How to run effective meetings in a hybrid workplace

Since the first Toyota Prius rolled off the line, “hybrid” has meant fuel-efficient vehicles that run on both gas and electricity. Work was something you drove to in your hybrid car, often sitting in traffic for a portion of your daily commute.

Then COVID-19 happened, and suddenly remote work became a necessity. As we started to emerge, turtle-like, from our housebound shells, companies began to implement hybrid work: employees could work from home part of the time and would come into the office part-time. For some businesses this meant a few days a month; for others, it evolved into half the week. But getting to work from home still translated into fewer days in traffic and more time in sweatpants.

As with hybrid cars, people embraced this new model. The hybrid workplace is especially gratifying to parents and caregivers, who can flex their schedules to better accommodate doctors’ appointments and early dismissals.

Work meetings in a hybrid workplace

Perhaps the biggest challenge for managers in a hybrid workplace is how to run effective meetings remotely. People tend to become distracted even during in-person meetings.

How can you hold people’s attention for a video meeting?

It’s a huge question. A staggering 55 million work meetings take place in the U.S. each week, and half of all employees spend one to three hours a week in virtual meetings. Granted, if you’re not the one running the meeting you can grab a snack from the kitchen (just remember to mute your mic and turn off the camera for a moment), but that is still a big chunk of time to spend in videoconferences.

Yet remote meetings themselves are nothing new: multinational companies have long connected with team members in far-flung locales via video. The hybrid workplace, however, has made hybrid meetings essential closer to home.

A meeting agenda makes work meetings work

Some people map out their entire lives; others plan for major transitions (high school to college, college to workforce) and others prefer to wing it. Whether or not you choose to plan your personal life, when it comes to creating effective meetings in a hybrid workplace, a meeting plan is the smart move, hands down.

How might you construct a hybrid work meeting agenda? Here are seven questions to ask yourself:

• What is the purpose of the meeting? (Be specific.)
• What are the expected outcomes?
• Who needs to be in the meeting to achieve these outcomes? (Invite only those who can contribute meaningful content—or who have the authority to make decisions.)
• Do the participants need background info to prepare for the meeting?
• What do we need from each participant?
• Is there a deadline?
• What are the next steps?

Before hybrid work meetings, check your tech!

We’ve all had (or heard about) work meetings that went south due to technical issues: microphones that failed to function, grainy video and a host of other glitches that can ruin potentially effective meetings.

Before you schedule your next hybrid workplace virtual conference, follow these video meeting best practices:

• Learn the software. Yes, you’re busy, but leaving the learning until the meeting itself is a recipe for disaster. Make sure you understand how to do screen sharing, how to mute and unmute yourself and participants, how to use the chat function and breakout rooms, etc.
• Test your video camera. Oops, do you really want your team seeing your kitchen or den? Replace reality with a digital background to protect your privacy and professionalism. Shut the door to keep the dog out, too.
• Run a practice call with a friend or family member to test lighting, audio and video, and fine-tune your technology for the upcoming work meetings.

A hybrid workplace secret sauce: online whiteboards

You might think whiteboards are old school, but online whiteboards are an effective tool for engaging colleagues on videoconferencing calls. You can:

• Plan special events and major projects to keep everyone aligned on deadlines.
• Brainstorm and share ideas with mind mapping.
• Collect data points to serve as a reference when launching a new program, product or service.
• Explain complex concepts to remote teams.
• Build camaraderie with ice-breaking activities.

Also, try thinking outside the virtual office. If it’s a one-to-one meeting, for example, you could do a walking audio meeting, enjoying sunshine and fresh air while the other participant does the same at their location. Bonus: changing up the scenery helps keep our minds sharp.

Follow up to keep the hybrid meeting meaningful

Just as you (hopefully) did some advance preparation prior to the meeting, following up after it’s over will keep the details fresh and help make the meeting itself more meaningful for the participants.

Two ways to do this are to:

• Take notes and record meetings, and then run your notes through an AI tool to summarize and send minutes and follow-up notes. This is also a good way to engage quieter team members who may be more comfortable commenting on copy than on camera.
• Discuss next steps at the end of the meeting. Be sure everyone is clear about their specific assignments.

Work meetings still likely have a way to go before your colleagues rate them as their preferred mode of engagement. Following these tips will ensure your hybrid workplace meetings are well run, and more effective, enjoyable and productive than the ones you used to sleep through—um, sit through—in the office.