Six Easy Ways to Make Toolbox Talks Engaging

10 August 2022 | 1 minute read

On average 51% of employees say they're bored and don't pay attention to the toolbox talks and pre-start meetings.

In construction and scaffolding, we know they are critical to the safety and productivity of the team. To ensure your team has clear goals and understand the risks associated with them - here are our top tips to ensure your workers are engaged in meetings.

1. Mix it up with different presenters

Use different team members to present. A fresh face keeps the whole team engaged, as each person has a different role and way of presenting to the crowd.

2. Make it 5-10 minutes

Attention spans are hard to keep. By ensuring the meeting is short, clear and actionable, employees are more engaged and less likely to ‘tune out’.

3. Have good eye contact

Making sure you look at people when you're speaking, not just reading from a sheet works wonders. It keeps the audience engaged with you and allows you to speak with more conviction and purpose.

4. Don’t give all the answers

Make sure it’s not you just doing the talking, ask questions, prompt discussion and thoughts. This keeps people on their toes and increases active listening.

5. Make it real and relevant to your day

Direct association with tasks at hand helps ensure your team knows exactly what they need to do, and how they can work together to the specified goals.

6. Ban phones

At the start of your meeting, tell your team straight up no phones.

These tips are all proven methods of effective communication. We always recommend talking to your own team to gather feedback and constantly find out ways you can improve.

For more information on ScaffPlan contact us or email info@scaffplan.com.