Everything you need to know about daily stand-up meetings

Meetings are a crucial element of every business – They allow a quick exchange of ideas and help with problem-solving and decision-making effectively. However, should you really be scheduling team meetings every day? Team meetings can be really time-consuming! Multiple surveys have shown that workers prefer to attend fewer meetings. Having said that, occasional meetings are important to run a business successfully.

Many businesses are switching to stand-up meetings as a more relaxed alternative to conventional gatherings since they have an entirely different setting. Stand-up meetings, originally introduced by agile development teams, are now widely used by any organization seeking a time-saving yet effective means of sharing information and resolving issues. 

What is a stand-up meeting? 

The name "stand-up meeting" or "daily stand-up" pretty much says it all: it's a meeting in which all members, including the presenter, stand for the duration of the meeting. It allows your team to connect and share status updates, plan for the day, and seek assistance with any roadblocks in their way. And since everyone is standing instead of sitting, the meeting is more likely to be brief and productive. 

The objective of this meeting is to provide team members with an update on the status of the project and to ensure that it remains on track. Daily stand-up meetings often follow a consistent pattern in which team members respond to the following questions: 

• Exactly what did you accomplish yesterday? 
• What are you currently working on? 
• What obstacles are getting in your way? 
• How are you feeling about your work today? 

These questions show how far the team has come and help identify any problems. And since everyone pitches in and talks about their contributions, the team becomes more cohesive. Sharing individual achievements and plans on a daily basis keeps members excited about the team's overall commitment to the organization. 

The daily stand-up meeting format 

The typical daily stand-up follows a tried-and-true structure through time, and it can be summarized as follows: 

• Meetings should be short; make sure to keep them to 15 minutes or less. 
• Set a consistent time and location for the daily stand-up and stick to it. 
• Avoid wasting time attempting to schedule more rooms and instead gather where the work is done. 
• All team members must be present. 
• Even if someone is running late or can't make it, the meeting should still go on as scheduled. 

Benefits of daily scrum meetings 

It's fairly obvious that stand-ups provide substantial benefits to teams and the organization. Here’s how it will benefit:

• Helps in accelerating the project’s progress 
• Allow teams and leaders to link plan to action 
• Stop issues at the surface before they escalate
• Help everyone in the team communicate and work together better 
• Encourage personal and group accountability
• Allow all members of the team to keep a closer eye on ongoing projects
• Make it easier and faster for teams to reach their goals

What are common problems with daily stand-ups? 

As more teams are implementing stand-ups, many have the underlying perception that the meeting itself has turned into a roadblock. Some of the most common drawbacks include the following:

• Going beyond the allotted time 
• Distractions caused by side talks 
• Exchanging information that is of interest to only a small group of people 
• Sharing the same updates over several days 
• Not engaging or showing up as expected 
• Having trouble finding a time for a meeting that's convenient for everyone 

Bring your stand-up meetings back on track with Undiffer 

If you've been experiencing issues with your scrum or daily stand-up meeting and want to try an asynchronous approach, you need the right tool that will help save time and effort by automating your daily stand-ups.

Now you can Manage your daily stand-ups faster and track progress better, asynchronously with a stand-up tool like Undiffer. The tool has been empowering high-tech teams and organizations by letting them share their status updates through daily checklists effectively.

With Undiffer, you can:

• Switch to async check-ins
• Get a peek into the team’s mood for the day
• Keep track of the team's tasks and outcomes 
• Allow teams to update their tasklist
• Identify roadblocks 

Bottom line

Meetings are crucial for getting work done, yet many employees dislike attending them. Stand-up meetings will help you reach your goals and maintain the fun and casual atmosphere you're trying to create at work. 

Do you want to know if a daily stand-up meeting tool will work for your organization and bring the same benefits that we have discussed above? If you really want to know, you'll have to try it out for yourself.