It’s a brand new year and companies all over the world are looking for new ways in which they can embrace the hybrid work culture. Streamlining remote meetings is one way to increase the productivity of their employees.
Nevertheless, it’s time we make the most of the situation we’re in, and figure out the best ways to work efficiently from the comfort of our own homes. Let’s get started!
1. Have an Agenda
The problem with remote meetings is that there’s no one-size-fits-all rule which can be applied when crafting an agenda for the meeting.
Different meetings have different workflows, and the best one can do is try to add some structure and organization to such meetings, to avoid endless meetings where you need to keep circling back to things on loop.
To avoid this, try to formulate a clear agenda prior to the meeting. Here’s a list of things an agenda typically consists of, but you can always customize this and make it more in-depth!
- The goal(s) of the meeting, around which the topics of discussion will be based.
- Sections for specific topics that need to be discussed, along with sub-sections where the participants can add in their input.
- A section where you can write notes and important points that have been made in the meeting.
- A section where you can write down the actionable goals from this meeting, which can then be reviewed in the next meeting.
- A concluding section that contains the key decisions that have been made from this meeting.
Suggested read: How to set and write effective meeting agenda [sample agendas]
2. Practice Daily Standup Meetings
One of the most efficient ways that many teams have found useful while working in a primarily remote environment is having daily standup meetings to mark the progress of each team member as you work towards a shared goal or target.
A daily standup involves 3 important questions – what you worked on yesterday, what you’re working on today, and if anything seems to be hindering your progress so far.
The purpose of having a standup is not to merely make sure tasks are completed, but it’s also useful in bridging the gap in communication when a team works remotely.
This is also a major way to boost productivity, as you’re able to visually see how much you and your team are accomplishing through the small tasks you do every day, apart from also giving everyone a sense of accountability.
3. Don’t Overdo Meetings
When your work is completely remote and you don’t meet your team very often, you can tend to over-compensate for this lack of communication by scheduling too many meetings every week.
The biggest downside to this is that it actually makes work much less efficient because too many meetings can drain people of their motivation and energy throughout the week.
It’s best to have one main meeting where you discuss your agenda, and then have smaller meetings throughout the week only if it’s absolutely necessary.
This is why having an agenda is important because it prevents you from missing out on discussing all the important tasks of the week ahead.
Also read: Voice Echoing | 10 tips to fix voice echoing during video conference
4. Keep Track of Time
Even though you’d love to spend more time with your team, at least virtually, having long meetings that just don’t end can in fact reduce the overall productivity of that day.
Studies show that having one online meeting can seem more tiring than having a couple of in-person meetings each day.
To avoid this, make sure you keep track of time and stay on schedule. You can always schedule fun catch-ups for later—such as ice-breakers and other fun activities that your team can engage in. Most remote teams also have an evening of variety entertainment every once in awhile, where you can play games, perform something, or simply catch-up on everything that’s been going on.
Also read: 10 Best Timeline Makers 2022 | Compare Features & Prices
5. Don’t be the Only One Talking
If you have a tendency of doing everything on your own to make sure there are no delays or mistakes, you might be used to taking charge of absolutely everything and making sure you get it all done, on time, every single day, with no dependencies on anyone else.
However, when all your meetings are currently remote and your employees have to attend numerous meetings online until they can start working from the office again, things can get a little monotonous and reduce their attention span and interest if there’s only one person who is actively talking and in-charge of all their meetings.
Further read: Managing Remote Teams: 15 effective tips that will come handy in 2022
By delegating different roles to different people, the meeting automatically becomes more engaging and lively. For example, some of the roles you can give other employees are facilitator, note taker, agenda maker, etc. This also increases the interactivity between the team and breaks the monotony of online meetings.
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