If you want to re-evaluate how you manage team updates, here are 6 best practices to help you handle them with ease and transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bring in weekly updates<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nOne of the first steps you can take is to introduce weekly status updates. In case you don\u2019t convene a team meeting every week, you might be saying, \u201cbut wait, that\u2019s even more meetings; it\u2019s only going to be worse!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, it won\u2019t. Team status updates can be a brief affair. If everyone sticks to the plan and team members each have no more than a minute or two of talking, they can be highly efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, if you organize meetings at a slower pace, the agenda for each meeting will be much more significant. As time passes, all kinds of developments will take place, and you\u2019ll have to cram all of that into a single meeting every few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, if you organize a meeting every day or every few days, you simply waste precious hours. Weekly team status updates are frequent enough to cover everything without sacrificing productivity or time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduce standup meetings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe meeting\u2019s environment can have a considerable impact on their dynamic. When you have to wait for everyone to get seated at a large table, fetch their coffee, and bring out their notes, you just bleed productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A great solution to this is to switch to standup meetings. First, they\u2019re much easier to organize \u2013 you can just find a meeting lobby instead of looking for an office to house the whole team. Second, team status reports will be significantly shorter with everyone standing. No one likes to stand in place for a long time, while you can get pretty comfy in those huge chairs in the meeting room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This advice can be used in conjunction with the previous. You can turn weekly team status check-ins into standing meetings and keep them even shorter. Alternatively, you can mix in daily standup meetings with your regular, seated ones. That way, daily standup meetings can be used for brief chats between teammates, while non-standup ones are reserved for broader discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By switching to standup meetings, you save on both time and logistics. It probably isn\u2019t bad for your glutes either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not everything has to be a team meeting<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"Not](\"https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/not-everything-has-to-be-a-team-meeting.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNow is the time to quote another often-used phrase \u2013 \u201cthis could\u2019ve been an email\u201d. This rings true in many cases, as not all team updates or discussions have to be shared through a meeting<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFirst of all, there\u2019s the email mentioned above. Team members can be asked to email their progress or attendance report, while leaders can share essential developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, email isn\u2019t the only solution here. Pretty much every self-respecting company now uses online collaboration or instant messaging platforms<\/a>. Platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Brosix give you a lot of different channels for communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBrosix<\/a> is packed with features that let your team share updates quickly and effectively, without convening a meeting. Brosix\u2019s broadcast messaging tool<\/a> is tailor-made precisely for this task.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWith it, you can communicate new information or daily updates without interrupting any work processes. A team leader can broadcast<\/a> a public message to his team through the broadcast tool notifying everyone of new developments in the current marketing campaign. That way, everyone will be notified while the message won\u2019t get accidentally looked over or lost in the group chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOn top of that, Brosix also supports practically all other channels of communication if you prefer sharing updates via audio or video.<\/p>\n\n\n
[highlight_block title=”These team chat apps can help cut down on meetings.” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/team-chat-apps\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alternatively, everyone can just hop on the Brosix app, join the group chat<\/a> and share their weekly update. Besides organizing a meeting chat, you can also use audio or video calls for team status chack-ins. They\u2019re perfect for sharing all news and essential info without the hassle of planning a full-on meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRegularly hold team status update meetings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"Regularly](\"https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/team-status-update-meetings.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhichever form or frequency of team check-ins you decide on, make sure you stick to it. It\u2019s all too easy to skip one or two meetings because something came up. This then turns into a habit and after a while, no one takes these team events seriously and team attendance suffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employees disregarding meetings and not treating them as necessary is a real risk. They might then skimp on their reports, not pay attention, or just sleep through them.<\/p>\n\n\n
[highlight_block title=”Check out the best business communication platforms around.” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/communication-platform\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To avoid this, keep status updates and weekly meetings regular, and make them mandatory for team members. This isn\u2019t just for authority\u2019s sake \u2013 if everyone takes team updates seriously, they\u2019ll be more productive<\/a> and shorter as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMake sure to showcase to team members why status updates are important and how they contribute to overall productivity. By holding efficient and regular updates, you\u2019ll cut down on other meetings and everyone will benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hold informal team events<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThings like weekly lunches, collective breaks, and Friday drinks are great opportunities to feel your team\u2019s pulse. Of course, these events shouldn\u2019t be all about work, that defeats the point. However, since they usually happen during work time and between colleagues, they often segway into work talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During these gatherings, you can see what team members think and how they\u2019re doing with their work. While unstructured, this feedback can be beneficial, as people won\u2019t be constricted by the formality of traditional status updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Informal events also have the desired side-effect of making team members more relaxed and at ease. Sprinkle in just a few social events at work, and you\u2019ll see everyone feeling better and more productive. Just remember not to make them all about the job \u2013 leave room for fun too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Provide feedback on status updates<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nLastly, team leaders should remember to provide direct and helpful feedback on status updates provided by employees. If you\u2019re in a leadership position, make sure to go over and actively listen to what everyone says. When the leadership doesn\u2019t give significance to a team\u2019s meeting, why would regular employees?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After receiving constructive feedback, people will know that you\u2019ve actually paid attention. They will feel heard and appreciated and put in extra effort to do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, giving feedback will increase the quality of status updates and other meetings and showcase their importance. Even if there\u2019s nothing special to be said, a short confirmation or even just \u201cthanks for the update\u201d can go a long way. In a virtual setting, emojis alone can do the trick<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHolding a Good Team Check-In: The Checklist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nTo summarize, here\u2019s a team update checklist to consult when planning a reorganization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Keep them short<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hold them weekly<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Make them regular and mandatory<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mix them with informal events<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Introduce standup team update meetings<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Provide feedback when possible<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Don\u2019t turn everything into a team meeting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Why Are Team Status Updates Challenging?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s get into the most common challenges you might face if you don\u2019t optimize how you hold team meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They last <\/strong>too <\/strong>long<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nOne of the biggest roadblocks team members face with updates or meetings, in general, is their length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humans seem to have an uncanny ability to make even the simplest, straightforward meeting into a two-hour affair. This wouldn\u2019t be such a problem if this time were spent wisely. However, these large meetings often end up re-enacting one of two scenarios. In the first scenario, the team updates meeting consists of people simply sharing their status and progress. Here, only one person is actively talking, whereas others passively wait their turn and go back to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second scenario, team members quickly derail the meeting\u2019s agenda. What was supposed to be a meeting addressing three bullet points, turns into a lengthy discussion and all semblance of order is lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Either way, valuable time is wasted and attendees often switch off and become bored after a while. To avoid these common pitfalls a better organization is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They <\/strong>affect <\/strong>productivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nBoth team leaders<\/a> and members surely know how fatal a poorly timed and delivered meeting can be for productivity. This, of course, is directly related to the sheer amount of time we often spend in these meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe longer you\u2019re held up in collective video calls, weekly updates, or 1:1 briefs, the less time you have to actually do your job. This then impacts your company\u2019s profits and growth. The term \u201ctime is money\u201d might be overused, but it certainly applies here.<\/p>\n\n\n
[highlight_block title=”Get productivity back on track with these apps.” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/productivity-apps\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, the content of the meetings themselves can stifle the creative process<\/a>. If you feel like you\u2019re attending the same meeting day after day, where nothing of particular importance is said, it definitely won\u2019t do wonders for your motivation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThey <\/strong>bring down<\/strong> team morale<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe length of team member meetings and their effect on productivity can also bring down team morale. Many meeting attendees come to hate weekly updates and other gatherings because these meetings make it much harder to manage work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have a project to finish, a design to wrap up, or emails to send, meetings always seem to come at the worst possible moment. You then have to drop what you\u2019re working on, hop on the group call or walk to the meeting room and waste time better spent working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially if meetings become tedious or inefficient, team members will start dreading them. These meetings will create a sense of needless stress and prompt employees to switch off during team status updates, just willing them to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere you have it. Hopefully, we\u2019ve covered all the common pitfalls of organizing team updates and have learned how to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to reach milestones faster, have a high-performing team, and encourage employees to do their best work, you might need to change your current project updates dynamics. Don\u2019t be disheartened if you don\u2019t see improvements right away. Everything takes time, especially when switching up a core company dynamic, such as team status updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another thing to keep in mind is that perhaps some of the advice we\u2019ve given here won\u2019t suit every company or team. A data scientist department functions very differently from the social media marketing team. Still, a lot of these team update practices are general enough to be applied in different contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting\u2019s environment can have a considerable impact on their dynamic. When you have to wait for everyone to get seated at a large table, fetch their coffee, and bring out their notes, you just bleed productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A great solution to this is to switch to standup meetings. First, they\u2019re much easier to organize \u2013 you can just find a meeting lobby instead of looking for an office to house the whole team. Second, team status reports will be significantly shorter with everyone standing. No one likes to stand in place for a long time, while you can get pretty comfy in those huge chairs in the meeting room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This advice can be used in conjunction with the previous. You can turn weekly team status check-ins into standing meetings and keep them even shorter. Alternatively, you can mix in daily standup meetings with your regular, seated ones. That way, daily standup meetings can be used for brief chats between teammates, while non-standup ones are reserved for broader discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By switching to standup meetings, you save on both time and logistics. It probably isn\u2019t bad for your glutes either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not everything has to be a team meeting<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNow is the time to quote another often-used phrase \u2013 \u201cthis could\u2019ve been an email\u201d. This rings true in many cases, as not all team updates or discussions have to be shared through a meeting<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFirst of all, there\u2019s the email mentioned above. Team members can be asked to email their progress or attendance report, while leaders can share essential developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, email isn\u2019t the only solution here. Pretty much every self-respecting company now uses online collaboration or instant messaging platforms<\/a>. Platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Brosix give you a lot of different channels for communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBrosix<\/a> is packed with features that let your team share updates quickly and effectively, without convening a meeting. Brosix\u2019s broadcast messaging tool<\/a> is tailor-made precisely for this task.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWith it, you can communicate new information or daily updates without interrupting any work processes. A team leader can broadcast<\/a> a public message to his team through the broadcast tool notifying everyone of new developments in the current marketing campaign. That way, everyone will be notified while the message won\u2019t get accidentally looked over or lost in the group chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOn top of that, Brosix also supports practically all other channels of communication if you prefer sharing updates via audio or video.<\/p>\n\n\n
[highlight_block title=”These team chat apps can help cut down on meetings.” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/team-chat-apps\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alternatively, everyone can just hop on the Brosix app, join the group chat<\/a> and share their weekly update. Besides organizing a meeting chat, you can also use audio or video calls for team status chack-ins. They\u2019re perfect for sharing all news and essential info without the hassle of planning a full-on meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRegularly hold team status update meetings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhichever form or frequency of team check-ins you decide on, make sure you stick to it. It\u2019s all too easy to skip one or two meetings because something came up. This then turns into a habit and after a while, no one takes these team events seriously and team attendance suffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employees disregarding meetings and not treating them as necessary is a real risk. They might then skimp on their reports, not pay attention, or just sleep through them.<\/p>\n\n\n
[highlight_block title=”Check out the best business communication platforms around.” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/communication-platform\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To avoid this, keep status updates and weekly meetings regular, and make them mandatory for team members. This isn\u2019t just for authority\u2019s sake \u2013 if everyone takes team updates seriously, they\u2019ll be more productive<\/a> and shorter as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMake sure to showcase to team members why status updates are important and how they contribute to overall productivity. By holding efficient and regular updates, you\u2019ll cut down on other meetings and everyone will benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hold informal team events<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThings like weekly lunches, collective breaks, and Friday drinks are great opportunities to feel your team\u2019s pulse. Of course, these events shouldn\u2019t be all about work, that defeats the point. However, since they usually happen during work time and between colleagues, they often segway into work talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During these gatherings, you can see what team members think and how they\u2019re doing with their work. While unstructured, this feedback can be beneficial, as people won\u2019t be constricted by the formality of traditional status updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Informal events also have the desired side-effect of making team members more relaxed and at ease. Sprinkle in just a few social events at work, and you\u2019ll see everyone feeling better and more productive. Just remember not to make them all about the job \u2013 leave room for fun too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Provide feedback on status updates<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nLastly, team leaders should remember to provide direct and helpful feedback on status updates provided by employees. If you\u2019re in a leadership position, make sure to go over and actively listen to what everyone says. When the leadership doesn\u2019t give significance to a team\u2019s meeting, why would regular employees?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After receiving constructive feedback, people will know that you\u2019ve actually paid attention. They will feel heard and appreciated and put in extra effort to do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, giving feedback will increase the quality of status updates and other meetings and showcase their importance. Even if there\u2019s nothing special to be said, a short confirmation or even just \u201cthanks for the update\u201d can go a long way. In a virtual setting, emojis alone can do the trick<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHolding a Good Team Check-In: The Checklist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nTo summarize, here\u2019s a team update checklist to consult when planning a reorganization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Keep them short<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hold them weekly<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Make them regular and mandatory<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mix them with informal events<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Introduce standup team update meetings<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Provide feedback when possible<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Don\u2019t turn everything into a team meeting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Why Are Team Status Updates Challenging?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s get into the most common challenges you might face if you don\u2019t optimize how you hold team meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They last <\/strong>too <\/strong>long<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nOne of the biggest roadblocks team members face with updates or meetings, in general, is their length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humans seem to have an uncanny ability to make even the simplest, straightforward meeting into a two-hour affair. This wouldn\u2019t be such a problem if this time were spent wisely. However, these large meetings often end up re-enacting one of two scenarios. In the first scenario, the team updates meeting consists of people simply sharing their status and progress. Here, only one person is actively talking, whereas others passively wait their turn and go back to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second scenario, team members quickly derail the meeting\u2019s agenda. What was supposed to be a meeting addressing three bullet points, turns into a lengthy discussion and all semblance of order is lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Either way, valuable time is wasted and attendees often switch off and become bored after a while. To avoid these common pitfalls a better organization is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They <\/strong>affect <\/strong>productivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nBoth team leaders<\/a> and members surely know how fatal a poorly timed and delivered meeting can be for productivity. This, of course, is directly related to the sheer amount of time we often spend in these meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe longer you\u2019re held up in collective video calls, weekly updates, or 1:1 briefs, the less time you have to actually do your job. This then impacts your company\u2019s profits and growth. The term \u201ctime is money\u201d might be overused, but it certainly applies here.<\/p>\n\n\n
[highlight_block title=”Get productivity back on track with these apps.” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/productivity-apps\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, the content of the meetings themselves can stifle the creative process<\/a>. If you feel like you\u2019re attending the same meeting day after day, where nothing of particular importance is said, it definitely won\u2019t do wonders for your motivation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThey <\/strong>bring down<\/strong> team morale<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe length of team member meetings and their effect on productivity can also bring down team morale. Many meeting attendees come to hate weekly updates and other gatherings because these meetings make it much harder to manage work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have a project to finish, a design to wrap up, or emails to send, meetings always seem to come at the worst possible moment. You then have to drop what you\u2019re working on, hop on the group call or walk to the meeting room and waste time better spent working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially if meetings become tedious or inefficient, team members will start dreading them. These meetings will create a sense of needless stress and prompt employees to switch off during team status updates, just willing them to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere you have it. Hopefully, we\u2019ve covered all the common pitfalls of organizing team updates and have learned how to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to reach milestones faster, have a high-performing team, and encourage employees to do their best work, you might need to change your current project updates dynamics. Don\u2019t be disheartened if you don\u2019t see improvements right away. Everything takes time, especially when switching up a core company dynamic, such as team status updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another thing to keep in mind is that perhaps some of the advice we\u2019ve given here won\u2019t suit every company or team. A data scientist department functions very differently from the social media marketing team. Still, a lot of these team update practices are general enough to be applied in different contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNow is the time to quote another often-used phrase \u2013 \u201cthis could\u2019ve been an email\u201d. This rings true in many cases, as not all team updates or discussions have to be shared through a meeting<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First of all, there\u2019s the email mentioned above. Team members can be asked to email their progress or attendance report, while leaders can share essential developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, email isn\u2019t the only solution here. Pretty much every self-respecting company now uses online collaboration or instant messaging platforms<\/a>. Platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Brosix give you a lot of different channels for communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brosix<\/a> is packed with features that let your team share updates quickly and effectively, without convening a meeting. Brosix\u2019s broadcast messaging tool<\/a> is tailor-made precisely for this task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With it, you can communicate new information or daily updates without interrupting any work processes. A team leader can broadcast<\/a> a public message to his team through the broadcast tool notifying everyone of new developments in the current marketing campaign. That way, everyone will be notified while the message won\u2019t get accidentally looked over or lost in the group chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On top of that, Brosix also supports practically all other channels of communication if you prefer sharing updates via audio or video.<\/p>\n\n\n [highlight_block title=”These team chat apps can help cut down on meetings.” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/team-chat-apps\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alternatively, everyone can just hop on the Brosix app, join the group chat<\/a> and share their weekly update. Besides organizing a meeting chat, you can also use audio or video calls for team status chack-ins. They\u2019re perfect for sharing all news and essential info without the hassle of planning a full-on meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whichever form or frequency of team check-ins you decide on, make sure you stick to it. It\u2019s all too easy to skip one or two meetings because something came up. This then turns into a habit and after a while, no one takes these team events seriously and team attendance suffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees disregarding meetings and not treating them as necessary is a real risk. They might then skimp on their reports, not pay attention, or just sleep through them.<\/p>\n\n\n [highlight_block title=”Check out the best business communication platforms around.” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/communication-platform\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n To avoid this, keep status updates and weekly meetings regular, and make them mandatory for team members. This isn\u2019t just for authority\u2019s sake \u2013 if everyone takes team updates seriously, they\u2019ll be more productive<\/a> and shorter as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make sure to showcase to team members why status updates are important and how they contribute to overall productivity. By holding efficient and regular updates, you\u2019ll cut down on other meetings and everyone will benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things like weekly lunches, collective breaks, and Friday drinks are great opportunities to feel your team\u2019s pulse. Of course, these events shouldn\u2019t be all about work, that defeats the point. However, since they usually happen during work time and between colleagues, they often segway into work talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During these gatherings, you can see what team members think and how they\u2019re doing with their work. While unstructured, this feedback can be beneficial, as people won\u2019t be constricted by the formality of traditional status updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Informal events also have the desired side-effect of making team members more relaxed and at ease. Sprinkle in just a few social events at work, and you\u2019ll see everyone feeling better and more productive. Just remember not to make them all about the job \u2013 leave room for fun too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lastly, team leaders should remember to provide direct and helpful feedback on status updates provided by employees. If you\u2019re in a leadership position, make sure to go over and actively listen to what everyone says. When the leadership doesn\u2019t give significance to a team\u2019s meeting, why would regular employees?<\/p>\n\n\n\n After receiving constructive feedback, people will know that you\u2019ve actually paid attention. They will feel heard and appreciated and put in extra effort to do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, giving feedback will increase the quality of status updates and other meetings and showcase their importance. Even if there\u2019s nothing special to be said, a short confirmation or even just \u201cthanks for the update\u201d can go a long way. In a virtual setting, emojis alone can do the trick<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To summarize, here\u2019s a team update checklist to consult when planning a reorganization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s get into the most common challenges you might face if you don\u2019t optimize how you hold team meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the biggest roadblocks team members face with updates or meetings, in general, is their length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Humans seem to have an uncanny ability to make even the simplest, straightforward meeting into a two-hour affair. This wouldn\u2019t be such a problem if this time were spent wisely. However, these large meetings often end up re-enacting one of two scenarios. In the first scenario, the team updates meeting consists of people simply sharing their status and progress. Here, only one person is actively talking, whereas others passively wait their turn and go back to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the second scenario, team members quickly derail the meeting\u2019s agenda. What was supposed to be a meeting addressing three bullet points, turns into a lengthy discussion and all semblance of order is lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way, valuable time is wasted and attendees often switch off and become bored after a while. To avoid these common pitfalls a better organization is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both team leaders<\/a> and members surely know how fatal a poorly timed and delivered meeting can be for productivity. This, of course, is directly related to the sheer amount of time we often spend in these meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The longer you\u2019re held up in collective video calls, weekly updates, or 1:1 briefs, the less time you have to actually do your job. This then impacts your company\u2019s profits and growth. The term \u201ctime is money\u201d might be overused, but it certainly applies here.<\/p>\n\n\n [highlight_block title=”Get productivity back on track with these apps.” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/productivity-apps\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, the content of the meetings themselves can stifle the creative process<\/a>. If you feel like you\u2019re attending the same meeting day after day, where nothing of particular importance is said, it definitely won\u2019t do wonders for your motivation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The length of team member meetings and their effect on productivity can also bring down team morale. Many meeting attendees come to hate weekly updates and other gatherings because these meetings make it much harder to manage work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have a project to finish, a design to wrap up, or emails to send, meetings always seem to come at the worst possible moment. You then have to drop what you\u2019re working on, hop on the group call or walk to the meeting room and waste time better spent working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially if meetings become tedious or inefficient, team members will start dreading them. These meetings will create a sense of needless stress and prompt employees to switch off during team status updates, just willing them to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There you have it. Hopefully, we\u2019ve covered all the common pitfalls of organizing team updates and have learned how to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to reach milestones faster, have a high-performing team, and encourage employees to do their best work, you might need to change your current project updates dynamics. Don\u2019t be disheartened if you don\u2019t see improvements right away. Everything takes time, especially when switching up a core company dynamic, such as team status updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing to keep in mind is that perhaps some of the advice we\u2019ve given here won\u2019t suit every company or team. A data scientist department functions very differently from the social media marketing team. Still, a lot of these team update practices are general enough to be applied in different contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRegularly hold team status update meetings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHold informal team events<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Provide feedback on status updates<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Holding a Good Team Check-In: The Checklist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Why Are Team Status Updates Challenging?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
They last <\/strong>too <\/strong>long<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
They <\/strong>affect <\/strong>productivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
They <\/strong>bring down<\/strong> team morale<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n