When we talk about remote meetings, Zoom or Google Meet links immediately show up in our mind, people struggling with the connection, some of these meetings could even have been an email or a chat! And there are also those embarrassing or even funny situations when someone opens the microphone by accident.
Whatever comes to your mind when we talk about remote meetings, the truth is: that we have to adapt and face this new reality, whether at work, college, or other situations.
In the last few months, the number of meetings has increased by 13%! As if that weren’t enough, the size of meetings has increased and the number of emails has also increased.*
*Source: National Bureau of Economic Research
This shows us that there is a difficulty in communication and in the way meetings are held. Today we brought some tips for you, so your meetings will become more productive, quicker, and less frequent.
Is it important to have meetings all the time?
Many teams have faced a big problem with people who want to have meetings all the time, whether it’s to discuss something really important or to get an answer on something that could simply be handled by message.
The fact is that meetings are extremely important for remote teams and, depending on the roles, they are indispensable. It turns out that the big problem is not the meetings, but the way they are held.
People have been looking to hold remote or hybrid meetings the same way they did at the office, but that doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because at the office things are more dynamic and spontaneous. In remote, we have a more systematic and functional organization. I’ll explain:
Using asynchronous communication
In remote work, it is important that asynchronous communication is constant. Certainly meetings and meetings are necessary, however, they should be more punctual and used wisely, as they can end up disrupting the team’s routine.
Small things that can be solved in three or four messages should always be communicated via email or chat. Thus, a lot of time is saved, since the asynchronous does not require an immediate response.
How to have the right and productive meetings?
Here are some practical tips on how to avoid these mistakes. It’s no problem not knowing how to handle remote meetings because many are still in the process of adapting.
Set a main agenda and topics to be discussed
In a remote meeting, there is not as much dynamism as in the office. Meetings must have at least one draft to be followed by the person who will lead.
This prevents the team and even the host from getting lost and the meeting from getting too long. With a well-defined agenda and well-aligned topics, the meeting is faster and more productive for everyone.
Set a maximum end time
As you saw earlier, the length of meetings has increased a lot, this happens mainly because of the lack of time to end. In addition to this issue, the agenda is often not well-defined.
Just as important as setting a meeting start time is setting the end time. This prevents the meeting from taking too long. Meetings that are too long tend to lose productivity and engagement over time. The recommended time for a good remote meeting is 20 to 45 minutes.
Use some time to break the ice with everyone
Taking five or ten minutes from the meeting to break the ice is essential. This helps every one to get comfortable and ready to start.
Using deskmy for an extremely productive routine
To make it all work even better, deskmy provides an environment that creates an office dynamic in a virtual place. Meetings don’t need links anymore and that “quick question” is just a click away, even better than chats or creating a whole new meeting link to it.
With deskmy, meetings can be scheduled in advance or even on the spot, just enter the room, open the mic, and start speaking. Do the work, and once finished, everyone can go back to their rooms and their work in less than 10 seconds!
How to have a meeting with deskmy
At deskmy there are scheduled meetings, which can be with external guests or team members.
Still, the coolest thing about deskmy is that you can bring the dynamic of working side-by-side into your remote work. Opening the microphone while in the same room is like saying hello to a person at the desk in front of you.
To have a meeting is as simple as in the office. Tell your team, to go to the room and start talking.
Communicating asynchronously with deskmy
deskmy is the only remote workplace where synchronous communication happens faster than asynchronous. Even so, deskmy has a chat tool, for any less urgent communication or when you want to keep focused on a task.