Catch a Huddle in Action

The season is here!  For the last several months you’ve been upgrading your team.  Now is the time to put winter training to the test.  You can make the training stick by catching your team doing the right things. A great time to do this is to catch them holding a huddle in action. We have written about the importance of daily huddles as a means to increase productivity, awareness and focus on daily goals.  Here is a story of one of the most memorable huddles I’ve seen.

The season is here!  For the last several months you’ve been upgrading your team.  Now is the time to put winter training to the test.  You can make the training stick by catching your team doing the right things. A great time to do this is to catch them holding a huddle in action. We have written about the importance of daily huddles as a means to increase productivity, awareness and focus on daily goals.  Here is a story of one of the most memorable huddles I’ve seen.

The employees of the world-famous Pike Place Fish wrote a book called: Catch, A Fishmongers Guide to Greatness.  Pike Place is also the company discussed in FISH, a story about creating fun in the workplace.  Below is an excerpt from the book:

“Every day except Sunday begins at 6:30 A.M. (Sunday begins at 7:00 A.M.) when the fishmongers get into a huddle to discuss goals for the day.  They talk about how much inventory of each type of fish they have on hand and about what they want to accomplish that day.   The huddle ends with a loud, ceremonial “Aayyyyeeee!”

“…..  At 5:45 sharp one of the fishmongers yells “five forty-five” to initiate the closing process.   It takes approximately forty-five minutes to break down the displays and put away the fish for the night.  By 6:30, everything is stowed, and the crew gets into another huddle.  They talk about how the day went in relation to the goals that were set in the morning huddle.”

The huddle is simple and creates a common understanding of what the goals are. What you focus on tends to improve…..

We suggest that your crew leaders lead a two-minute formal huddle at the beginning of each day.  In the morning huddle, review:

• Job-status:  make sure everybody on the team is aware of the amount of time used up and the amount of time remaining to complete the job on time.
• Goals for the day: discuss what you would like to see accomplished that day as an entire crew (“if we get this side of the house done today, we’ll be back on track”); get some feedback on whether or not it is possible.
• Delegate and make people accountable:  give each person their assignment for the day.  Make sure everybody hears it.  This will create a little peer pressure for the painters to meet their daily goals.

Give it a try and watch the gross profit rise!

Have a great week!