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“Why am I wasting time on work calls again? I don’t need to be here!”, – sounds familiar? Yes, after the pandemic the world switched to remote mode, but hasn’t yet defined ground rules for team calls. As a result, conference calls go overtime, and some employees don’t say a word during the meeting. We wanted the best, you know the rest. We’ve put together 8 tips to help you stop running useless meetings and optimize team performance.
Create an agenda
It’s important to identify the meeting’s goal, otherwise it’s easy to get lost among all the conference calls. If you have a weekly meeting with colleagues, consider changing the format. Schedule a call only when there is a real need for it.
Make a list of issues to be discussed
This is essential so that you don’t waste your time and know exactly what to talk about. It’s even better to notify your colleagues in advance of the meeting’s objectives. This way they can prepare for the meeting, and it will be much more productive.
Prepare for a call
Write up specifically what you want the call to accomplish and open all the necessary documents and sheets. Everything should be prepared in advance, so as not to spend another 5-10 minutes on finding the documents. It’s also useful to close extra browser tabs if you don’t want to show them to the whole team. When preparing, allocate time for each point of the plan in order to meet the allotted time.
Turn on cameras!
If you work remotely, you probably lack interpersonal communication. So let’s talk to real people, not their userpics. Also, cameras stimulate concentration and leave no chance to go to the kitchen to get cookies and tea during an important discussion.
Use the mute
If you’re not talking, make sure you’re on mute: background sounds often distract co-workers, cause irritation and increase the length of the call. It’s especially relevant, if you work in a coffee shop or if your home is usually quite noisy.
Follow your plan! You created it for a reason
You created it for a reason. If the discussion gets intense, that’s fine, but don’t let it stray too far from the main topic. If there are new questions that you want to talk about, answer them during the next call.
Manage time!
In general, it’s best to keep meetings as short as possible. If the meeting usually lasts an hour, make it 50 minutes, if it’s half an hour, then make it 20 minutes. This way, you’ll keep track of the time and follow your agenda. If the call ends earlier, then there is no need to come up with extra topics for discussion.
Provide a meeting recap!
Always take notes and summarize what you’ve accomplished during a call, which tasks, to whom and by what time are needed to be done. Send a meeting summary to a group chat and by mail to all participants. Then, it’s unlikely that somebody forgets to do something.
These simple steps will help you create a good and enjoyable workflow. Share this article with your colleagues to reduce the number of online team meetings and increase the company’s efficiency!
