Meetings

How to hold remote meetings that are effective and productive.

Checklist for team leaders

Choose your meeting software

• Look for functionality that meets your needs.
  • Video and audio functions
  • Screen sharing
  • Recording
  • Breakout rooms
  • Security (including encryption)
• Make sure everyone is using the same tool.
• Hold some basic training sessions to give teams an introduction to the chosen tool and best practices.

Checklist for teams

Schedule meetings thoughtfully

• Use a scheduling tool or shared calendar feature to check others’ availability.
• Add your own working hours and availability in your online calendar.
• Send invitations through the shared meeting calendar your team is using, so the meeting will appear directly on guests’ calendars and not only in their email.
• RSVP promptly to all calendar invitations so people can plan accordingly. If you can’t attend a specific instance of a recurring meeting, decline for that specific instance.
• If you need to cancel a meeting, delete the calendar event and notify all guests (most platforms have this as a feature).
• Make calendar invitations editable by all guests to decentralize meeting logistics.
• Differentiate between invitees who need to be at the meeting and those whose attendance is optional.

Prepare ahead of time

• Prepare an agenda in an editable document and share with people who will attend.
  • Key talking points and how long you plan to spend on each one
  • Members that will be in attendance
  • What each person is responsible for contributing to the meeting
  • Relevant files, links, research, etc.
  • Action items will be added during the meeting
• Add the shared meeting agenda document (and other relevant materials) in the calendar link so everyone can access it in advance.
• Provide a dial-in option for guests who won’t be able to use video.

Stay on task

• Take shared notes during the meeting – everyone adds their own notes and action items to ensure accuracy and equal distribution of note-taking responsibility.
• Adhere to the predetermined agenda or structure for the meeting, and sidebar other conversations for another time.
• Make sure every person knows their role and responsibility for the meeting. If they don’t have one, they may not need to attend.
• Before ending the meeting, make sure everyone knows:
  • Action items and who will do them
  • When deliverables are due
  • Logistics for the next meeting

Use meeting tools effectively

• Default to keeping your video on during meetings, if at all possible. Meetings are faster and more productive when people can use non-verbal cues.
• If you’re having trouble hearing someone in a meeting, stop them using visual cues (e.g., raise your hand or point to your ear). Don’t wait until they finish talking.
• Mute when you are not speaking.
• Use the meeting chat feature to add supporting comments or side questions.
• If you have connectivity issues during the meeting, try:
  • Adjusting video quality settings (example from Google Meet)
  • Turning off video
  • Dialing in

Show respect to others

• Show up on time and end on time.
• Start with introductions if some guests don’t know others.
• Refer to the shared agenda document to make sure everyone’s items are addressed.
• Don’t stare at your phone or be obviously distracted while others are presenting.
• To make sure quiet people get heard, “pass” the conversation in a way that allows everyone time to speak.

Make space to be human

• Schedule meetings with a little time to spare at the end (e.g., 25 instead of 30 min) to allow people to transition or take small breaks.
• Encourage some small talk at the beginning of the meeting to foster connection among distributed team members.
• Normalize human activities that must sometimes happen during remote calls (i.e., eating, getting a package delivery, dealing with interruptions by children). People should feel comfortable to do these things while on mute.

Avoid having too many meetings

• Document work and status updates in a central location so anyone can review asynchronously without the need for a meeting.
• Block time in your schedule for “focused work” as a calendar event – preventing others from scheduling meetings on top of it.
• Cancel recurring meetings when they are no longer productive or necessary.
• Do not schedule meetings for status updates or quick questions – first, see if you can find out by pinging someone in chat or checking the Single Source of Truth.
• Do schedule structured meetings for specific, predetermined purposes.

Tools

Video calls

• Zoom
• Jitsi
• Google Meet
• Slack calls
• Microsoft Teams

Scheduling

• Google Calendar
• Calendly

Resources

• Meetings and meeting tools (18F)
• Scheduling Meetings (GitLab)
• New and changing patterns for digital working (Ben Holliday)
• All-Remote Meetings (GitLab)
• Tips for video conferencing (CISA)

Related

• Communications
• Managing
• Project management
• Security