How often are your meetings productive? Be honest.
Between meeting attendees arriving late and your co-worker loudly typing an email at the other end of the conference table, it can be hard to stay focused. If you’re holding a video meeting, it can be even more challenging to manage your time effectively.
Owl Labs’ State of Remote Work 2021 revealed that organisations are changing their meeting technology, meeting spaces, and employee expectations to improve meetings for all employees. 64% of survey respondents working from home chose hybrid video conferencing calls as their preferred meeting style. 7 in 10 employees who work from home feel that remote meetings made it easier to present to a group and less stressful, and 66% felt that they make meetings more equal, and make it easier to contribute effectively.
Without the right tools and workplace culture, it’s harder for everyone to feel they can participate in conversations, and to communicate deadlines and deliverables. Technical problems can stop those attending remotely from hearing or seeing everything in the meeting room, creating an unequal experience. According to a survey from online collaboration company Wrike, 46% of employees leave meetings feeling like they don’t know what the next action item is.
With a few strategies, tools, and meeting rules, video meetings can be successful, collaborative, and inclusive for all attendees. The pandemic showed the world that people can be successful at work no matter where they are working from. 90% of employees feel they are the same or more productive when working from home — but the number one challenge for those who work from home on hybrid video calls is that they can’t tell who is speaking in the physical room.
Why make video meetings more efficient?
Video meetings rose 50% during the pandemic and organisations need to look at how much time their employees are spending on meetings, and how meeting time is spent. The top reason employees are motivated to attend meetings is if they are well-planned, and one in five workers thinks that the best way for them to get more work done is to have fewer meetings.
In 2021, one-third of employees report that they always or often experience challenges during video calls, and only 38% of employers have upgraded their video meeting technology to improve hybrid collaboration. There is an employee expectation for more efficient meetings with intuitive technology that companies will need to address to maintain employee satisfaction and achieve hiring and retention goals.
Best practices for setting up a video meeting
When setting up a video conferencing meeting, choose a video meeting platform that works across devices and has a simple user interface for attendees. Use a tool that doesn’t require an app download in case any attendees are temporarily using a new device or traveling and need to call in.
One key element to making meetings more productive is having an agenda. To make it easier on the meeting organizer, they can use a meeting agenda template when setting up a meeting. Meeting agendas help the meeting stay on track, create a more equitable experience that doesn’t rely on physically being in the office, and maintain organization by creating documentation of the meeting notes for all to use.
Looking for templates? Check out Owl Labs’ free downloadable Meeting Agenda Templates here.
NAHT members receive a special 10% discount from the normal MSRP of £999 for the Meeting Owl Pro down to £899. Find out more here.
Written by: Owl Labs
Date: 31 March 2022