virtual meeting best practice checklist purpose when done well
TRANSCRIPT
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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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