virtual meeting best practice checklist purpose when done well

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VirtualMeetingBestPracticeChecklist

Purpose

Whendonewell,virtualmeetingsmeansavedmoneyandgreatercollaborationofmulticulturalskilledresources.Donepoorly,theycanbehighlyunproductive,negativeexperiences.

Bestpracticesforfacetofacemeetingsstillapply,butmoreisrequiredforvirtualmeetings.UsethefollowingFacilitatorandParticipantbestpracticechecklisttogetthemostbenefitfromvirtualmeetings.

GlobalFacilitatorChecklist

Timing BestPractice Rationale

Priortomeeting

� KnowWhoYourParticipantsAre

Knowtheexpertiseandculturalorientationofeachmemberofthevirtualteam.Asuggestion:Beforethefirstmeeting,distributeashortbiographyofeachteammembersothateveryoneisawareoftheexpertiseontheteamandbeginstheassociationwithsomebriefpersonalknowledgeoftheindividualteammembers.

� Determinemeetingprotocolsandteamnormsinadvance

RulesofEngagementareimportantsothatallteammembersknowandunderstandwhatisexpectedofthem.Decidehowdecisionsaregoingtobemade,whatlevelofparticipationisexpected,howculturalorlanguagebarriersmaybeaddressedandwhatcommunicationstyleisusedpriorto

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themeeting–bepreparedtodiscussandamendatthefirstmeeting.

� Establishcleargoalsandobjectives

Itiscriticalthatthevirtualteamknowsandunderstandswhytheyareontheteam,whattheirroleis,andwhattheyaretryingtoachieveinthewidercontextoforganizationalgoalattainment.

� Keepmeetingsshort. Virtualmeetingsarebestkeptto30‐60minutes.Ifmoretimeisrequired,usetechniquestokeepparticipantsengaged.Forexample:• Havebreakoutsessionsateachsite.• Rotatethefacilitationofeachagendaitem.

� Limitthenumberofparticipants.

Ifmorethan6‐8participantsarerequired,useco‐facilitatorsbyenlistingarepresentativefromthelargersitestoensureappropriatelevelsofengagementandtohelpkeepthemeetingstayontask.

Tip:Meetvirtuallywithpotentialco‐facilitatorsinadvancetoensurecollectiveunderstandingofroles.

� Createamoredetailedagendaandensureownershipofeachagendaitem.

Provideadditionalprocessinformation:howeachagendaitemwillbehandled,whowillhandleit,howdecisionswillbemade,andhoweachsite/participantwillbeengagedinthediscussion.

� Sendoutmaterialsinadvance.

Increaseengagementandsavetimebyreducingtheamountoftimerequiredtoprovidepreamblestoagendaitems.Followupwithparticipantspriortothemeetingtoensuretheyreceivedandhave

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reviewedthematerial.

� Planandrehearsemeetingtechnologyifnotthoroughlyfamiliarwiththetechnologyanditsfeatures.

Onlyusewhatisneeded.Ifthemeetingpurposeisadiscussionorupdate,ateleconferencewillbebetterthanvideoconference.Ifthepurposeistorevisematerial,atoolallowingreal‐timeeditsisuseful.Testthatthetechnologyworksandisavailabletoallparticipantsinadvance.Haveanalternativeplanfortechnologyglitchesduringthemeeting.Makesureparticipantsknowthealternativeplan.

Duringthemeeting

� Allowtimeforintroductionsortore‐establishrelationships.

Ensureeverysiteorpersoniswelcomedintothemeetingandhastheopportunitytosociallyconnecttotheotherparticipants.

Tip:Attheinitialmeetingaskeachparticipanttoprovideabriefoverviewofskills,talentsandpersonalprofile.

� Createaparticipantmaptotrackpointsmadefromeachsite.

Onapieceofpaper,drawanareaforeachsite/participant.Asthemeetingprogresses,notekeypointsfromeachintheirarea.Thisisusefulduringthemeetingtoremindparticipantsofwhat’sbeensaidandafterthemeetingforfollow‐updocumentation.Itisalsoausefultooltoensureadequateparticipation.

� Reviewmeetingtechnology,groundrules,teamnorms,andgoalsandobjectivesatthestartofthefirstmeeting.

Reviewhowtousemutebuttonsforteleconferencesorpasscontroltoanotherparticipantforreal‐timeviews/edits.Reviewthegroundrules,norms,goalsandobjectivespreviouslydraftedandaskforinputorfeedback,asappropriate.

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� Dofrequentprocesschecks. Askforfeedbackonthemeetingprocessandhowthetechnologyisworking.Thisallowsforadjustmentstobemadeandkeepsparticipantsengaged.Thefacilitator(orco‐facilitators)isalsoquicklyawareifsomeonehasstoppedparticipating.

� Pollthevirtualroomoften. Participantswillneedadditionalinformationtocompensateforthelackofverbalorvisualcommunication,ifvideoconferencingisnotinuse.Askforexplicitfeedbackfromeachparticipant/siteastopicsarediscussed.Thisalsoensuresconstantengagementinthemeeting.

� Usenamesfrequently. Helpparticipantsrememberwhoisinattendanceandassistparticipantswithstayingpersonallyconnectedtothemeeting.

� Confirmallterminologyandwatch/listenforlanguagedifferencesthatmaycausemiscommunications.

Ensureeveryonehasthesameunderstanding.Peoplearemorereluctanttoquestionmeaningoverthephoneorinanonlinemeetingandtherearefewerbodylanguagecuesavailabletodetectconfusion.

� Assignoutstandingtasks–withownersanddeadlines

Ensurealltaskassignmentsareclearlyidentifiedandownershipisassigned,withaclearduedatetomaintainprogresstowardstatedgoalsandobjectives

Afterthemeeting

� Producemeetingminutesanddistributeinatimelymanner

Producemeetingminuteswithinthreebusinessdays,clearlystatingstatusofeachagendaitem,anyfollow‐upitems,andalloutstandingtaskswithbusinessownersandcompletiondatesclearlydocumented.

� Ensureteammemberseachunderstandtheir

Contactteammemberstoensurecommunicationwasclearthroughouthemeetingandtoreceiveanyfeedbackteammembersmaynothavebeen

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commitments comfortablestatingonthecall.

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ParticipantChecklist

Timing Practice Rationale

Priortomeeting

� Gettrainedonthemeetingtechnology.

Understandhowtousethefunctionsandfeaturesavailable.Avoidinterruptingthemeetingwithtechnologyquestions.

� Takeextratimeformeetingpreparation.

Readtheagendaandanypreparationmaterialtohelpkeepvirtualmeetingsshort.

Duringthemeeting

� Stayclosetothemicrophoneorcameraforaudio/videoconferences.

Speakclearly.Otherparticipantsmaynotbeabletohear/seeyou.Wanderingtheroomresultsindistractingchangesinaudioloudness.

� Setcellphones/pagerstovibrate.

Ifthedeviceisamust(e.g.support),ensureitwillnotinterruptthemeeting.Ifcalled,informthefacilitatorthatyouaretemporarilyunavailable.Mutetheconferencephonelineforphonemeetings.Remembertoannouncewhenyouhavereturned.

� Provideyournamewhenparticipating.

Othersmaynotknowvoices.Someonlinemeetingtoolsdonotshowthenameofthepersontypingincomments.Knowingwhothecommunicationisfromoftenaddsextraorganizationalcontextthatwouldotherwisebelost.Italsohelpsprovidethepersonalconnectionthathelpsbuildteams.

� Neverinterruptanotherspeaker.

Unlikeface‐to‐facemeetingswhereseveralvoicescanbeheardsimultaneously,somevideo/phonelineswillonlybroadcastonevoice.Partsofconversationcanbelost.Provideextratimeforpeopletoanswerquestionsastheremaybetransmissiondelays,oradelayinlanguage

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translation.

� Respondusingtheperson’sname.

Otherparticipantsmaynotunderstandwheretheresponseisdirectedandnotknowwhatisthenexpectedofthem.

� Beveryexplicitaboutthoughtsandfeelings.

Communicationisbased7%onwords,38%onvoice,and55%onvisualimpressions.Virtualmeetingsrequiremoreexplicitstatementstocompensateforlostcommunicationchannels.

� Avoidsarcasmandbeverycarefulwithhumor.

Withoutbodylanguageand/orverbalcues,sarcasmorhumorcaneasilybemisinterpreted,especiallyinamulticulturalmeeting.

� Don’taddparticipantsduringthemeeting.

Ensureonlythoseidentifiedareparticipatingtoavoidpotentiallyembarrassingcommunication.

Afterthemeeting

� Providefeedbackoraskquestions

Provideanyfeedbacktotheteamleadthatwasnotcommunicatedduringthemeetinginatimelyandproactivemanner.Ifanythingwasunclearduringthemeeting,followupwiththeteamleaderimmediatelytogetclarification.

� TakeAction Takeownershipandactiononanyagendaitemsyoumayownforthefutureandensureanyassignedtasksarecompletedinadvanceofthestateddeadline.

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