PAPER making! g FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL Volume 6, Number 1, 2020
Video or audio, Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet--being a part of virtual meetings has become the norm, as companies have sent employees to work from home for the foreseeable future, or at least until there's confidence COVID-19 is under control. Especially for those more familiar with in-person meetings, remote conference calls can be a challenge: There are often participants who struggle with the technology or their at-home bandwidth. Once "in" the meeting, people also often talk over each other, which is even more critical not to do, given issues of buffering, delays, and speaker clarity. Meetings are a must "Love them or hate them, meetings are a part of almost every job, whether you're working remotely or working in an office," said Kathy Gardner, senior director of PR & media, FlexJobs. "In a remote workplace, finding daily opportunities to still see your coworkers, helps us stay connected, especially those that you may not work with on a daily basis," said Armen Vartanian, vice president, global workplace services, Okta. "That aspect of the office environment is lost when everyone is remote." Vartanian said he conducts a daily 15-minute meeting to simply stay engaged. Anyone who has sat through the tedium of daily meetings that involve roll calls, and awkward lulls can appreciate what Robert Love, CTO for Q-CTRL, a facilitator in development of quantum computers, said, "Don't have meetings for meetings' sake, have a facilitator, have an agenda and stick to it." TOP TIPS FOR CONFERENCE CALL ETIQUETTE FlexJobs' focus is on the flexible work environment, and the company recently released a list of the top 13 tips for remote conference etiquette. Other business experts also weigh in, too. 1. Always have an agenda There's nothing more irritating (and frustrating and not productive) than a meeting in which everyone languidly checks in, and then the person who scheduled the meeting has no plan. Don't schedule a meeting if you don't have an agenda. "Agendas don't have to be long, involved, or even particularly detailed," FlexJob suggested. "A brief outline of what topics the meeting will cover is usually good enough." By providing staff with an agenda, attendees know what to expect, can guesstimate how long it will run, and, if there is an element of participation, will give them an opportunity to prepare talking points. "If you know you have people coming from other meetings, then maybe start the meeting five minutes after the start time," said James McQuiggan, security awareness advocate, KnowBe4, who added, regarding agendas, "Include it in the meeting notice. Also, have it on a slide that is shared and readily available." "As a leader on a call, it can be challenging to bring a remote team to focus and communicate effectively, so it's important for the leader to assign ownership across the team and help facilitate the conversation amongst the group," Okta's Vartanian said. "Creating hand-offs in the conversation can make sure everyone on the call feels engaged and understands key takeaways, and helps you avoid those awkward transitions or lulls." 2. Report your absence "Skip the small talk about weather," said Dominik Zane, CEO, Around video-chat software. "Being on time also minimizes the need for everyone else to make small talk while waiting for late joiners." If you are not going to be at the meeting, or if you're going to be late, tell the person leading the meeting (or a trusted team member) as soon as you know. Call, email, or text. Conference calls are often held up waiting for specific attendees. Sometimes conference calls are held up because everyone is waiting "a few more minutes." Being seen on video is an important element of conference call etiquette, "It's important for participants to keep their video on as much as possible, particularly in the current context," said Andrey Khusid, CEO of Miro, a white-boarding platform. "Video adds a human touch to meetings, which can combat isolation and strengthen team relationships. And it can help the meeting facilitator identify whose attention is wandering, so they can bring them back into the conversation."
Article 14 – Video Conferencing Etiquette
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