Walk and talk your employees to better performance and better health

There is no reason to hide it. My deep, dark secret is that I am a business owner with one employee. Me. I have a lot of roles in my business, including bookkeeping, marketing, sales, file clerk, administrative assistant, and even janitor. Of course, any small business owner recognizes this. As I have been looking for ways to be more efficient and effective, I have done things like convert from a desktop to strictly a laptop, increasing my mobility and subsequently my ability to work from anywhere. I have started using a smartphone and, more importantly, various apps to increase my productivity. Most recently, I had my husband rig up a desk on my treadmill so I could check emails, listen to webinars, and read business books while I’m on my treadmill. (Being able to do this helps me stay committed to my exercise goals, too.) While it’s not pretty, it’s functional.

All of this got me thinking about what a small business owner could do to maximize time, while also meeting a couple of other possible goals, such as getting a little exercise in, as well as having an opportunity to coach employees and improve the organization’s overall level of health. It sounds like a tall order, but it’s very simple. Schedule “walk and talk” meetings with your employees and use this time to provide coaching, to discuss performance, or in lieu of meetings that you would have to have anyway and that are typically mind-numbingly boring.

Here are a few tips to make this work.

1. Make sure you introduce this new meeting concept to your employees. Don’t just start doing it and expect your employees to jump (or walk) on board. It might help to bring in a fitness coach, your HR person, or your benefits consultant to join in on the conversation. This will be particularly valuable if your health insurance program offers any types of discounts for employees who take participate in a wellness plan.
2. Buy pedometers for everyone who wants to participate and make your walk and talks more than just meeting time. Have contests each week or month on total steps taken for gift cards or the opportunity to leave early on Friday, or something fun, but similarly affordable.
3. Allow for employees who want to continue with traditional meetings and do not allow anyone to judge those employees. There are many reasons an employee may not want to or cannot participate in the walk and talks.
4. Schedule the walk and talks for the first thing in the morning and let each employee pick a day. Depending on the number of employees, you can “meet” with employees weekly, monthly, or any number of times in between. You have 20 days in the month. By scheduling the meetings in the morning, the weather will still be cooler (if you walk outside) and you will not be disrupting the flow of the day.
5. Have an agenda for these meetings, just as you would a sit-down meeting. Since the meetings are primarily one on one, use these meetings for updates and performance coaching.
6. If time is particularly precious, consider doing walk and talks as team meetings, instead.
7. To capture key points, allow for recording of the sessions, since it would be too difficult to write. Most smart phones have recording options, such as voice to text or an audio recorder for replay.
8. Have contingency plans. You may not be in a place where there are nearby parks or walking trails, or the weather may not always be in your favor. Have contingency locations, such as local malls, where you can walk. Your office may be located in a larger corporate building, so you can scope out a walking path there, as well.
9. Be consistent. As the leader in your organization, you have to make sure that you keep the schedule for the meetings. When you start to cancel them, your employees will begin to question the importance and value of the meetings.

Small businesses and small business owners frequently have to find creative ways to achieve multiple objectives, particularly when employees are involved. A “walk and talk” approach to employee meetings will allow you to accomplish coaching, meeting and better organizational health.