Holding effective remote meetings during the COVID-19 outbreak
If online meetings are your new normal, you know that making the most of these meetings is paramount to continuing to operate your business. While much of the advice for holding in-person meetings applies, successful virtual meetings also have their own rules for success. Read on for our ultimate guide to remote meetings.
You’ve probably faced a number of changes to your daily life as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and your work life is no exception. As federal and provincial governments urge social distancing, continuing to go about your daily tasks remotely will require some adjustments as organizations convert to online solutions.
That’s why we’ve gathered these tips to help you put your best foot forward in remote meetings. Whether you need a refresher for remote team meeting etiquette or guidance on hosting client meetings, we have you covered. Read on for our ultimate guide to remote meetings.
The Golden Rules of Successful Virtual Meetings
Many people are currently adjusting to a new remote work setting. Patience is a must as everyone starts to figure it out, especially those who are new to virtual meetings. No matter the reason that you’re now holding remote meetings — whether it’s because your team touchdowns are now online or you’re adjusting to virtual client meetings — follow these rules to hold effective remote meetings during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Prepare your work station
Set yourself up for success before you attend your first meeting. Make sure that you have a reliable Internet connection and the right equipment. Give yourself time to troubleshoot any issues by installing any software or peripherals you will need ahead of time. Test all your equipment and ensure you know how to work mute buttons on the equipment or through the software. It’s best to use a headset to ensure you have a clearer sound; at the very least, use headphones to avoid feedback from your mic picking up audio from the speakers.
Avoid distraction
Sitting at your desk for a meeting can make it tempting to check your email or continue working on other tasks — especially if the meeting is audio-only. Resist the temptation! Give your full attention to the meeting and its participants; not only does this help you avoid looking unprofessional, taking time out of your day to be present and focus on one thing can be a good break from your day-to-day tasks.
You should also make sure that you have a quiet place with minimal distractions to take the meeting. This can mean closing the door to your home office, putting on noise cancelling headphones or even something as simple as remembering to close your window to avoid excess background noise. If your child’s school is currently closed, finding a distraction-free work environment at home to hold virtual meetings with kids might not be the easiest task. To help, we’ve provided some resources that can help you balance working at home with your kids.
Make a good impression
Whether it’s an audio or video call, minimizing background noise and being attentive is non-negotiable. If it’s a video call, you should also be aware of what you’re presenting visually. If you wouldn’t wear a sweatshirt to an in-person meeting, don’t do it on a video call. Likewise, consider what other participants can see. Find a neutral background. Clear the desk space that’s visible — this means putting away your lunch dishes! And avoid sitting directly in front of a window, as the bright light will make it difficult to see you on camera.
Treat it like every other meeting
Just because you’re probably attending virtual meetings in sweatpants now, that’s no excuse to forget in-person meeting etiquette.
Be punctual! If you’re running the meeting, you should aim to log in five to ten minutes ahead of the start time. This gives you a chance to set up the call and any resources that need to be shared without delaying the meeting and wasting participants’ time.
Likewise, you would never walk into a meeting without your talking points, so don’t let the security of an online meeting leave you unprepared. Do your research and come just as ready to a virtual meeting as you would an in-person meeting. If you are sharing resources onscreen, consider also having a PDF version of the presentation open as backup.
Running remote team meetings
As work from home arrangements become more popular due to social distancing requirements, you’ve likely had to adjust to online team meetings. Increasing the frequency of team meetings is a good idea during this time; without the convenience of in-office interactions, touching base with your team online can be a helpful way to keep everyone aware of changing expectations.
With many teams moving to virtual meetings, here’s a refresher on the requirements and etiquette for hosting online team meetings.
Choosing the right remote meeting tools
With many virtual meeting tools out there, choosing the right one for your specific situation can be daunting. Your first step is to consult your organization’s official licenses and security guidelines. Obviously, following your organization’s requirements is your first responsibility.
If your organization doesn’t have remote meeting tools in place yet and you are tasked with finding the right tools for your department, keep your company’s security requirements at the forefront as you evaluate available tools. Other considerations include:
- Required functionality: Do you need audio and video conferencing? Should the tool have screen-sharing and recording capabilities?
- Tool limitations: Can the tool handle the maximum number of people you need in your remote meetings?
- Client meetings: Will you also be using the tool for client meetings? If so, you may want to add ease of inviting external participants to your list of requirements.
Be familiar with the technology
Once the technology has been put in place, it’s everyone’s responsibility to know how it works. Make training and technical support available to all team members. Ensure that everyone has installed the required technology. Consider running a test meeting so that team members who may be new to the tool can get familiar with the functionality.
Stay on track
The first step in making online meetings more efficient is to establish expectations. The best way to do this is by sending meeting invites ahead of schedule and including an agenda and meeting details so that everyone can come prepared. Without the non-verbal cues of an in-person meeting, it can be more difficult to keep communication flowing. Use the agenda to ensure that you’re covering the main points.
In regular team meetings that have been migrated online, you may already have an established (if unwritten) agenda. Make sure that everyone has the space to participate in this new forum. Your team members may have different engagement styles that will need to be approached differently. You don’t want anyone to feel intimidated by the new technology, so ask questions and be inclusive to ensure full participation.
Be flexible
Everyone is adjusting to the new normal. Help smooth the transition by demonstrating your understanding of the adjustments everyone has had to make. For example, start meetings by noting that children or pet noises in the background are completely acceptable.
Virtual meetings with clients
By planning in advance, you can hold effective remote client meetings during the COVID-19 outbreak. The first thing to do is to determine who will be running the meeting, technically-speaking. We recommend holding remote client meetings yourself so that you can control what you’re presenting while using technology that you’re already familiar with. However, if the client proactively provides you with meeting details, consult your organization’s security requirements before accepting the meeting invite.
With some preparation, holding client meetings remotely can be an opportunity to show your flexibility while maintaining business continuity. Here are additional things to remember when running a remote client meeting:
Invite the right people
You know the internal participants you need at the meeting, but you also want your client to have the right stakeholders present on their end. If you don’t have a good idea of who to invite, it’s easy to say something like “please forward to relevant stakeholders” to make sure you cover your bases.
Send a meeting invite to your client with full event details ahead of time. Give the client as much notice as you can. This is also the time to send an agenda if your meeting will have multiple moving parts. The agenda also gives your client a better idea of who they will need to invite to the meeting.
Get there early
You know you have to be on time for client meetings wherever they are, but when you’re conducting a remote meeting, it’s imperative that you have everything set up ahead of time. Set up the conference bridge 5 to 10 minutes ahead of time to make sure everything is working and ready for the client. Load any presentations or demonstrations, and prepare your desktop for screensharing by disabling any popups and notifications that can interrupt the flow of your presentation.
Practice with the technology
Make sure you know what you’re doing! You may want to conduct a trial meeting so that you can work through things like starting the meeting, muting your line, sharing your desktop and using other presentation tools. A practice session can make you more confident with the technology so that you can focus on the content.
If you’re attending a meeting on your client’s chosen tool, make sure you’ve looked at the meeting invite and know what’s expected of you. Some programs require you to download a separate desktop client.
Be aware of your surroundings
Making a good audio/visual impression goes double when you’re holding a client meeting. Remember: you represent your organization, so present a professional front.
Ensure that you have a quiet place to take the meeting with minimal distractions. If it’s a video call, make sure that your work space is clean and that you’re dressed professionally.
By keeping in mind these tips in conjunction with all the in-person meeting etiquette you already follow, remote meetings can be a valuable part of your workday as we all deal with the changing landscape of work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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