During the pandemic, remote meetings have become increasingly common in today’s work environment, allowing teams to collaborate and communicate effectively regardless of their physical locations. Conducting remote meetings in the office requires careful planning, effective communication, and the right tools and technology. In this article, we will discuss the steps and considerations for successfully holding remote meetings in the office, from preparation to follow-up.
Establishing Clear Communication Channels
- Choose the preferred communication platform that suits your organizational needs, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or other suitable platforms. Ensure that all employees have access to the selected platform and provide instructions on how to join meetings. Consider factors such as team size, nature of work, and employees’ technical abilities when selecting the most suitable communication platform, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or WebEx. Provide clear instructions for downloading, installing, and creating accounts, including step-by-step guides or video tutorials, to help employees effectively use the platform.
- Clearly communicate expectations regarding the selected platform during remote meetings, including guidelines for joining meetings, screen sharing, muting and unmuting audio, using chat features, and other relevant functionalities. Encourage employees to test or practice using the selected platform, familiarize themselves with it, and test audio, video settings, and internet connectivity to ensure they are prepared for remote meetings. Provide technical support or resources to address any potential issues or concerns.
Establish Regular Remote Meetings
- Set dates and times for regular remote meetings on the shared calendar of the team or organization. Create a consistent meeting schedule, such as daily stand-up meetings, weekly team check-ins, or monthly all-hands meetings, based on organizational needs. Ensure that the meeting times accommodate participants in different time zones (if applicable) so they can schedule accordingly. Once the meeting schedule is determined, clearly communicate it to all relevant team members. Send calendar invites or share the schedule through email, team collaboration tools, or other preferred communication channels. Include information such as meeting frequency, duration, and the platform used. Adhering to scheduled meeting times and attending punctually is crucial.
- This demonstrates the importance of effective communication within the organization and sets expectations for all participants. Avoid rescheduling or canceling meetings unless absolutely necessary to avoid disrupting the normal communication flow.
Share Meeting Agenda in Advance
- You can send the meeting agenda to participants before the meeting, providing a clear overview of the discussion topics, expected outcomes, and any materials that participants need to prepare or review in advance. This allows everyone to come prepared and contribute to a more focused and efficient discussion. Create a clear agenda that lists key topics to be discussed and the expected deliverables or goals for each agenda item. Divide the meeting into distinct sections or time blocks to provide structure and clarity.
- If participants need to review any preparatory work or materials before the meeting, clearly indicate it in the agenda. This may involve documents, reports, presentations, or other relevant information. Provide links or attachments to the materials so that participants can easily access them. Send the meeting agenda to participants well in advance, preferably at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time. You can use email, team collaboration tools, or other preferred communication channels to share the agenda. Consider including the agenda as an attachment in calendar invites or providing a link to the agenda in a shared document. Emphasize the importance of reviewing the agenda and any related materials. Encourage participants to come prepared with their own ideas, questions, or any information relevant to the agenda items. This helps ensure everyone is on the same page and ready to actively engage in the discussion.
- At the end of the meeting, summarize the key points and decisions for each agenda item and clearly assign action items to individuals or teams responsible for follow-up tasks. This helps maintain accountability and drive progress after the meeting. By sharing the meeting agenda in advance, you provide participants with the opportunity to be fully prepared and actively participate in remote meetings. This facilitates more targeted and efficient discussions, increases engagement, and helps achieve the desired outcomes.
Encourage Active Participation
1.Create an Environment for Active Participation
- As the meeting facilitator, your primary task is to create an enthusiastic and inclusive environment. Emphasize the importance of everyone’s participation and make it clear that their opinions are valued and appreciated. Remote meetings can lead to passive participation, so encourage all attendees to actively engage by asking questions, sharing ideas, and providing feedback. Consider implementing techniques such as round-robin discussions or utilizing voting features to ensure everyone has an opportunity to contribute and avoid certain voices overpowering others.
2.Facilitate In-Depth Discussions and Opinion Gathering
- Take measures during the meeting to foster in-depth discussions and gather opinions. You can ensure fair speaking opportunities by systematically rotating participants or inviting them to speak in a specific order. Pose open-ended questions that encourage participants to provide more detailed answers, fostering critical thinking and deeper discussions. Encourage participants to share their viewpoints, experiences, and suggestions related to the current topic. Utilize the polling feature provided by video conferencing platforms to collect opinions or make team decisions, or use quick surveys to gauge the overall sentiment of the attendees.
3.Active Participation and Effective Guidance
- Create an environment where participants feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. Encourage active listening, respect differing views, and ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to speak. Handle any disruptive behavior promptly and tactfully to maintain a positive and inclusive atmosphere. As the meeting facilitator or organizer, actively participate and demonstrate the desired level of engagement. Interact with participants, ask questions, and provide positive reinforcement for valuable contributions. By implementing these strategies, you can create an environment that promotes active participation in remote meetings, enhances the meeting experience, and facilitates better collaboration and outcomes.
Using Armer Board for Video Conferencing
1.Foster Interaction and Communication through Video Conferencing
- Encourage participants to turn on their videos as much as possible during remote meetings, as seeing each other’s faces helps maintain connection and a sense of involvement. Video conferencing provides opportunities for non-verbal communication, such as facial expressions, body language, and gestures, which enhance understanding and interpretation of verbal communication. When participants know they are visible on camera, they tend to be more attentive and engaged, and the presence of others promotes accountability and reduces distractions, leading to better participation and active engagement.
2.Enhance Presentations and Understanding
- Video conferencing allows presenters to share visual aids, such as slides, documents, or screen sharing, while being visible through the Armer camera. Having visual aids present concurrently with the presenter enhances understanding and engagement during presentations or demonstrations. Additionally, observing facial expressions is crucial for understanding emotions and maintaining emotional connection. Video conferencing provides an opportunity to convey empathy, concern, or enthusiasm, fostering a more positive and collaborative meeting atmosphere.
3.Balance Interaction and Individual Circumstances
- Video conferencing platforms usually offer features like raising hands, chat, and breakout rooms to facilitate interactive discussions and collaboration. However, it is important to consider that not all participants may have reliable internet connections or devices that support video. While respecting individual circumstances, provide alternative participation options for those in need. Additionally, cultural or privacy considerations should be taken into account, as some participants may prefer to keep their cameras off. By encouraging participants to turn on their videos during remote meetings, you can create a more engaging and interconnected meeting environment, promoting visual communication, enhancing interaction, and building stronger relationships among team members even when physically distant.
Establish Meeting Etiquette
1.Ensure an Efficient and Respectful Meeting Environment
- Develop meeting etiquette guidelines to ensure the smooth progress of the meeting and mutual respect among participants. Encourage participants to keep their microphones muted when not speaking to avoid background noise disruptions. Additionally, encourage participants to use virtual hand-raising or chat tools to ask questions or seek clarification, ensuring everyone has an opportunity to express their opinions and maintain order.
2.Be Mindful of the Environment and Listen to Others
- Participants should be mindful of their surroundings and join the meeting from a quiet and well-lit location, avoiding distractions and visual disturbances. Emphasize the importance of active listening and respecting the turn-taking of each speaker, avoiding interrupting others and waiting for their own opportunity to contribute. The meeting facilitator can manage the flow of discussions, ensuring that everyone has a chance to speak.
3.Value Time and Make Effective Use of the Video Conferencing Platform
- Highlight the importance of punctuality, demonstrating respect for others’ time and helping the meeting stay efficient. Provide guidelines for using the chosen video conferencing platform, encouraging participants to familiarize themselves with its features and test their audio and video settings before the meeting to minimize technical interruptions. Communicate the meeting etiquette guidelines before or at the beginning of each meeting, reminding attendees to adhere to these guidelines and create an effective and respectful meeting environment for all participants.
Utilizing Smart Whiteboards for Collaborative Opportunities
1.Foster Team Collaboration through Collaborative Tools
- Provide opportunities for collaboration by using screen sharing and collaborative tools to facilitate brainstorming, document reviews, or presentations. Encourage employees to actively contribute, provide feedback, and collaborate on shared documents or virtual whiteboards. Utilize collaborative tools like Google Docs, Microsoft Office 365, etc., for real-time collaboration, assigning specific tasks to individuals or teams and conducting document collaboration during meetings.
2.Promote Engagement and Collective Intelligence
- Utilize smart whiteboard tools and breakout rooms to encourage participants to contribute their ideas and draw inspiration from each other’s opinions. Use real-time feedback tools or voting features to gather opinions and make collective decisions. Assign individual or team leaders responsible for collaborative activities, rotating roles to ensure everyone has an opportunity to participate. Create an environment that facilitates easy sharing of ideas and opinions, encouraging open discussions and active engagement by seeking input from different perspectives.
3.Document Collaborative Efforts and Decision Outcomes
- Record collaborations and decisions made during the meeting, summarizing key points, action items, and follow-up steps to be shared in shared documents or emails. This ensures consistency among everyone involved and provides a reference for future collaborations or follow-up actions. By providing collaborative opportunities in remote meetings, foster teamwork, creativity, and a sense of ownership among participants, promote idea exchange, encourage diverse viewpoints, and ultimately achieve more effective problem-solving and decision-making.
Managing Meeting Time
1.Clearly Define Meeting Time and Agenda Management
- During remote meetings, pay attention to time management. Clearly specify the duration of the meeting and allocate appropriate time for each agenda item. Assign a meeting facilitator to ensure smooth discussions and intervene when necessary to ensure everyone has an opportunity to contribute. Set clear start and end times for the meeting and notify all participants in advance. Create a detailed agenda outlining the topics to be discussed and allocate specific time slots for each agenda item. This helps participants understand the meeting structure and ensures sufficient time is allocated for each topic.
2.Prioritize Management and Facilitate Effective Discussions
- Encourage participants to stay focused on the topic and avoid straying off-topic to avoid wasting valuable meeting time. The meeting facilitator should guide discussions back to the agenda as needed. If unrelated topics arise, it is recommended to address them separately or postpone them to future discussions. Set time limits based on the importance and complexity of agenda items and communicate them at the beginning of the meeting. The meeting facilitator should monitor the time and gently remind participants to conclude discussions when necessary to ensure adherence to the schedule. Identify the most critical or time-sensitive agenda items and determine the order of discussion. For less urgent or topics requiring more in-depth discussion, consider allocating additional time or scheduling separate follow-up meetings.
3.Encourage Concise Contributions and Summarize Key Points
- Encourage participants to contribute concisely and focus their contributions. Emphasize addressing key points and avoid unnecessary repetition. If discussions become lengthy or digress from the main topic, the meeting facilitator should politely intervene to ensure time is used effectively. At the conclusion of each agenda item, the meeting facilitator should provide a brief summary of the key points discussed, decisions made, or action items identified. This helps ensure consistency and facilitates a smooth transition to the next agenda item. Share meeting minutes or a summary of the discussion, decisions, and action items with all participants after the meeting as a reference and reinforcement of responsibilities for subsequent work. By effectively managing meeting time, remote meetings can be focused, efficient, and respectful of participants’ time.
Recording and Sharing Meeting Notes
1.Documenting and Sharing Meeting Content
- Consider recording remote meetings so that absent team members can catch up on progress or reference it in the future. After the meeting, provide meeting minutes or a summary of key decisions, action items, and follow-up actions to all participants. This helps ensure consistency and a sense of accountability. Most video conferencing platforms offer recording functionality, allowing you to capture audio, video, and screen sharing during the meeting. Make sure to inform all participants that the meeting will be recorded and obtain their consent. Sharing the recorded meeting content enables absent team members to review discussions, decisions, and action points and serves as a reference for participants to revisit the meeting content or clarify any misunderstandings.
2.Provide Clear and Concise Meeting Summaries
- In addition to meeting recordings, provide meeting minutes or a summary of key discussion points, decisions, action items, and follow-up actions. The meeting summary should be clear, concise, well-organized, and include important details such as deadlines, responsible parties, and any additional background or resources. Distribute the meeting minutes to all participants shortly after the meeting to ensure consistency and ensure everyone has a comprehensive understanding of the outcomes. Consider accessibility needs of team members and ensure the accessibility of the file format when sharing meeting recordings or summaries, making necessary adjustments based on specific accessibility requirements.
3.Protect Sensitive Information and Track Action Items
- When sharing meeting recordings or notes, ensure proper protection of any sensitive or confidential information discussed during the meeting. Consider removing or editing any sensitive information from shared materials to maintain data privacy and comply with organizational policies or regulations. Encourage participants to review the meeting recording and/or notes to refresh their memory and clarify any action items assigned to them. Establish a system to track and follow up on these action items and provide regular progress updates or completion statuses to ensure accountability and drive effective execution. Recording meetings and sharing meeting notes are valuable resources for participants, allowing absent team members to stay informed, providing reference for future discussions, and enhancing transparency and accountability within the team. By implementing these practices, collaboration, coordination, and productivity can be enhanced in remote meetings.
Soliciting Meeting Feedback
1.Seek Feedback and Suggestions
- Regularly seek feedback from meeting participants to identify areas for improvement and address any challenges. Encourage open communication and suggestions to enhance the remote meeting experience. Create a brief survey to collect participants’ feedback on the effectiveness of the meeting, clarity of communication, time management, and overall satisfaction, with options for additional comments or suggestions. Analyze survey responses to identify trends and areas in need of improvement.
2.Provide Secure Feedback Channels
- Allocate time during the meeting for participants to share their thoughts and suggestions for improving the remote meeting experience. Conduct separate follow-up discussions with key stakeholders or team members to gather more in-depth feedback. Provide anonymous feedback channels through anonymous surveys, suggestion boxes, or dedicated email addresses, allowing participants to freely express their opinions, ensuring these channels are easily accessible, and participants can feel comfortable using them.
3.Evaluate and Improve Meeting Tools
- Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the selected video conferencing platforms and other collaboration tools, specifically seeking feedback on remote meeting technology. Explore alternative solutions based on team feedback and requests. Communicate updates regularly and express appreciation for participants’ input, keeping them informed of the changes and improvements implemented based on their feedback. By actively seeking feedback, listening to participants’ suggestions, and implementing improvements, create a more engaging, efficient, and productive remote meeting environment that meets the needs of the team.
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