One of the most daunting things I had to learn to do, was hold a toolbox meeting. I need not have stressed, because they are actually really easy. There are a few do’s and don’ts which I will share with you, but these are a great opportunity for you to assist with motivating your team, and a great job for your admin support to play a part in.

Let’s face it, many of the “builder’s wives” get pigeon holed into the office and don’t spend much time on the job, but the truth is, you have as much worth onsite as you do in the office, if not more!

Toolbox talks are a gentle way in to the world of construction on site. It is worth mentioning, as a reminder, whoever goes on site, will require a white card. These are easy to get online now days, check out this link for more information.

The requirement is for toolbox meetings to be held at least on a monthly basis, however we held ours on a fortnightly basis as we used the opportunity for a motivation session with our staff and subbies. We did this for each of our job sites, to ensure we caught every trade and staff member.

Your responsibility is to also educate your subbies as to your workplace health and safety requirements, policies and procedures, so scheduling the toolbox talk on a fortnight basis will give you the chance to catch up with most of your trades.

Toolbox talks can be used to cover any subject from hydration, to new policies or procedures, to any workplace health and safety issues. Essentially it can be used for any form of education or information giving.

We would often coincide our meetings with a BBQ breakfast or at the very least, cold drinks (which always made me appearance on site a welcome one :)) and end the meeting with sharing some positive reviews of what we had seen on site. This took what could be a very boring meeting to a positive experience everyone looked forward to.

Most importantly, you need to record your toolbox meetings. I have created a template for you as your FREE bonus, to download and use in your own business. There is space for you to add your logo, and your business details. You can then either fill out on your phone or tablet or print off and fill in each time, either way, each staff member present needs to sign to say they were there.

You can download your FREE copy here.

Finally, where do you hold them? They can be held anywhere! On site is the most popular choice, however we mixed ours up with pizza nights at the office, as well as on site or at a coffee shop. Everyone loves when the boss shouts, and it doesn’t hurt to do so, from time to time.

That’s it, that is all there is too it. Anyone can run your toolbox talk, and it is a valuable skill for us all to have. It is a fantastic way to reward your office staff, or for you to get involved in the business yourself. Don’t forget to download your FREE toolbox talk template, today!

Have you held a toolbox talk? What do you talk about at your staff meetings?

Nicole xx