Efficient Meeting Technology for Hybrid Teams

Organizing effective virtual and in-person meetings is a daunting task especially for a work-from anywhere hybrid team. Meetings consume employees’ time and require employees to focus while not being physically near to one their colleagues. They can also create stress if they don’t produce productive results. Fortunately, by following a few best practices for conducting meetings–meeting only when necessary, creating clear and concise agendas, encouraging active participation, and using effective collaboration tools that facilitate discussion and decision-making–managers can make meetings a powerful tool for employee productivity.

After a meeting, it is easy for participants to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that still needs to be completed. To combat this, managers should set clear goals for the next steps that result from the meeting. They can then break these goals down into smaller action items that can be more easily completed. Additionally, managers should ensure that all participants leave with a clear idea of their part in the ongoing project and specific tasks to follow up on.

To keep distractions at bay It is important to create a comfortable and clean environment for everyone. The ideal meeting space must be quiet, private, and well-lit. A good audio system for the meeting room is vital to ensure the ability to communicate clearly when online meetings. A conference call that has a dishwasher or dog barking in the background could cause confusion and hinder attendees from engaging in productive discussions. Furthermore, it’s crucial for managers to ensure that their teams are focused on the task at the moment by implementing technology that blocks distracting click for more websites and apps during meetings. The digital agency O3 World, for example, uses an app called Roombot that scans Google Calendars of attendees to inform them that it’s time to conclude the meeting. The app also regulates the lighting in the conference room, dimming the light bulbs during the last minutes of the meeting in order to prevent attendees from checking their phones.