Start a Workplace Book Club

An effective way to get your employees on the same page is to start a company book club. It can introduce new ideas, help with skill development, and create a general culture of personal and professional growth.

Develop some guidelines before you announce the club, including:

• A general theme
• How books will be chosen and acquired
• Frequency (monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly)
• How to structure your discussions about the books

Make participation voluntary. Read books about your industry, technical skills your team needs, and soft skills that everyone can use. Switch around from new releases to business classics, and include authors from various backgrounds, races, and genders. As the leader, you can select the titles you’ll read, but it’s also a good idea to get input from the team.

Decide if you’ll provide the books and in what format (print, digital, audio) or if employees must purchase or get them from the local library. Be sure to give participants plenty of time to read the book.

Allow between forty-five and ninety minutes for your discussions, and be sure everyone has a chance to contribute. Decide if you’ll meet in person (maybe over lunch) or online. During the meeting, listen carefully to what everyone has to say about the book and implement new ideas when feasible and practical.

After the club is established, consider expanding to occasionally watching or listening to relevant webinars, podcasts, or TED talks instead of reading a book. You might also invite guest speakers to your meetings.

Excerpted from Christian Business Almanac.