Implementing Change to Westnet Marketing Meetings

1. Implementing Change to Westnet Marketing Meetings How to build a constituency to incorporate change in the workplace.

2. How/ Why I chose this topic • Meetings sometimes rushed. • No closure. • Not productive-questions are not addressed with clarity. • Meetings held at the end of the day. • People to not want to attend-bring negative morale.

3. Why is this Important? • If meeting productivity is changed and the marketing team becomes more effective as a whole, client databases can be increased as well as revenue. If the company makes money, then we are doing something right.

4. What kind of meetings are they? • The meetings are marketing meetings. • Each mini group of the team reports on findings for their particular tasks. • Sales & Numbers (Ex: 1st Quarter sales, etc) • New marketing material • New targets and goals to reach. Whatever the case may be, in order to be effective within marketing or any other field of work, each person on a team has to be on the same page and understand the goals and needs within the company.

5. Goal of AR Project • My goal of my AR project is to find out enough information in order to help me design and implement a better marketing meeting structure or policy. I believe this will help the team be more effective by being on the same page.

6. What has been done by Westnet in the past to raise moral and to make meetings more effective? • The one highlighted in black worked well most of the time because Thursday seemed to be the lightest day for the employees at the time. • The one highlighted in purple only did not work well if the meeting was at a restaurant etc which became an expense • The two highlighted in red did not work well because they became an expense

7. What has been done by other companies to improve morale or to make meetings better? • Social gatherings, which include such activities as picnics, philanthropic work, and parties • Employee recognition, which includes awards, promotions and thank-you’s • Continuing education, which includes workshops and conferences • Employee meetings, which include complaint sessions, brainstorming, and discussion forums • Empowerment, which includes involving employees through responsibility.

8. What has been done by other companies to improve morale or to make meetings better? • Shift in management- change within the company altogether • Change in management cycle: • Understand the current situation • Develop a change plan • Enlist others to develop a plan of action with you • Stabilize results-put them into action (reminds me of Action Research) • Leaders need to have the ability to manage organizational change effectively.

9. What has been done by other companies to improve morale or to make meetings better? • (reminds me of Action Research)

10. What has been done by other companies to improve morale or to make meetings better? •  Implementing routine organizational tasks- such as meeting scheduling • Meetings require careful balance between attendee’s privacy and personal preferences versus the companies • (making efficient use of time and other resources). • Do not propose the same tentative time for several meetings • Do not schedule meetings in over constrained situations • (Scheduling of high priority meetings at short notice, which requires cancellation and rescheduling of previously scheduled meetings).

11. Constituency Building • Dialogue after meeting • How the dialogue process happened following a Marketing meeting… • Was it successful? • What were the thoughts of my team members? • Are they on board with the idea of changing to be more effective? • Team & Facilitator are on board- What do they want done? • Ideas for improvement-from collaboration • Use of humor to raise moral- Team on board • Research says that humor improves socialization of employees and appears to help create bondsamong the employees. • How will I incorporate humor? • Jokes between Topics • Meeting Introduction Joke • Meeting Themes/Incorporate Food

12. What I plan to do with this information… • Westnet marketing team end result-goal • Put together an information booklet with relevant information that the organization can reference. (Training/ Motivational Booklet) • Use as a frame of reference in how all marketing meetings will be structured (have a roll out date for the new implementation) • Develop a rewards system the team being cooperative (lunch, happy hour & other morale team building activities).