lucidspark.com Open in urlscan Pro
143.204.98.100  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

PINGDOM_CANARY_STRING
 * Categories
   * Brainstorming
   * Project planning
   * Customer experience
   * Collaboration
   * Strategic analysis
 * Sign up free




FACILITATING HYBRID MEETINGS FOR OPTIMAL TEAM PARTICIPATION

Reading time: about 6 min

The pandemic saw the rise of remote work culture, as offices shuttered their
brick and mortar locations and opted for a digital, geographically dispersed
workforce that collaborated virtually. Now that the pandemic is lifting in
certain areas, some offices are lifting their remote work mandates, but they're
not returning to pre-pandemic work models. Instead, they're opting for a hybrid
work model, where employees have the opportunity to work in person or from home
on a flexible schedule. 

The reality of the pandemic forever changed the workforce, and many—from CEOs to
employees—have shifted their expectations accordingly. A recent survey showed
that a full 65% of Americans want to work remotely full time. In comparison,
another 31% would like a hybrid work option that combines in-person and remote
collaboration. 

In a CNBC poll of human resources, finance, and technology executives, nearly
half said they planned to use hybrid work models in 2021, with a third
indicating their companies would prioritize in-person work. Remote work isn't
just good for employees who want more flexibility and an assurance of safety. It
can also be good for employers—it saves money on office space and allows
companies to pull talent from every corner of the country.

What the hybrid work model is sometimes not good for is meeting morale. In the
shift to a hybrid meeting culture, it can be hard to balance the needs,
perspectives, and contributions of in-person participants with team members
calling in remotely. But planning and pulling off good meetings is core to team
members feeling valued, productive, and clear about their jobs.  


CHALLENGES OF HYBRID MEETINGS

Meetings can be challenging even when everyone's in person. People often
complain that there are too many meetings and too little gets done—no matter if
people are in the same room. But when you add remote callers to the mix, the
power dynamic (not to mention the logistics) can get tricky. Sometimes
participants calling in are treated as an afterthought, trying frantically to
hear what everyone is saying and imagine visuals they can't see. Sometimes
in-person participants forget that remote participants are even there or feel
frustrated that they have to keep looping them back in. And many offices are not
currently set up to host meetings with digital elements. 

Luckily, much of what makes a good in-person meeting makes a good hybrid
meeting: a good facilitator, a clear mission, good questions, and a little
preparation. But there are unique solutions to hosting meetings in a hybrid work
environment, and we've laid out four of them below.


HYBRID MEETING SOLUTIONS


PREPARE TO SUCCEED

Hybrid meetings run on tech and social graces, and if the tech is buggy, it
wears on the grace. Prepare for your next meeting by making sure your tech is up
to the task. Do you have fast enough internet? Microphones? Screens? If not, see
if your office can spring for better equipment—it's one of the best investments
you can make. 

Next, make sure everything, and everyone, is ready to go. Plug everything in and
make sure sound and video are working. Then put in some face time (perhaps
literally), working with your remote team members to make sure they know how to
use the meeting software, chat, and other tools and have all the tech squared
away on their end.

Finally, give people a chance to prepare for the meeting and participate fully
by sending out the objectives of the meeting, the agenda, and any associated
documents and visuals people will need to engage. Be specific with the purpose
of the meeting. Asking a question or posing a problem to be solved are both
great ways to get people thinking and leave the agenda structured but flexible.
Remember that people calling into the meeting aren't physically in the room, so
give them everything they'll need in the meeting before the meeting starts.    


PUT EVERYONE ON A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

Meetings tend to naturally favor people who can be there in person, allowing
participants to pick up on body language, chat before and afterward, and freely
share visual and spoken information. It's easy for people phoning in to feel
relegated to irrelevance or the chatbox. 

Luckily, you can easily remedy these issues. First, set up the space so that
everyone can see everyone else. Ask each participant to join the meeting with
their own laptop, even if they’re in person with other participants. Introduce
everyone as the meeting begins and regularly monitor the chat and check in with
remote participants to see if they have something to add to the conversation.
Calling on people specifically and making time for conversation can prevent
people from talking over each other or remote participants from dropping out and
getting distracted.

Check out this meeting facilitation toolkit created in partnership with Marsha
Acker, CEO of TeamCatapult and master facilitator.



Take me there


CREATE OTHER OPTIONS FOR PARTICIPATION

Luckily for hybrid teams, there are many apps and tools designed to help your
team collaborate across distances. Instead of asking for a hand raise or verbal
vote on a big decision, use a polling app to collect everyone's voices on the
best way forward, or use a digital whiteboard or sticky-note brainstorm to help
everyone contribute and track group suggestions and decisions throughout. If
there are in-person visual elements, make sure to give remote participants all
the images they'll need beforehand and make it clear which document you're
focusing on and when. If there are in-person exercises, find a way for remote
participants to contribute digitally or follow in-person participants with a
webcam, so remote team members feel included in the process. 

Get creative with feedback—encourage emoji reactions, ask for responses from
members who've been quiet, or allow people to use a digital whiteboard to
comment or upvote the best ideas from the meeting.  


ENCOURAGE SMALL GROUP WORK

According to the Ringelmann effect, people tend to contribute more in smaller
groups—something anyone who's been in a meeting knows intuitively. But breaking
out into teams needs a little finessing when you're in a hybrid meeting.

First, make sure that you use breakouts to dig into people's opinions and ideas.
Remember to give participants a clear task or question before they break out, so
they feel clear in their mission. Pair remote participants with in-person
participants, so both groups acknowledge each other throughout. Use breakout
rooms for casual conversation, or—to keep everyone contributing or on track—use
a breakout board where people can visually brainstorm, organize, and track their
ideas together. Set a clear amount of time for groups to meet, and remember to
bring everyone back together and capture the ideas as a large group.


THE FUTURE IS HYBRID

Hybrid work is here to stay but with these and other meeting solutions, it
doesn't have to be chaotic. Let the new model point out existing weaknesses in
your meeting approach and use it as an opportunity to revamp your hybrid
meetings so they're more productive, provide participation opportunities for
every attendee, and are more enjoyable for everyone involved. 

Uplevel your hybrid meeting game with our guide to effective hybrid meetings.



Download it now


UPLEVEL YOUR HYBRID MEETING GAME WITH OUR GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE HYBRID MEETINGS.

Download it now


POPULAR NOW

Enriched collaboration with Lucidspark and Zoom


SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST LUCIDSPARK UPDATES AND TIPS DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
ONCE A MONTH.

Subscribe to our newsletter


ABOUT LUCIDSPARK

Lucidspark is a virtual whiteboard that helps you and your team collaborate to
bring the best ideas to light. It comes packed with all of the sticky notes,
freehand drawing tools, and infinite canvas space you need to capture that next
big idea. And it’s built for collaboration. Think of it like a sandbox where
your team can bounce ideas around and innovate together in real time.

Brought to you by the makers of Lucidchart, trusted by millions of users
worldwide, including 99% of the Fortune 500.

 * Get Started
 * Pricing
 * Individual
 * Team
 * Enterprise
 * Contact sales

 * Product
 * Lucidspark overview
 * Integrations
 * Security
 * Go to Lucidchart

 * Solutions
 * Ideation & brainstorming
 * Teamwork & collaboration
 * Organization & evaluation
 * Customer experience
 * Strategic planning
 * Agile & project planning
 * Education
 * Additional use cases

 * Resources
 * Blog
 * Templates
 * Support
 * Partners
 * Newsletter

 * Company
 * About Us
 * Mission
 * Leadership
 * Newsroom
 * Careers

English

EnglishFrançaisDeutsch日本語PortuguêsEspañolNederlandsPусскийItaliano
PrivacyLegal
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

© 2021 Lucid Software Inc.

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience possible. Learn
more about our cookie policy, or find out more about enterprise security.
✕