Offices today are relying more and more on the latest communication and collaboration technology. This basically means that employees have to be more conscious of how they conduct themselves when coordinating with team members via chat or corresponding via email. More importantly, employees should know their virtual meeting etiquette.
Regardless of whether you’re hosting or attending, online meetings are equally critical to your productivity. This means a virtual meeting is no different than a face-to-face meeting. In fact, it’s safe to assume that all the same rules of traditional in-person meetings apply—with a few extra guidelines you should take not of:
1. Be sure you reach out and invite all the relevant parties.
Get in touch with all the people who should be part of your virtual meeting. You’ll want to make sure everyone involved in the subject of the meeting is invited.
Ensuring that all invitations are promptly sent out allows everyone to clear their schedule and make time for this specific task – ensuring everyone remains focused on the agenda.
2. Be considerate of everyone’s time.
One of the biggest issues about gathering everyone for a meeting is finding a common time where everyone can convene to discuss and align on key issues. This is a common challenge even for virtual meetings.
Of course, because everything happens remotely in virtual meetings, it’s easier to find the time to attend one. However, given that you can easily integrate your Hosted VoIP (voice over internet protocol) platform to existing email and calendar platforms, be sure to take advantage of any scheduling features to avoid cancellations.
Here’s another tip – double check and confirm time zones if you’re trying to bring together a team that’s globally dispersed. As much as possible, pick a time that works best for everyone to show that you value everyone.
3. Don’t spam your attendees with meeting invites.
It’s important that your attendees RSVP your meeting. But if they haven’t, resist the urge to keep sending and resending your invite. Additionally, make sure that confirmation alerts don’t get sent to everyone in the group.
4. Always set and send an agenda.
Time is a commodity – even when you’re on a chat or a call with multiple team members. Therefore, an agenda is even more relevant when hosting a virtual meeting. Without one, it’s easy for conversations to go off on a tangent and for meetings to run past their allotted time.
Make the best of everyone’s time by sending an agenda the day before your meeting. Hosted VoIP platforms or Unified Collaboration (UC) tools offer a streamlined way to communicate and reach out to team members simultaneously.
5. Be sure to test your line and prepare.
Most virtual meetings take place over video calls or through group chats. Regardless of what platform you’re using, test your line to ensure to avoid any inopportune mishaps that may cause delays or derail discussions.
Check the audio quality and make sure video is running smoothly. If you know it’s going to be a video call, be sure to dress professionally.
6. Press mute when it’s not your turn.
Background noise can be distracting and annoying to everyone else in your virtual meeting. If it’s not your turn, hit the mute button to avoid disrupting the discussion.
Besides these tips on virtual meeting etiquette, there are more ways to make virtual meetings easier to host and attend. To discuss how Hosted VoIP tools can help support mobility and productivity in your office, give us a call today!