There are many reasons why you might want to hold these sessions, but, in a company that believes in employee empowerment, one of the critical reasons is that employees need to understand the big picture. To make good decisions about their job, project, product, or work area requires each employee to have an overall understanding of the company goals and direction. They need to be able to see where they fit inside of this big picture.
These sessions encourage cross-departmental thinking, too. They help people see the impact of their decisions on others. They help employees decide who needs to be involved for ownership and making projects happen. The sessions also build a sense of “all one team,” that none of us is an island; everything each of us decides or does can potentially impact the job of every other employee.
Expensive to spend eight hours in these meetings? You bet. But, it is the right decision for our employees and the business, it brings us that much value in the long run.