How to Manage Effective Remote Meetings
One of the things that is changing as the way we do business continues to evolve is the business meeting. It used to be that when someone wanted to have a meeting, a memo was circulated, a meeting room was reserved and the meeting was held. Today there are more people working from remote offices and satellite locations, and that can make holding a meeting more difficult. You can reduce your remote meeting stress by having an effective meeting plan in place.
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Instructions
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Circulate a meeting agenda at least one week prior to the meeting to all the participants. Let the participants know that they need to submit any problems with the agenda to you in writing at least three days prior to the meeting so that the issues can be discussed prior to the meeting taking place. Once the meeting starts, the agenda becomes the road map for an effective remote meeting.
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Email any forms or information that participants will need to participate in the meeting at least one week prior to the meeting taking place. In some cases a remote meeting may cost money to hold, and time wasted looking over documents that could have been reviewed prior to the start of the meeting is lost money.
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Only allow the people who have the floor to speak. The meeting chair person will call out a name and that is the person who has the floor. Because there can be issues with sound delay and video delay on remote meetings, it is critical to maintain professional courtesy and to not shout out during the meeting. Develop a key word that people can say when they would like the floor, and mute any participant who cannot follow the rules.
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Address one issue at a time, and ask all participants whether they are satisfied that the issue has been addressed before the meeting moves on. In some cases a remote meeting may have to occur without the participants being able to see each other; that is why a complete consensus that an issue is done is required before the meeting can move forward.
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Review all of the information that was presented at the meeting prior to calling the meeting to a close. Allow for a question and answer session only at the end of the meeting. Once again, a remote meeting may cost money to hold, so an organized question and answer session at the end of the meeting is more efficient than random questions asked throughout the meeting.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep the meeting brief and offer one-on-one phone conversations for the people that want to discuss particular issues in more detail.
The chair person of the meeting must maintain order for the meeting to run smoothly. Because there may not be eye contact or the ability to read body language during a remote meeting, respecting the authority of the chair person is critical to the meeting's success. Be prepared to mute anyone from the meeting who is not allowing the chair person to do her job.
