music and having freshly brewed, good coffee.
Fun – Give people a reason to come back by making the meeting fun. Use games like Tic Tac Toe, Bingo, pick-up-sticks to get folks involved.
Gifts – Present someone a gift in the meeting for special things done for the group. It can be as simple as a candy bar, a bookmark, or a greeting card.
Hands-on – Involvement increases exponentially when the hands are moving. Use drawings, diagrams, modeling clay or other tools to help turn ideas into actions.
Intrigue – Create a sense of anticipation when telling folks about an upcoming meeting. Send out notices that build suspense. (i.e., “What unit manager has had the lowest turnover for three consecutive quarters? Find out on Tuesday at 10:00!”)
Jokes – Use comedy (not mean or disrespectful, of course) to lighten a meeting. Riddles are great for involving folks.
Kit – Build and maintain a meeting “kit” of supplies (markers, large paper for the wall, Post-its, scratch pads, small toys). Always be ready for a fun session.
Legos – Toys like Legos can be used in lots of ways to focus people, strengthen teams, harness creativity, or tame nervous energy. Go in your kids’ rooms for ideas.
Memories – Create a memory for each person attending. Make your greeting and introduction of each individual really special. Praise each person for a unique contribution he/she has made.
Nice– Be nice to every single person throughout every single meeting. Even if they are getting paid to attend, they still deserve your best treatment.
Opportunity – Provide opportunities for growth at all your meetings. Give folks a chance to show how they can solve problems.
Punctuality – Always, always start and end on time. The meter’s really running when folks are in a meeting. Don’t spend more than you have to.
Quick – Make your meeting only as long as it absolutely has to be. Stand-up or walk around meetings are super, as they invite brief statements rather than long diatribes.
Rewards – Give each person an intellectual or emotional reward for attending your meeting. A piece of chocolate is also a good reward!
Sales – Remember to use a sales strategy for a meeting. Be sure to answer each person’s question of “What’s in it for me?” Make the benefits of the meeting very clear (“Today’s session should give us at least one new tool for responding effectively to the concerns of this resident’s family.”)
Teach – Employees really like jobs that help them learn. Try to teach something new in each meeting.
Understand – Remember that, when folks are sitting in a meeting, they are not getting their other work done. Understand that they may be feeling pressure to get out of the meeting and “back to work.”
Variety – Shoot for varied locations, leaders, lengths, strategies, and follow-ups for your meetings. Avoid getting into a trap of “the same ole’ thing.”
Web-based – Web-based sessions joining folks in different locations (on their computers and phones) are incredibly effective and efficient. Other meetings can be energized by hooking an on-line computer to a projector and using applicable websites during the meeting.
X-ray – Dig deeper than the surface when exploring issues in a meeting. Use your x-ray vision to identify underlining causes and possible solutions.
Yearning – Create a sense of yearning by making your meetings truly remarkable. Make people WANT to come to them because they’re brief, fun, and productive.
Zippy – Make your meeting zippy, marked by a fast-paced agenda and high energy. Get yourself in the mind-set with peppy music and a commitment to making someone’s day very special
This summer 32 participants, including Cabinet Secretaries and other top executives in state government, attended the four and one-half day “Governor’s Executive Development Program for State Officials,” on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The program was co-hosted by the William S. Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University and the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma, in cooperation with the Oklahoma Office of Personnel Management.The program was designed around five executive leadership competencies identified by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, including leading change, leading people, results driven, business acumen, and building coalitions and communications.
The best way to fight illiteracy is to make sure children learn to read and comprehend well while they are children. The results can be measured, but the value of time spent tutoring a child is immeasurable.
Since 1998, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) employees have offered tutorial assistance to identified students in metropolitan Oklahoma City schools. The State of Oklahoma allows one-hour of paid leave per week to OPM employees to volunteer time in schools to work one-on-one with students to help improve their reading and math skills. Employees with less time to give, but wanting to participate, can serve as subject matter speakers as the need arises.
For more details about this topic, visit the Members' Only Area.
A new form of mentoring is evolving to fit high-tech and globally competitive firms.
No longer tailored to nurturing an organization’s status quo, mentoring is becoming a process whereby the mentor and mentee work together to discover and develop the mentee’s hidden abilities. The mentor serves as an effective tutor, counselor, confidant, and friend, who enables the mentee to sharpen skills and hone his or her understanding of complex problems.
Launching an effective mentoring program requires these four steps:
For more details about this topic, visit the Members' Only Area.
The Montana Department of Administration, State Personnel Division conducted a Succession Planning Survey during the period January 18, 2006 through February 17, 2006. The survey was sent to active employees who had twenty-five years of service or were 60 years of age or older. The survey was sent to 2,268 employees or 19% of the current regular workforce. One thousand, four hundred and fifty-three employees responded to the survey. This represents a 64% response rate, which is very high and indicative of the interest in this subject.
Download a short version of this report as a Word document
Download a short version of this report as a .PDF document
The Purpose of the Survey
The Department of Administration is currently looking at programs and services that will assist agencies in managing its aging workforce. Specifically, we are focusing on changes in the workforce related to retirement. Our objectives for conducting this survey are to gather information on potential retiree-eligible employees’ views of retirement, gather information to be used for future legislative or policy proposals, and to prepare for demographic changes in the State’s workforce.
The State of Montana faces a large bubble of the employee population who could retire at any time. It is estimated that almost two-thirds of the current employee population will be eligible for full or reduced retirement benefits in the next 5 years. For the past three years, the annual retirement rate has averaged 2.5% of the workforce.
The survey attempted to elicit information about two factors: 1) What factors would influence employees to consider retirement and 2) What factors would encourage retirement eligible employees to continue working.
For the complete version of this planning survey and its results, visit the Members Only Area. In this area, you will find
Challenged? Frustrated? Need a resource? If you are a NAGTAD member, send an email to go2nagtad@cableone.net and describe specifically what resource you need. The Association’s Executive Director will blast an email with your request to the membership and your request will be posted on the website. One of the greatest benefits of your NAGTAD membership is the opportunity to network and share resources!
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