Keeping your employees engaged during onsite meetings is enough of a challenge. It’s not uncommon for some to dominate the talk while the rest sit back and tune the others out. When discussions become virtual, it gets even harder to bring everything to order.

When your team is together in one room, there are fewer things to distract them. It’s harder for any of them to multitask without getting caught. Online though, they can see each other on the screen, they can be zoning out, or surfing the web at the same time.

Companies use virtual meetings because they’re inexpensive and quick to arrange. However, they can be difficult to get right and require a different approach from an office-based discussion.

In this post, we’ll look at the basics of what you need do to host a productive and effective talk with your team online.

Before the Meeting

Choose good technology

A good video conference tool is a must-have for every remote meeting. There are plenty of programs that allow you to communicate with people from around the world, each having their own unique features.

Note that some are free while others need paid subscriptions.

Prepare an agenda

Decide on the order of topics to be discussed. Make a record of who’ll be speaking and how much time is allocated for each.

An agenda also helps keep meetings short and concise. Make sure to share it will all participants beforehand so everyone is on the same page.

Establish a goal

Sticking to your agenda can be harder than it seems. So decide on an objective too, then work towards it.

For instance, during the first meeting of the year, your goal is to finalise the marketing campaign for summer. This way, everyone will focus on achieving it and not be carried away with other ideas.

Consider time zones

Having a distributed workforce means your employers are scattered across different time zones. This is something you must definitely consider when scheduling your discussions.

The best time to set your virtual meeting is when their schedules overlap. Otherwise, a time that suits the majority is your choice.

Send invites early

Ideally, your meeting invite should be sent 4 to 5 days before the event, with reminders sent 1 to 2 days prior and an hour before.

Schedule management tools like Calendly and Google Calendar are useful for this purpose. Some project management apps have this feature as well.

During the Meeting

Begin slightly early

Open up the room 5 to 10 minutes before the agreed time. This allows people to adjust their backgrounds, camera, and audio equipment before the actual conversation.

Also, it enables them to review the agenda and organise their thoughts or concerns beforehand.

Touch base personally

Working from home is isolating so it’s hard for your staff to maintain relationships with their colleagues. Hence, it’s a good idea to let them catch up with each other first.

Ask them how they’re doing, have some small talk, or maybe even have an icebreaker.

Stay on topic

If the conversation begins to veer off-topic, politely redirect it to the correct one and offer to talk separately about matters that aren’t on the agenda.

When it seems like one issue requires more time than what was initially allocated, schedule another meeting to cover the other topics.

Record the video

One benefit of video conferences is that you no longer have to manually write or type down what what said. Instead, you can just click on a button to record the whole thing.

You can also go over the recording to check if there’s anything you overlooked.

Ask for suggestions

Your employees have different perspectives about their work and about the company. They might have great ideas that make their jobs easier and your business grow bigger.

Therefore, see to it that you leave some time at the end to listen to their ideas about automating tasks or boosting communication.

After the Meeting

Make a summary

Planning out tasks seems easy when everyone is present but it can be hard to implement them. Once the talk is over, list down the to-dos that were discussed (or delegate the task to someone), then send the summary over to the attendees.

Doing so ensures that all are aware of the next steps and their responsibilities.

Share the recording

Send out a copy of the video recording to everyone involved in the topics covered in the meeting – especially those who weren’t able to attend.

With this, all key members have a better idea of their assignments or the objective of the project. They might also spot things that require further clarification.

Follow up on tasks

Your people might forget to follow through on certain decisions made during the meeting. It’s important to check in on their progress and make sure that they’re sticking to the plan.

Ask for updates a week after to rectify any problems that pop up during implementation.

Takeaway

It may seem daunting to try and host virtual meetings more effectively, but with the right approach and tools, they can be just as productive as in-person discussions. Following the steps we have outlined above will ensure that you avoid making any major mistakes.

If you’re wondering where you can find hard-working employees to hold virtual meetings with, we at Remote Workmate have the answer. We will connect you with top talents from the Philippines and Nicaragua to add to your growing team.