Narrator: For years, educators have lamented that staff meetings are time-consuming, inefficient, too frequent, unnecessary and top-down. But new digital resources are pushing schools to evolve traditional staff meetings. Keep in mind that not every work task warrants a meeting. Save group time for hashing out important topics, and consider delivering updates or training digitally.

If you must meet, determine who really needs to be present, to reduce inefficiencies in making decisions and schedule overload. To give staff more flexibility, send a pre-recorded video, a PowerPoint, or an email announcement that staff can access on their own schedule.

For accountability, use a tool like Nearpod to embed polls or surveys that staff are required to complete when they finish. In advance of the meeting, find out people’s insights and concerns using polls or question prompts. Let staff showcase their innovative practices or experiences, and—if they are open to it—use a digital roulette wheel, or pull a name from a hat to give someone else the floor.

If further discussion is needed, offer open office hours, where staff can come and talk alone or in groups. Not everyone likes speaking up in a large group setting. Facilitate nonverbal discussions using a collaborative Google Doc sent in advance.

During the meeting, carve out time for small group discussions or brainstorms. Tools like Jamboard or digital word clouds allow staff to show their thoughts anonymously, if desired.

Use anonymous digital surveys to identify areas for improving future meetings, and be sure to address how you plan to handle the feedback. Meetings will always be a work in progress, but the more you can keep staff engaged in them, the more effective they’ll be.