It is no secret that in order for any company to become successful, being able to consistently – and effectively – communicate with employees is of the utmost importance. One way that companies can now accomplish this is by using a reputable virtual meetings solution like Banty.
Generally, video conferencing allows for groups – large and small – to have important conversations that can help dictate the future of a company. The challenge, though, is ensuring each and every one of these team video calls winds up being productive.
Banty Inc. Co-Founder and CEO, Scott Wilson, participates in an immense number of virtual meetings each week. Thus, he understands what makes them thrive and what makes them stall. As such, he believes in order to keep these online gatherings productive, the following steps need to be taken:
Have an agenda: Whomever is leading a virtual team meeting should take the time to create a straightforward, yet appropriately detailed agenda ahead of time. This can consist of topics in need of discussion, who will be responsible for addressing which matter, as well as how much time should be allotted to each segment of the meeting. Having these details laid out in an agenda will help participants stay focused and on course
Stress staff punctuality: So many virtual meetings nowadays start late and run long due to invited participants not arriving on time. Most employees do not have time in their schedule for meetings that have to stop and start every time someone enters the call well after it began. When everyone is online when they are supposed to be, a great rhythm is established and a feeling of productivity will exist
Only invite necessary participants: Especially for small companies, having the entire team online for all meetings is attractive. Yes, it promotes company inclusivity, but it harms productivity. By inviting unnecessary participants to a meeting, they are being pulled away from the tasks they've been hired to complete. This disrupts their workflow and will inevitably have a negative influence on whether or not certain deadlines are met
Don't drag on conversations: There can be conversations that need more time to flush out than a virtual meeting allows. When this happens, those either having such conversations – or the person leading the meeting – needs to suggest taking the discussion offline so that the rest of the meeting's topics can be taken care of
"When done the right way, virtual meetings can really help a team experience great productivity," offers Wilson. "To do this, meeting leads, and participants need to respect one another's time, as well as abide by a plan that keeps these calls structured and organized. If this happens, online meetings will bring with them wonderful returns."
Thanks to Suffolk News-Herald for this coverage of Banty!
