How To Ensure Team Meetings Are Productive During Work From Home Due To Lockdown

The entire world is currently battling its biggest threat so far, the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 virus.  Businesses and corporate organizations were totally unprepared for the lockdown of entire countries across the globe, which is a consequence of the COVID-19 virus.  The lockdowns were enforced as a desperate measure to curb the spread of the virus and give the healthcare infrastructure some amount of leeway to combat the virus.

However, companies and businesses adapted to the lockdown by enforcing a mandatory work from home option to ensure work stays on track.  Working from home means having to balance both personal and professional lives at the same place and this can often lead to frustrating situations.  Physical team meetings have now moved to virtual spaces where teams can catch up on targets and establish new targets.  But virtual team meetings can sometimes drag onto a long time which leads to the decrease in the productivity of the meetings and also a waste of time.

There are however ways to ensure the virtual meetings and conference calls to stay productive and also to finish them efficiently in minimal times.

Equip the team with the right technology and tools

More often than not team meetings see a wastage of time during the beginning of the meets when everyone is joining the meet.  Time is lost while checking for the quality of the video and audio and can often look disorganized.  It is important to use the right tools or apps which are light and easy to use.  Examples include Zoom, Google Meets and Hangouts or Microsoft Teams.  Equipping the team with the right tools means the managers and the team stay on the right page.

Being Prepared

It is important to spend some time before the meeting to prepare a list of questions and tasks that need to be addressed during the online meeting.  This simple task will not only ensure that you stay on track during the meeting but also lets you get into the right frame of mind for the meeting.  Any follow up questions can be compiled and can be asked in an email or in a one on one call.

Keep the time/time zones in mind

While scheduling a meeting, the time should be taken into consideration.  No one likes to have a meeting early in the morning because it is a normal time in a different timezone.  A meeting should be fixed so that everyone attending is comfortable which would in turn mean everyone would be able to participate efficiently.

Speaking over each other

While working remotely, one may not be able to see each other clearly either due to slow internet or bad hardware.  There can be video and audio lags as well which would mean you might not be able to know when someone is speaking which would mean two people are speaking at the same time making the situation a little awkward.  Therefore it is important to take a pause before speaking to check if someone else on the team is speaking.

Make the team meetings a regular part of the schedule

It is advisable to avoid ad hoc and impromptu meetings during remote working hours as it might disrupt an employee’s work flow.  Agreeing on a time and schedule for a team meeting will also send an important message that other people’s time is valuable.  Preparing for the meeting in advance also allows you to avoid potential connection issues.

As the large majority of the world is currently working from home, it would be safe to assume that a lot of roles would see the transition to remote work once lockdowns are lifted.  However for the moment, it is important to remember that time is valuable and following the above mentioned points will help in improving the productivity of virtual team meetings.

Also read: How To Onboard The Right Investor For Your Startup