Many of you are organizing meetings with a mix of participants—some attending in person, others virtually. Without proper setup, planning, and facilitation, it can be challenging to ensure the meeting’s success and that all attendees, whether in the room or on screen, are engaged and fully involved. So, how do you make your hybrid meetings more effective?
In 2021, McKinsey reported that 9 out of 10 organizations would embrace a hybrid work model. This approach offers great flexibility, enhances employee satisfaction, and ensures safety and comfort. While hybrid work has been a valuable solution, it doesn’t automatically mean that all employees feel engaged or included.
Let’s explore some of the challenges hybrid meetings present in more detail.
This comprehensive list covers all the essential elements of successful meeting planning, from identifying the purpose of the meeting to assigning tasks to participants.
One of the biggest challenges in hybrid meetings is ensuring that both remote and in-person attendees feel equally valued.
Without a proper setup, remote participants might feel like outsiders, mere observers, or that their contributions matter less. Interrupting the flow of conversation can be difficult when you’re not physically in the room, and virtual attendees’ opinions are often overlooked or forgotten.
We’ve all been in meetings where technology issues, like poor internet connections or malfunctioning equipment, create disruptions. While tech problems aren’t exclusive to hybrid meetings, they can be especially frustrating when there’s a mix of in-person and remote attendees.
Suboptimal technology can make it hard for remote participants to follow the discussion. Similarly, if remote attendees have weak internet connections or poor video quality, in-person participants may struggle to fully engage with them. Cameras left off or microphones muted at the wrong time can also disrupt the flow of communication.
Engaging meetings and workshops rely on interaction and active participation. This becomes particularly complicated when some attendees can physically interact in the room, while others depend solely on technology.
Discussions and activities must include virtual attendees to keep them engaged. Otherwise, they risk being disengaged from the conversation entirely.
Research shows that only half of meeting time is used effectively, and virtual meetings are often less productive. To add value and support your organization’s objectives, meeting planning needs to be strategic.
Our Effective Meetings Management online course explores the difference between efficient and effective meetings. Let’s take a moment to understand these concepts.
An efficient meeting starts on time, stays on track, involves as few people as possible, and achieves its stated objective. Sounds like success, right?
Not necessarily. Efficiency doesn’t account for whether the right people attended, if the meeting created value, or if actions were communicated afterward.
An effective meeting, virtual or otherwise, ensures:
Hybrid meetings have unique requirements. Let’s discuss how to overcome the challenges mentioned earlier.
As an Assistant, you might not control the digital tools or virtual meeting software your IT team provides. However, there are steps you can take to improve hybrid meeting effectiveness:
Use a conference room with a large screen.
Small screens can make it difficult for everyone to see and hear remote participants, leading to disengagement. A large screen helps bridge this gap.
Enable the chat function.
Nonverbal cues are hard to read in hybrid settings. The chat function ensures all participants can contribute equally, regardless of their location.
Test the technology in advance.
Tech glitches can make remote participants feel excluded and waste valuable meeting time. Test audio, cameras, and internet connections before the meeting starts.
Make sure everyone uses the same video platform—Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams—and provide clear login instructions.
If brainstorming is part of the agenda, plan tools and materials accordingly. For example:
It’s easy to focus more on in-person attendees in hybrid meetings, but this imbalance isn’t acceptable. Equal attention must be given to both groups.
To achieve this:
If resources allow, consider upgrades:
By focusing on both the digital and physical setups, you can ensure all attendees feel included and that hybrid meetings are productive, effective, and valuable. With these strategies, you’ll be well-equipped to overcome the challenges of hybrid meetings and help your organization achieve its objectives.
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