Remote work meetings have become a necessary part of the workflow, and a means to ensure effective communication. Even if you have a team that is technically in the same physical space, it’s becoming more normal for staff and even clients to opt for virtual meetings instead.

With remote working becoming the new normal, teams can’t afford to have poorly run meetings. In fact, poorly run meetings have negative impacts on productivity, motivation, and staff’s overall well-being.

To have effective remote work meetings that are beneficial to everyone involved, here are seven tips to implement.

1. Consider if the meeting could have been an email

The first way to achieve a good meeting is to ensure that it is relevant to all the invited parties. Rather than have a meeting where everyone gets together to talk about a problem, have a brainstorming meeting. In reality, no one likes too many meetings, so consider the necessity of a meeting before setting it up.

2. Create an agenda

Agendas not only make the participants come prepared it also creates a sense of focus. To achieve having a focused meeting, organise the agenda as a set of questions that need answers instead of topics to discuss. As the organiser, this helps you have an idea of the appropriate people to invite for the meeting. It also enables you to measure the success of the meeting accurately.

3. Let check-ins be check-ins

In the virtual world, remote work meetings can mean a lot of things, including scheduled check-ins. Scheduled check-ins are a great way to keep up with staff, besides assigning tasks and asking for deliverables. However, if it’s a scheduled check-in, keep it casual and try not to make it ‘another work call. When your employees understand the differences, meetings in the company won’t feel redundant.

4. Make time for casual conversation

A great way to keep the team engaged is to have some time at the beginning of the meeting to check in with everyone, catch up, or have small talk about what’s going on in the office. This activity will boost engagement and strengthen office culture.

5. Assign tasks and follow-up

In remote work meetings, it is easy to constantly forget the quiet team members, defeating the purpose of effective meetings. You can tell someone to take notes and assign time-tracking to another team member. You can also assign tasks that you can follow-up with later. By giving different tasks to people during meetings, you keep everyone engaged, and it’s harder to neglect some team members.

6. Plan for distractions

While no one will deliberately want to disrupt an official meeting, it’s helpful to anticipate distractions from kids, pets, family members or just technical glitches. Planning for your meeting with these in mind allows for a more relaxed session.

7. Ask for feedback

Finally, an excellent way to improve on your remote work meetings is to ask for feedback from your team members or the participants (if they’re external). This method gives you first-hand ideas on what’s working and what needs improvement. 

In conclusion, there may be no such thing as a perfect meeting, let alone, perfect remote work meetings. However, with focus and intentional efforts, your sessions can be engaging and efficient. Here’s to effective meetings!

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