Daily Huddle Template

Related Templates

• Daily Stand Up Agenda
• Weekly Review
• Weekly Team Meeting Agenda

Daily huddle meetings are designed to keep teams aligned and focused. They are short, usually no more than 15 minutes, and are held in hallways, outside, or by the water cooler. These short meetings are a way of sharing essential information among team members and can mark the start of a positive day.

Implementing a Daily Team Huddle

Having a 15-minute meeting doesn’t sound like much, but it can significantly impact how well a team operates — provided it is well planned. Yes, even short meetings need to be organized to get the maximum benefit in those precious few minutes. Before implementing your first huddle, consider the following characteristics of a positive morning huddle.

When

Although daily huddles can happen at any time, morning huddles are a great way to start the day. What’s important is to start the huddle on time, every time, regardless of who is or isn’t present.

Where

Most huddles are held with everyone standing. It keeps the meeting short and participants attentive. These meetings should be held in the same location every day. Changing locations breaks the routine that the huddle is trying to create.

Who

Morning huddles are often used to bring members of the same department together. The meeting ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding achieving organizational goals and that team members are engaged. This engagement is crucial in hybrid or remote only work environments.

Someone must be tasked with running the huddle. For the most part, it requires someone who can enforce the ground rules and is willing to request that a topic be taken offline. Running the huddle means keeping the meeting to its designated 15-minutes.

What

Ground rules should be established from the beginning. Typical rules include no rabbit hole or problem-solving discussions. Participants should have time limits, forcing them to focus on their priority tasks. The huddle is informational.

How

Keeping morning huddles on track requires an agenda. Most agenda templates have three items to be covered in the meeting. These topics are usually framed as questions to help team members focus their responses. In a 15-minute meeting, each question receives no more than five minutes of discussion.

Why

Morning huddles keep teams aligned, but they also build teams that are engaged. Through simple questions and answers, team members learn more about each other and the work they do. The camaraderie can go a long way to establishing a positive work environment in a matter of minutes.

Morning Huddle Ideas

Daily huddles mean that every huddle doesn’t have to focus on work. Huddles can be opportunities to strengthen teams and share experiences. Just remember huddles are 15-minutes, so trying to fit in a fun activity, status updates, and roadblocks may be pushing it. Any daily huddle template has space for three questions. The questions set the tone for the huddle.

• Organizational huddles might focus on strategic goals and how team members are supporting them. The meetings could be used to provide corporate updates or upcoming projects. The huddles could also be opportunities for team members to ask questions about corporate concerns.
• Team or project huddles are focused on status updates, potential obstacles, and work assignments. The group wants to know what everyone is working on, where they stand in relation to project or team goals, and potential obstacles on the horizon. The huddles can also be a time to celebrate meeting or exceeding goals.
• Fun huddles are team-building opportunities. They are ways for individuals to share something outside of work. Maybe it’s a project they’re working on, a book they are reading, or a vacation they have planned. Contests and simple games can also be used in fun huddles.

Give morning huddles about 90 days; then, look for signs that they are working. Do teams seem more engaged? Are more people participating? Successful huddles result in employees willing to take responsibility for their work, progress that is consistently being made, and problems that are solved independently.

Daily Huddle Questions

Coming up with huddle questions takes some thought. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

• What was the plan?
• How did we do against the plan?
• What can we do better?
• What did you work on yesterday?
• What will you work on today?
• Where are you stuck?

If you’re looking for fun morning huddle ideas or questions, browse through the following list.

• What would be your superpower if you could choose and why?
• What Disney character would you want to be?
• If you could go into space, would you?
• What do you like about mornings?
• What historical figure would you want to meet?

Consider using a virtual huddle board template for in-person or hybrid meetings. Incorporating a whiteboard into a morning huddle is a visual representation of what the three critical questions are and the range of answers.

Remember that the success of the daily huddle requires a time commitment and follow-through, but the rewards will be a more engaged and productive team. To make sure you are starting on a positive note, look for daily huddle templates from industry leaders such as Docket.