3 Things Needed to Lead Successful Virtual Meetings for a Hybrid Team
It’s Nearly 2023. Is Your Team Hybrid?
At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, most in-person teams went remote, forced to go this route due to worldwide quarantine orders. In the USA that meant that nearly all of our workforce stayed home, and learned to navigate working remotely.
It’s safe to say that by 2021, most of us figured out how to lead virtual meetings for fully remote teams. Now that we are headed into 2023, what does your team look like?
- There are companies who are requiring employees to return to the office.
- Others have fully embraced all things remote and don’t want anyone back in the office.
- Then there are those who have found a balance; creating a hybrid workspace that allows employees to divide their time between working in the office and working from home.
Team Meetings for Hybrid Teams
What do team meetings for hybrid teams look like.
It can be messy!
While virtual meetings for hybrid teams by design take place… well, virtually, it doesn’t mean that everyone likes these types of meetings or gets the most out of them.
Those in the office might be resentful of having to sit in front of a computer and join a Zoom video call. At the same time, those working remotely can suffer from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) of what’s going on in the office – and even feel excluded or isolated.
The 3 Things Needed to Lead Successful Virtual Meetings for a Hybrid Team
If you are the facilitator and in charge of a hybrid team, here are 3 ways to move forward! Remember, that we’ve all had to figure this out and it might take some time to get it right. The more you practice and the sooner you get familiar with these types of meetings, the smoother these meetings will run.
1 Determine the purpose of the meeting.
Ask yourself these questions AND take the time to answer them honestly.
- Why are you meeting?
- What’s the desired outcome?
- What will be accomplished at the end?
2 Decide if it’s a meeting or an email.
Many of the meetings that occur today are one way monologues where people show up to receive a download of information. If your purpose is to ‘understand’ or ‘be aware of’ then write an email, or record a video that people can watch . There is no need to gather everyone to listen to one or two people in a one-way conversation.
If your meeting is about buy-in, new ideas, decision-making, collaboration, co-creation, and gathering input on a decision then have a meeting, and have a facilitator.
3 Design the meeting to match the desired outcomes.
People will support what they help to create. If you truly want participation then create a meeting design that supports hearing all voices.
This is what that looks like:
- Create a question based agenda
- Send it out ahead of time
These 3 ways help you get your team to a meeting. Now, to get them engaged and active, read these next 7 tips to increase engagement.
7 Ways to Increase Engagement During a Virtual Meeting for a Hybrid Team
The following tips can be shared with your team and become standard practice for every Zoom video team call.
Expectation should be set that from no matter where you join, from the office or remote, these standards are firm.
- Ensure high-quality video resolution
- Hide your self-view
- Ask people to refrain from using gifs or really detailed graphics in their background
- Look at the camera
- Check-In with everyone who joins the call
- Invite people to a virtual collaboration tool like Mural or Miro and ask them to participate
- Agree to unmute
Virtual Meeting Resources for Facilitators
If you need help, here are additional resources!
5 great resources to get started as a facilitator
Last but not least, we offer a variety of virtual workshops for those on their journey to facilitation mastery.
They are offered throughout the year, please take a look at the workshop calendar to find your preferred workshop and dates.
Facilitation workshops offered include:
Virtual Facilitation Masterclass
