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The current COVID-19 lockdown has forced many businesses to transition to a work-from home setup. Unsurprisingly, this has created many new logistical problems. One of the most obvious, of course, is the inability for team members to meet in person. As such, almost all business meetings are now being conducted remotely. With that in mind, today we’ll share five helpful tips that business leaders can use to hold more productive remote meetings. Check them out here:
Stick to a Single Platform
Zoom, Google Hangouts, FaceTime ––there’s no shortage of video-chat options for professionals to make use of at the moment. Still, for the benefit of your staff, it’s a smart practice to stick to one, consistent platform for all of your meetings. This will ensure your team doesn’t waste valuable time downloading and learning how to use new video conferencing tools, and it will prevent any possible platform confusion between employees.
Keep Your Roster Small
Business leaders may feel tempted to try and include as many of their team members as possible on a video conference –– in order to keep everyone in the loop. Yet, the reality is that large virtual meetings are nearly impossible to run efficiently. Additionally, inviting someone to an hour-long meeting that only pertains to their work in a small way is an unproductive use of their time. If you have something important to say to all of your team members, draft an email instead and keep your virtual meetings between five or fewer people. This will encourage more meaningful discussions anyway.
Set a Time Limit
Whether you’re meeting in person or remotely, it’s always a good idea to cap your get-togethers with a hard time limit. This will make sure that your meetings never wander into unnecessary conjecture or filler. Now more than ever, people need time to focus on the most pressing tasks on their desks. So don’t bog them down with a needlessly long meeting.
Prepare Extensively
Brainstorming sessions don’t always translate to virtual meetings. If you want to guarantee that your meetings produce results, ask your staff to prepare for them more than they normally might. Whether you’re discussing a new line of 50 ml serological pipettes or how to manage a difficult client’s expectations, let your staff know what you expect them to bring to the table beforehand.
Explore Other Options
Virtual meetings can be highly effective under the right circumstances, but remember that they’re not your only means of communication. If you can get a point across with a simple text message, email, or even a phone call, it might make more sense to avoid scheduling a full-blown conference. At least until the lockdown is over.