As teams transition back from working from home, they are revisiting how meetings are run but many of the same challenges remain.
Team leaders need to take steps to level the playing field for remote attendees in order to guarantee successful sessions, starting with technology they use.
Facilitation
At hybrid meetings, it’s crucial that participants feel heard and valued for their contributions. One way of ensuring this happens is ensuring every participant can read each other’s body language and catch any subtle cues that might otherwise go unsaid online. Another is making sure all team members have equal access to communication tools whether that means Zoom meetings or audio calls (Zoom meetings/audio calls), chat messages or email updates; using collaboration software which makes all forms of communications simple is helpful in managing all these channels simultaneously.
As remote and hybrid employees can feel isolated, it’s essential that clear opportunities for feedback on responsibilities, goals and career advancement are created both physically and virtually.
Last but not least, it’s essential for hybrid teams to foster trust by adhering to consistent engagement standards across both physical and remote participants. Meetings should provide clear guidelines on how each participant should participate; for instance, asking them to take turns speaking or share notes via the screen could create trust among attendees.
Hybrid teams may present unique management challenges, but successful outcomes can still be achieved using these best practices. By making it clear that everyone belongs to one team and providing flexibility as necessary while encouraging openness and honesty among their workers, companies can ensure hybrid workers remain productive and happy with their employment situation.
Technology
Many hybrid teams rely on video conferencing software to communicate. When selecting one for use on your team, make sure it offers advanced features for high-quality video and audio transmission during meetings. Furthermore, equip your team with tools such as virtual whiteboards that allow brainstorming ideas in real time while encouraging collaboration across time zones – this will strengthen team bonds while cultivating an environment of cross-timezone cooperation.
At times, remote participants in hybrid meetings have felt marginalized because their small webcam images were projected for colleagues to judge or ignore, and audio quality often prevented effective conversations from taking place. But some technology vendors are now realizing the need to provide greater inclusivity and collaboration equity among members in hybrid meetings by offering new features to do just that.
Managers and leaders of hybrid teams must remain mindful that they don’t associate more closely with certain members based on where their office location is, otherwise this can create an unequal culture that’s hard to overcome. Furthermore, it is vital that managers practice openness and kindness towards all their staff regardless of how they work; regular informal meetings can help staff get acquainted and build trust again within such environments.
Asynchronous Collaboration
Remote workers find asynchronous collaboration an invaluable asset to ensure projects and meetings get finished efficiently. By eliminating real-time conversations, teams are free to work at their own pace on individual schedules before gathering together through video conferencing, document sharing or chat tools to discuss what has been accomplished over the interim period.
Communication tools that facilitate fast and accurate exchange are important for teams, enabling all members of an organization to remain up-to-date and aware of project statuses at any time. They also give teams the chance to address any concerns or queries that arise, while being used sparingly as it’s not meant as an alternative to face-to-face meetings.
As it remains commonplace to judge productivity based on how many meetings a team attends, eliminating unnecessary meetings in favor of asynchronous communication may greatly boost employee morale and engagement levels. Asynchronous communication also reduces meeting fatigue while saving significant time on logistics such as scheduling, technology implementation and travel arrangements.
Organizations seeking to successfully implement asynchronous collaboration must invest in appropriate collaboration and communication technologies, including unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platforms, cloud-based meeting management solutions, collaboration apps or documents designed to support various teamwork activities – ideally these solutions would offer voice and video conferencing features, along with tools for sharing documents, whiteboards and digital files.
Collaboration Tools
An effective hybrid team requires an effective collaboration tool tailored to their workflows and technical requirements. A good collaboration tool acts as an enabler, making sure everyone on the same page and not drowning in too much information.
Video conferencing tools like Zoom and Webex make it easier for teams to collaborate synchronously from anywhere, while providing features to eliminate common problems like lagging connections, fuzzy videos, feedback-ridden audio streams and context switching. Making collaboration easy means providing powerful tools with user-friendly features which support an inclusive culture which supports team members regardless of where they may reside.
Miro is a virtual whiteboarding tool that helps level the playing field by recreating the experience of sticky notes and scribbles on a board. With templates, integrations (such as Jira and Confluence), reactions and more features that create an experience as close to being in one room as possible.
Meetings are essential to high-performing teams, and hybrid teams in particular benefit from meeting regularly to exchange knowledge, provide updates and coordinate work tasks. An all-in-one week planning system such as Deskbird can make meeting processes simpler by enabling teams to schedule meetings at times that best suit everyone involved in scheduling the meetings themselves.