Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 1 Effective Safety Meetings ©

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 2 Presented by Dr. Brian Shmaefsky Shmaefsky Consulting & Professor of Biology Kingwood College

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 3 What is a meeting? A purposeful gathering of people A goal oriented work session A productive use of communal time A cooperative group effort

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 4 What is a safety meeting? A time to educate all parties about safety issues A time to discuss pertinent safety concerns A time for two-way communication A time to resolve problem issues A time to instill a safety ethic

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 5 What a safety meeting is not! A waste of everybody’s time An open time for other than safety discussions A gripe session about working conditions A formality because it is required A finger-pointing session An arena to embarrass or shame people A safety statistics session

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 6 Meetings 101 Meetings require a: – Structure – Plan – Goal – Strategy Meeting members have roles: – Managers – Contributors – Consumers

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 7 Meetings Structure – Organized – Follows an agenda – Is rehearsed Plan – Have a target audience – Have a philosophy or mission Goals – Has delineated objectives for that meeting – Has measurable outcomes Strategy – Has a designated leader – Follows the structure – Sticks to the plan – Meets the goals

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 8 Meetings Roles Manager – Safety officer Plans meeting Organizes meeting Sets goal of meeting Contributor – Management or employee reps Identifies issues Sets goal of meeting Consumer – Management and employees Object of goals Beneficiary of goals

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 9 Meeting TQM TQM – Total Quality Management – Designing a flexible format into meetings that meet the current and emerging goals of the organization Define the rules of the meeting Define goals and needs of the organization Delineate immediate goals of each meeting Define individual and team roles of members Define committee structures (purposes & deadlines) Evaluate measurable outcomes and success of meeting Solicit feedback to improve future meetings

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 10 Practical elements of a meeting  Effective meeting checklist Guidelines or Order Agenda (topics) Meeting manager Recorder Documentation Follow-up

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 11 Guidelines or Order Rules for running the meeting – Keep control over the rules and plan – Maintain integrity of the goals and strategy – Limit the types of discussions to those related to the goals of the meeting – Maintain an order of speaking – Provide a set format for discussion and arguments (Guidelines and rules must be effective & be followed)

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 12 Agenda Hand it out a reasonable time before meeting Have start and stop times Provide all topics and points of discussion Stick to the agenda Only change agenda with approval mechanism (A good agenda provides direction and meets the group’s goals)

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 13 Meeting manager Have a designated meeting manager – Must have authority over other members – Duties may be distributed between two people – There must be defined roles for manager(s) Keeps a list of alternates that cannot be argued Keeps meeting on agenda Keeps track of guidelines Makes decisions Manages members

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 14 Recorder A designated person Takes accurate notes Keeps notes that follow agenda format Keeps track of all conversation at meeting Collects and archives documentation Keeps track of time for discussions Prepares & distributes timely draft copies for review Prepares final copy after getting input from review

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 15 Documentation Distribute in advance any documents discussed in a meeting Use printed charts, graphs, & tables for information to members Hand out hard copies of audiovisual presentations for members and records Handle documents with any needed confidentiality

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 16 Follow-up Review how the guidelines, rules, and agenda were adhered to for each meeting Evaluate whether the guidelines,rules, and agenda were effective for each meeting Solicit member response for their perceptions of each meeting: – Did the meeting flow smoothly? – Did the meeting meet the intended goals? – Was the meeting completed on time?

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 17 Meeting Dos & Don’ts

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 18 Dos Keep the meeting time and location convenient for all members Keep the meeting time to less than 2 hours Hand out agenda and documents at least one week in advance Stay on agenda and avoid diversions Have adequate space for seating and presentations Monitor the meeting to stay on agenda and on time Solicit input from all members Clean up meeting room so others can use it later

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 19 Don’ts Have committees run by more than 5 lead people Wait for late members Use meetings “just to meet” or maintain status quo Allow members to speak off agenda or ramble on about a topic Let more than one speaker talk at a time Assign too much committee work after one meeting Run past the designated stop time of the meeting

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 20 Effective safety meeting features Is rehearsed and reviewed Has an introduction given a stated goal Solicits orderly audience responses Uses real cases or statistics Does not place blame or intimidate Leaves time for questions and answers Allows room for critique to evaluate effectiveness

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 21 A point to remember People learn best by interacting with information: – Through discussion – Through hands-on experience People remember: – 20% of what they hear – 30% of what they see – 50% of what the hear & see – 80% of what they hear, see, & experience

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 22 Another point to remember People learn best when safety meetings: – Are upbeat – Are organized – State accurate information – Provide valuable information – Give ample opportunities for people to absorb the information and relate it to their jobs or lives

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 23 Dr. S’ Safety & Meetings Organization Background Lead production chemist in chemical industry Workforce trainer – Biotechnology & Industrial Hygiene University department head & college administrator Professional organization chair NGO chair Civic organization chair Political action group lobbyist – environmental issues Journalist – did stories on a variety of safety issues Given over 100 professional presentations

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 24 The End A good meeting should not leave you dog tired from stress!