Virtual meeting fatigue?

The fact that everyone seems to be holding endless virtual meetings is not a good reason for you to do the same. Working remotely does not mean that you need to spend your day in meetings battling fluctuating wifi and other technical issues. Virtual meeting fatigue is fast becoming a real challenge for business owners and their employees.  Aspire Solutions believes companies and employees need to evaluate their remote working structure to utilize resources better.  This will help to ensure that your staff remains motivated and plugged into the organisation and each other.

Here are a few key questions to ask before you set up a virtual meeting:

Is there really a need to meet?

You need to be economical with the time that you burn.  Consider what you need rather than what you would like to have. Before setting up that meeting, ask yourself if it is absolutely necessary to hold the meeting or, depending on the person or business you are approaching, will an email, text message or quick call suffice?  Respect your own time and others will too. It is important too to remember that having the meeting may result in the expending of data that some are paying for at a premium and possibly the slowing down of connectivity for others in their working environment.

Does your team have the necessary tools and resources?

If you decide to hold a virtual meeting, make sure your team, both internal and external stakeholders, have the necessary, functioning hardware, software and connectivity to join the meeting. Make sure any device or data issues are addressed well before the meeting and that each meeting member has familiarized him/herself with the chosen platform to ensure a successful and efficient meeting.

Do the meeting members know what the best practices of online meetings are?

It is important, especially within your organisation, to have a best practices document to distribute before any meeting.  It is also advisable to share this with external meeting members.  This document should address issues such as attire; remaining muted when you are not speaking; keeping your camera on for the duration of meeting; adherence to the agenda; punctuality; camera and lighting pointers; and so on. Having such a document will reflect your professionalism and ensure that you have productive meetings.  Remember, all online meetings should be treated like any face-to-face meeting. Be punctual. Be professional. Dress the part.