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Remote Meetings
From the moment that GoToMeeting login is clicked or the Zoom meeting is joined, a remote meeting is much more than just a virtual conversation. Even in person, there are advantages and disadvantages of meetings. But layer in virtual attendance, advantages and disadvantages of online meetings become even more apparent given the extra effort it takes to run and participate in remote team meetings.
Benefits of Virtual Meetings
We are all familiar with the disadvantages of virtual communication. From poor quality remote meeting software to challenges with how to engage remote meeting participants, many take a second to consider the different types of virtual meetings they may need to organize or attend and whether they have the proper tools or resources to join.
However, the benefits of remote meetings can outweigh the disadvantages of virtual meetings including:
- Talent opportunities Hiring from other states or countries can enable a company to have a greater pool of talent to choose from.
- Cost benefits Hiring people to work remotely can return significant savings in low to no building costs as well as a variety of tax and salary options depending on regional pay factors.
- Time zone support Having employees in multiple time zones or regions can provide better coverage, both internal and external.
- Efficiencies Many see the positive effects of reduced social time as an advantage of virtual meetings because people tend to get right to the point knowing the meeting time is limited.
- Language barriers removed One of the benefits of video conferencing and virtual meetings is that advantages oof electronic meetings systems now offer tools to help remove language barriers such as transcription and captioning so everyone can talk to anyone.
Virtual Meetings Best Practices
While the above are just a few web conferencing advantages and disadvantages, it takes a determined and collaborative effort from all participants to do their part and be a part of a virtual meeting. There are many virtual conference best practices and virtual meeting techniques including recommendations such as:
- Virtual meeting etiquette Turn on your video camera to simulate sitting at the table. Visual cues from facial expression and motion can help make for a more lively and successful conversation.
- Virtual meeting ideas Discuss with your team how they view your virtual meetings are conducted and understand their concerns, pain points, and their suggestions for how everyone can improve the experience.
- Virtual meeting training Create best practices and guides for new members who join your team that may not be used to a remote meeting culture. Don’t assume everyone understands the basics and keep everyone on the same page before call quality and meeting productivity becomes less effective from bad habits.
- Virtual clock Always keep the meeting clock visible to all participants to get a meeting started on time and staying on track using a meeting tool like Docket. Given virtual meetings can be finite in scheduling, do everything it takes to ensure tardiness, environment, and communication gaps do not create a poor meeting environment.
Team Building
Virtual team meetings can use a little extra effort to help make it feel like a team. Given remote employees do not have the luxury of stepping out to lunch, meeting for coffee, or anything else social or extra-curricular, learning how to engage remote meeting participants and creating a team environment is critical to the team’s success. There are many resources that can help from finding online games for remote teams to remote team building activities, as well as fun conference call ideas. What matters most is ensuring quality conversations that lend to a greater understanding of team personalities, roles, and creating an atmosphere of trust.
Virtual Conferencing Solutions
There are a lot of choices when it is time to start seeking tools to help run your virtual meetings. Video conferencing software lists are in abundance. From hosting a free online meeting to trying to figure out how to use Zoom, fortunately most solutions have free trials that empower you to take the time you need to find what works best for you, your team, and your company. A few important things to consider include:
- Cost There are many options for free online meeting tools and free video conferencing. Go To Meeting free trial can be beneficial as well as understanding how to setup a free Zoom meeting so you and your team can try it on for fit and function.
- Communication While a free remote meeting sounds like the best video conferencing for small business, it is important that video quality is not compromised. The best video conferencing software 2019 can help point you to the ins and outs of equipment, ratings, and consumer feedback so you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
- Collaboration If sharing content and whiteboarding is critical for your business, free screen sharing software may not be enough to support your virtual process. When considering Zoom vs Skype or any other virtual software, think about your process and use cases to put that zoom app download for pc to the test. Start a Zoom meeting or Skype meeting in similar environments and compare how they stand up to your process and needs.
Continuous Improvement
At that moment you download Zoom meeting for windows or use the Zoom meeting login, it is time to focus on getting work done and achieving success as a team. It is important to always find ways in how to make virtual meetings fun and continuously find how to improve virtual meetings with feedback from your team. Remote meetings best practices, remote team meeting ideas, and creative virtual meeting ideas can come from the best virtual meeting guide one has – your own team.