Resources
Successful Service Unit Meetings
As the Service Unit Specialist, you will be responsible to plan meetings throughout the year. These meetings include Service Unit meetings focused on troop leader support. Each of these meetings are important to the functioning of the service unit and attendees should leave with a sense of accomplishment.
Service unit meeting frequency and timing are dependent on the needs of the volunteers in your area. These meeting can happen monthly, bi-monthly or once per quarter and should focus on specific needs within your service unit. Ideally, 20% of the meeting should be spent on announcements and business; the other 80% should be spent on collaborating with each other, mentoring each other, planning events and learning new skills.
It is suggested that these meetings be at least one hour in length. Meetings should start and end on time, unless the participants have been warned that the meeting could run longer than usual. Remember, your time – and the time of all the other participants – is valuable and should be honored. Make sure that you do not spend too much time presenting information that could have been learned via notes or a post-meeting e-mail; instead spend the majority of your time on learning opportunities or activities.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Provide time in the meeting for the different program level groups to meet and share information
- Include a “fun thing” on the agenda (i.e., learning a new song, playing a game, having a contest, sharing a new badge activity)
- Regularly thank individuals and recognize special services or achievements
- Have something at each meeting that the leaders can take back to their troop
Tips and Suggestions:
- Review the GSCP2P Quarterly Update for any timely reminders and important information
- Review the recent GSCP2P Today’s Tips for any updated information
- Review the Year at a Glance for upcoming events and special seasons
- Start on time. End on time. Always.
- If your volunteers want to stick around and talk afterwards, they should be given a window of time to do so. Sometimes being given the opportunity to share ideas is the best use of your time together. Be prepared to keep the building open longer then the scheduled time, but know when/if the building manager needs to lock up the facility
- Be consistent with your meetings. The opportunity to share information and “face time” with service unit team members and other leaders can make a huge difference in a volunteer’s Girl Scout experience. If you need suggestions or activities for your volunteers, please contact the GSCP2P Troop Experience Team.
After each service unit meeting, complete this quick online log letting us know attendance, enrichment topics, trainings completed and any challenges you faced. You will have the option of uploading training rosters to be documented.
