Way back in 2020, video meetings were a novelty and a great way to connect with colleagues. But with many of us choosing to continue to work from home post-pandemic, we’ve all fallen out of love with the video call and terrible online meetings are fast becoming the biggest bugbear of remote and hybrid workers.
Here at Halo intranet, we’ve been video conferencing for over 10 years, so we know the importance of keeping video calls fresh and effective. Here are our top tips!
Have a Clear Agenda
Remote meetings are way more efficient and way less awkward if everybody knows why they are there. Cut the rambling and follow a clear agenda. Send it out in advance so everyone is prepared and ready to go.
Do You Really Need An Hour?
Lots of teams get into the habit of booking hour-long meetings - it looks neater on your calendar, right?
Suppose your meeting has ten colleagues in attendance - that’s ten hours of company time. If you can, try cutting meetings to half an hour or 45 minutes. It will help to inject a sense of urgency into the meeting and your team will get some minutes back into their working day.
Don't Invite EVERBODY!
We’ve all found ourselves logging into a zoom meeting and not knowing why we’re there.
Whether you’ve got a big team or a small one, it’s easy to get into the habit of inviting people who don't really need to attend online meetings.
Get out of the habit of sending blanket invites and think about who really needs to be there. You could ask each department to send just one representative and if you take meeting minutes then those who don't attend can be kept in the loop afterwards.
Assign a Minute Taker and Meeting Host
Assigning a host who is happy to lead the meeting is key to a smooth video meeting. The host can introduce house rules and help to cut down the awkward silences, stop people from getting off track, and ensure everyone sticks to the agenda.
A minute taker should also be assigned to document the meeting, record future actions, and distribute the minutes on your intranet’s document library.
Don’t Overrun
There’s nothing more annoying than being on a video call that overruns - especially if you have other commitments.
Stick to the agenda and make sure your host keeps things ticking along to avoid meetings overrunning and keep your colleagues happy!
Hang On, Do You Actually Need a Meeting?
Sometimes we get into the habit of having meetings about meetings.
So before you open that calendar, ask yourself what you actually want to achieve and is a meeting really necessary.
If you need information for a project, is a quick call with one to two colleagues easier? Or could you find the colleague with the correct skill on your intranet’s staff directory and drop them a quick message?
Get the Right Remote Working Systems
If you have the right remote working systems in place you’ll need fewer meetings to keep in touch with colleagues and effectively manage projects.
Halo intranet was developed by remote workers for remote workers and is here to change the way hybrid teams work and interact. Visit our website to find out more.
