#DearHolistic: How do we make meeting attendance possible for everyone?

Dear Holistic,

There are some teammates in our organization, who, by the nature of their work, cannot attend certain meetings, opportunities, and trainings because they have to man the phones or be in the field. How do we make sure that all members who want to or need to be a part of these meetings have a seat at the table?

Sincerely,

Careful Coordinator

* * * *

Dear Careful Coordinator

Thanks for writing. This is definitely a situation that can get overlooked.

We recommend emphasizing the organization’s commitment to inclusion by accommodating employees’ schedules so that their work does not exclude them from meetings, opportunities, training, etc. By prioritizing the inclusion of your employees, their attendance is now a matter of logistics. We recommend getting creative with your solutions to involve relevant employees as much as possible.

For example, the receptionists at our CEO’s previous company, 1871, were unable to attend internal meetings because they still had to answer the phones. To remove this barrier, 1871 hired a temp every Monday for four hours so the receptionists could attend. The economics seem like they don’t make sense, perhaps, but the act of prioritization was essential.

We also recommend holding these meetings, opportunities, and trainings on a regular basis as much as possible to simplify scheduling. For example, a salesperson can plan around a meeting every third Thursday if they expect to have a meeting then.

This is really a question of prioritization, not a question of logistics. These acts of prioritization are visible, possible, and essential to adhere to the company’s commitment to inclusion.

Yours truly,

Holistic

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