How to Hold a Productive Virtual Meeting

Want to improve your company’s productivity?  Hold a series of virtual meetings that allow employees to suggest ways to help you meet a goal such as identifying new ways to generate revenue, controlling costs or recruiting needed talent.

You'll let employees up and down the line and across all functions provide their ideas. You’ll eliminate the travel and accommodations expenses that come with holding a traditional on-site meeting.  You’ll generate ideas from people who haven’t been encouraged to offer them --and let the workforce understand that you want everyone to participate in improving the company’s performance.

Here are some tips for getting maximum results from these meetings.

Select a Platform

You want audio and video capabilities.  There are some 120 web meeting platforms out there. Your options include Webex, Adobe Connect, Skype, Yahoo Messenger and Google Hangout.  Select the one you'll be most comfortable with.  Get help from your staff if needed.

Encourage the Use of Smartphones and Tablets

This will allow your employees to participate wherever they may be, as long as there’s connectivity.  They’ll handle the technology more easily and will be more active participants.

Have a Clear Purpose and Agenda

Do you want to encourage employees to offer ideas?  Do you want to announce news or a policy change?  To assign tasks?  Plan the meeting with your aim in mind.  Be clear about the purpose and the agenda in your invitation.  Tell the starting and ending time in a link that accommodates time zone differences.  Use the platform's templates for describing the schedule, what your expectations are for participants and information for their pre-work before the meeting.  Provide an agenda even for regularly scheduled meetings.

Keep the Meetings Short

It’s harder to hold the employees’ attention in a virtual meeting than an on-site one because they’re exposed to more distractions.  You can get more participation if the meeting is kept short.

Keep the Meetings Lively

Keep everyone involved with frequent interaction.  Call on those you haven't heard from.  Use the platform's raised hands and polling features, whiteboard, document sharing, spreadsheets, applications sharing and chat (public and private.)  You'll need extensive practice to take full advantages of the features offered.  Don't trying something new without having absolute confidence with it.  If you're not confident about using the technology, ask your technology staffers to provide help.

Invite the Appropriate Number of Participants

Meetings that need lots of interaction should be small.  Let participants in small meetings introduce themselves.  Make it clear that everyone's participation is encouraged. As ideas come in, don’t say “good idea” about any of them because if you don’t say it for others you might imply those ideas aren't as valuable.

Meetings meant mostly for one-way communication can be much larger.

Keep It Orderly

Start on time.  Promise to end on time and keep the promise.  Be clear on what to do if there are technology glitches.  Ask participants to identify themselves when they speak.  Don’t let anyone dominate the discussion.  Give a sign that time's almost up to allow participants who've been holding back to get into the conversation.

Communicate with Clarity

Speak clearly, confidently and concisely to encourage everyone to do the same.

Celebrate Accomplishments

Close the meeting by thanking everyone for participating.  Encourage them to keep thinking about the issue that was discussed.  Ask them to contact you, in whatever way you prefer, with additional thoughts.  Communicate your own further thoughts using social media.

About the Author

Bill Rosenthal is CEO of two sister businesses.  Logical Operations, Inc. , founded in 1982, offers more than 4,600 titles in its skills training curriculum library that spans six major business categories.  It serves businesses, government, commercial training centers and academic institutions.  Communispond provides virtual and traditional classroom training for improved communications and sales.  It has served 350 of the Fortune 500 companies since its founding in 1969.