All members of your MDT are busy people with many demands on their time.   Let’s assume you are missing the participation of one key stakeholder, and that absence is contributing to a lack of collective success in working on behalf of the vulnerable adults in your community.

That absentee stakeholder might have a range of reasons for non-attendance, such as:

• The time/place is inconvenient.
• The meeting date conflicts with another obligation.
• The meeting content is not a priority.
• The interpersonal dynamics on the MDT are frustrating somehow.
• The work of the MDT is perceived as not beneficial.
• The meeting notices are easy to ignore.

One strategy is to contact the absentee stakeholder directly to inquire why they do not attend and explain why they are a necessary part of the team.  Group emails are easy to ignore.  Instead, make a personal appeal to attend and provide examples of why they are needed.  “When we discussed X, we didn’t know what your office would need or could provide to intervene.”  Ask what prohibits their participation and consider whether adjustments to scheduling or the meeting process would increase their participation.

Another strategy is to design one meeting around that stakeholder’s function; give them the spotlight.  Using the district attorney as an example of the absentee stakeholder, explain the MDT members need to better understand the prosecutorial priorities of that office or the nuances of evidence collection and presentation the DA wants to see before taking on a case.  “What can we do better to enable your success as a prosecutor?”

If your MDT conducts case reviews, you might explain that you are all trying to assess what went well in a recent case, and what needs to be strengthened in the future.

Giving the absentee stakeholder the chance to explain the processes, authority, and limitations of that office can potentially open the door to better understanding and mutually beneficial interactions.

We all appreciate convenience and useful meeting content, and most of us respond affirmatively to food, good humor, and personal invitations, even when our schedules are full.