After a never imagined global pandemic had hit us, most of us never imagined that virtual meetings could become such a huge and important thing. And the fact is that they have been around even before that. Unfortunately, working virtually has not lived up to all the expectations. We probably always envied those who used to work from home, but now that we see ourselves in that same position, the grass doesn’t seem that green anymore.
On average, project managers spend around 20 hours per week on virtual meetings, most often from the pharmaceutical or telecoms industries. When asked how people feel after their conference calls, and if they think that was the best use of their valuable time, hundreds disagree. And we have all been through those meetings which could have definitely been an email.
On surveys conducted we can even conclude that people tend to not give their full attention during conference calls, but rather deal with their email or even to do other work. And this level of distraction wouldn’t happen in face-to-face meetings.
Most people are getting frustrated with this kind of meetings for various reasons, such as:
· They get easily distracted by other things such as work, e-mail, instant messenger, Facebook and more.
· Sometimes you can’t hear clearly because of background noise. This can be due to people using speaker phones.
· Actions are far less likely to be done after virtual meetings compared to face-to-face meetings.
· The start of the meeting is often delayed, especially if you have complex technology to set up and people who are new to it.
· Not knowing who else is in the meeting let alone who is speaking at any particular time.
· When you ask a question, nobody answers. When you ask for volunteers or you want someone to take an action, there can be absolute silence.
· Conference calls and online meetings can last far too long and people's concentration levels tend to drop.
· Lack of preparation; Not being able to get a word in; cameras and mics off.
How can we improve this situation? Well, when working with virtual meetings, many different variables come into play that manager / person in charge must be aware of, including: the levels of trust in the team; the urgency of the work; the potential for conflict; the need for in-depth conversations; the mixture of cultures; the need for engagement and enthusiasm; the variety of time zones; and the need for creativity and innovation in the team, as well as both access to and familiarity with the technology involved among team members. Sometimes, especially at the start of a project, given the mix of these variables, it would be a good idea to bring everyone together before working virtually.
Once the virtual working/ project has been decided, there are some secrets which, when applied, will make virtual meetings much more effective:
1. Preparation is crucial!
This does not just mean setting up the technology, but making the following clear before and at the start of the meeting:
a) What the purpose of the meeting is;
b) The objectives which need to be achieved by the end of the meeting;
c) A timed agenda;
d) Clear roles, including facilitator (or chair), timekeeper and scribe (to take down action points and record decisions made);
e) Agreed ways of working (or ground rules) such as “State your name before contributing” and “Mute when not speaking if you are in a noisy environment”; and
f) Agree how actions will be recorded, communicated, and followed up.
2. Technology is not the silver bullet
The range of technology available for virtual working is growing all the time. Compared to 10/ 20 years ago, tools are very sophisticated with much more life-like “tele-presence” video conferencing on the market nowadays. Innumerous platforms and software to choose from and sometimes a simple internet connection throws it all away. And even working across companies, technology does not always work seamlessly due to company firewalls and other security.
So, the secret here is, always have a backup plan - If internet fails you, resort to telephone lines. Share presentations beforehand so that everyone is already aware of the topics to be discussed. Practice using the technology and feel comfortable with it, so that you don’t get caught short-handed in sharing your screen or using any other tool.
3. Make the most of “Different time, different place”
To replace a face-to-face meeting with a conference call, video conference, or online meeting, is what we have come familiar with. All three of these happen synchronously, the same as a face-to-face meeting. But there are asynchronous tools that are often forgotten, and can make a real difference (email, recordings, discussion forum, social media, blogs, wikis, video). For example, instead of spending your entire virtual meeting showing presentations (which is likely to take a long time and risk losing engagement), share the presentation on a discussion forum and ask for comments before your meeting. Then you can use the virtual meeting to focus on questions that people have raised and areas of interest.
Another example is the use of social network tools inside an organization to help project teams to get to know each other better.
4. To keep people engaged
This is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to virtual meetings, and some of the most powerful things to keep people engaged are:
· The use of story
· Visuals to represent the work and picture maps of everyone
· Keeping people involved
Our brains are hard-wired for story from thousands of years of oral tradition. Information in story form is more effective in building relationships than simple lists when working in virtual teams.
As humans, we have multiple senses and on conference calls, we are only using our hearing. By adding visuals, whether on a shared screen or on preprinted sheets, we are adding another sense. When people are concentrating on a visual related to the work, they are less likely to be distracted by e-mail or things going on around them.
Many people claim it is very difficult to engage with disembodied voices. One way to counter this is to provide a picture map, with a photo of each person on the conference call or online meeting superimposed on a map.
My final suggestion for engaging people is to give them things to do. Roles such as timekeeper and scribe can be rotated around the team. Different people can facilitate different parts of the meeting. Ask people for their input. Make sure that everyone has a chance to provide his or her point of view.
5. Give up on control
In face-to-face meetings, control still seems to work. The leader can say, “You do this. You do that.” And this simply doesn’t work virtually. You cannot control people when they are in a different location and when you cannot see what they are doing. Some people will disconnect. Others will pretend to be present, but work on their e-mail instead. What is needed in virtual meetings is collaboration, to engage people and work together. This means that the leader must take on the role of facilitator, drawing out what's needed from the rest of the group and literally ‘making it easy’ (the root of facilitator) for the group to succeed and trust to be built, which can also be another problem. Lack of action destroys what little trust the team has built. So the leader also needs to make actions more likely to be carried out and agree how they will be documented and followed up, as well as check up on what people need to do and when, and check their intentionality.
In conclusion, virtual meetings are a fundamental way of getting things done today. Or for some, the only way. Many are frustrating and ineffective, but with a little thought and preparation, they can be made both effective and efficient.
Comments