When designed correctly, a town hall meeting allows leaders to share news and perspectives from the highest levels of an organization. Such meetings should also give team members the opportunity to ask their leadership questions about how their company operates and makes decisions.
Yet too often, town hall meetings fail to provide an opportunity for meaningful engagement or miss the chance to give employees a clearer view of their company. Here’s how your town hall meetings can be an open forum for idea sharing and culture building that brings your organization closer together.
1. Know, feel
Most of us have found ourselves thinking, “That could have been an email!” after a particularly lackluster town hall meeting. To avoid that feeling of meeting-induced discomfort, start by creating agendas that fit a leader’s communication style and prepare in advance to ensure attendees understand the purpose of the meeting.
Ashley Pope, assistant vice president of corporate communications at Jackson, said the communications department should work with leaders to develop talking points that tie in with employees’ daily work.
“We use a ‘Know, Do, Feel’ framework for town hall meetings, clarifying with our stakeholders what participants should know, what actions they should take with that information, and how they should leave the meeting feeling,” Pope said.
The more the communications department knows what goals leaders are working toward in town hall meetings, the better it can guide the process of creating the format.
“We work hard to learn the goals and objectives, leadership styles and voices of our stakeholders,” she said. “So we can start from a position of trust and help them achieve their goals while advocating for their audiences.”
2. Bells and whistles to encourage holistic engagement
You can’t have an effective town hall meeting without employee participation. They’re two-way meetings, not one-way speeches from the pulpit by leaders. Lisa Claybon, vice president of corporate affairs at a global foodservice company, said planning for employee participation begins long before the meeting begins.
“Thinking about your communications strategy before, during and after events is a natural way to increase engagement,” she said. “Whether it’s giving a preview of the topic to be discussed, announcing a special guest or developing a 30-second movie trailer-style video to include as part of the invitation.”
Pope added that each town hall meeting should be tailored to the participants and not planned as if it were taking place in a vacuum.
“By focusing on our core strategies, we can create a holistic experience tailored to the interests and needs of our attendees,” she said. “I have a highly skilled team that delivers that experience through themes, graphics, content design and speaker coaching, interactive games and activities, virtual experience platforms and even our approach to on-site execution.”
3. Remote formats you can measure
To be effective, town hall meetings don’t necessarily have to take place in an on-site office. They work best when they involve both remote and in-office employees.
“Whether you’re appearing in person or virtually, it can be helpful to think about producing a short talk show or newscast where employees are the live audience in the studio,” Claybon said. “Take a cue from the producer and set the stage accordingly, focus on camera angles and look for ways to make leaders and other speakers more accessible.”
Claybon also explained that communicators should be careful to represent both field and remote employees during town hall meetings to demonstrate the breadth and reach of a company.
“This may include giving promising employees the opportunity to interview with senior executives or present case studies and industry best practices in a ‘live remote’ style,” she said.
Pope added that measuring the success of a town hall meeting begins before the meeting and should serve as a guide for future meetings.
“We use a ‘before, during, after’ model for our meetings,” she said. “We track how quickly attendees confirm their attendance or submit questions before a town hall meeting. This tells us whether our content is of interest and helps us adapt our presentations to make them more relevant.”
Despite the importance of these collaborative gatherings, there are also opportunities to have fun. Communicators should be creative with formatting to maximize participation and variety.
“Town hall events can be full of important information or can focus on difficult topics, but bringing leaders and their personalities to life drives engagement and keeps everyone focused,” Pope said.
“Consider a regular section with rapid-fire questions, such as the end of ‘Insider the Actor’s Studio,’ or explore game show-inspired or themed sections to keep interest high.”
Employees don’t fear town halls – they can be something everyone looks forward to. It just takes a little extra planning and determination.
Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time, he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia games.
