Seven rules for running a productive stand-up meeting

What is a stand-up meeting?

A stand-up (or a daily huddle) is a quick daily meeting designed to sync all its participants and ensure workflow transparency, thus improving team performance. First becoming a common ritual for the software development world, these 15-minute meetings are going viral across many different industries around the globe. Let’s find out what makes stand-ups gain popularity and how to set up a productive time-balanced meeting by following the best practices.

Stand-Up Meeting vs Status Meeting: Learn the Difference

Although status meetings are designed to keep your team informed about all the tasks and updates going on, in fact it's all about direct 1-on-1 communication: a project manager requests feedback about a specific task or project, a responsible employee gives a report/reports, while others scroll through social media absentmindedly.

In contrast, a stand-up meeting is about joint discussion and information exchange, and that is its main difference - and advantage - over a status meeting. 1-on-1 conversations can be held at any time, while in larger meetings it is important to keep everyone engaged and provide useful insights to all stakeholders. Those 15 minutes should be useful to all participants of the meeting.

When answering questions, people tend to refer to the person who asked them. In such situation, it is the responsibility of the stand-up host (the product owner or scrum master) to:

• ask questions to the team, not to a certain person
• remind the speaker to talk to all participants
• encourage questions and clarifications from other team members.

The host's main role is to moderate and guide the discussion, not to lead it.

How to run a stand-up meeting?

Each meeting (even a small one) requires dedication and management experience. Here are 7 simplified do’s and don’ts to make the most of stand-ups and keep your initiatives running smoothly.

Rule 1: But still – standing literally?

In the traditional stand-up format, the teammates look for a way to overcome roadblocks while standing around the meeting room – no chairs or tables are required. Nevertheless, experimenting with different locations and techniques is highly recommended as it creates a cozy atmosphere and increases the energy even more. Adopt Steven Job’s habit if you desire to boost creative thinking and open up the free flow of ideas – hold a stand-up meeting while walking.

Rule 2: Stay on track – keep approach in mind

As each team operates as a unique mosaic, with its own nuances, dynamics and system players, it’s important to accept the fact that there is no cookie-cutter format for stand-up meetings. However, we recommend the round robin method (also known as the go-around tactic), where each team member takes a turn to contribute their thoughts and comments. This is an excellent strategy to motivate all participants to excel in what is expected of them.

Rule 3: The pillar of effective stand-ups

The best way to keep get-togethers efficient and affable is to establish a simple rule – everything matters – as even a short brainstorming could result in suggesting spontaneous ideas by removing inhibitions. Note them down without criticism and evaluate after the meeting. Remember that people tend to be more honest about their ideas and views when all participants operate at an equal level. Even though stand-ups are designed to address certain topics, employees should not be punished if ingenious solutions begin to form – encourage them to continue discussing online or during a coffee break.

Rule 4: Don’t let things wander off the course

The informal format of the meeting does not mean that the meeting is unorganized. The moderator makes sure the agenda is followed: it is important to keep an eye that the participants don’t wander off the topic, bury themselves in a detailed discussion or miss anything.

The meeting structure depends on the approach (Scrum or Kanban) and the type of project. This can be a discussion in which team members discuss what has been done since the last meeting, list current tasks of each team member, discuss blockers and challenges. It is also possible to go task by task (or project by project). In this case team members share updates on the tasks in which they are involved.

During a stand-up meeting, which lasts for only 15 minutes (just as much time as it takes to have a morning cup of coffee), the team can discuss current tasks, identify blockers that delay their implementation, or synchronize on the project goals.

Rule 5: Check on the progress

When you establish a task, it’s rather crucial to receive status updates and make sure everything is going well. Since stand-ups are short, everyone should stay consistent. Here is a list of questions to set the ball rolling and balance time-awareness:

• What tasks have you accomplished?
• Do you have any tasks still in progress? What obstacles or blockers are preventing you from completing them?
• Do you need any assistance?
• What are you going to work on today?
• What interesting solutions or key findings would you like to share?

If every attendee has a sense of what questions will be covered during the stand-up, the discussion of in-progress or implemented tasks will not take long. Share the list with your employees so that they can describe their updates promptly and concisely.

Rule 6: Choose a leader

It’s difficult to imagine a high-energy stand-up without a person who understands the importance of the events and implies a deliberate effort to rally the troops. A huge mistake frequently made while planning stand-ups is to put executive and corporate concerns over all else. The leader facilitating the meeting should pay close attention to the current topics and participants’ mood, helping teammates stay on track but not bothering them.

Rule 7: Remote teammates

Remote work is still different from the typical work structure in a few ways, despite its growth in popularity over the past decade. Communication remains an obvious obstacle, as employees are not physically in the office and feel isolated. In this case, video conferencing comes in handy, enabling long-distance interaction and promoting overall collaboration without requiring constant travel!

Organize stand-up meetings that empower your team

With the rise of COVID-19, teams switch to work-from-home mode and tend to communicate asynchronously: instead of boring mandatory meetings which lack engagement, employees often feel better discussing their progress with project stakeholders in group chats created for a specific project or task. If required, any 1-on-1 or group chat can always be escalated into an intense meeting. However, such meetings are made to create a comfortable communication environment, boost decision-making and check on the project progress instead of just checking the box.

TrueConf’s team messaging platform provides teams with a convenient space for any task, from chat spaces and meetings for day-to-day communication to conferencing modes for large-scale town hall meetings. With TrueConf, your team is equipped with the right tools to excel at daily tasks, empower productivity and inspire.