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3 Ways to Improve Collaboration in the Remote / Hybrid World

3 Ways to Improve Collaboration in the Remote / Hybrid World

We’ve all been in that meeting. There were probably too many people invited, the agenda is vague, 90% of folks are remote and off camera (10% of those are probably folding laundry or some other household chore while they listen in). Then you hear the inevitable words “Let’s brainstorm this.”  2 or 3 enthusiastic participants end up doing most of the talking and the conversation takes on a circular characteristic until a senior leader or manager tries to stop the swirl by making a suggestion of their own. Everyone else is inclined to fall in line, and the meeting moves on to the next arduous loop. After over an hour, you’re left wondering: What did we actually accomplish?

It’s time to face facts that collaborating in the remote and hybrid world requires different ways of working together. The natural structures of the office that act as palaces of accountability, collaboration, and innovation have been replaced by impersonal video calls in far flung home offices.

Current trends would suggest that the reality of remote and hybrid work isn’t about to end anytime soon, but there are things you can do now to make your virtual meeting time more efficient and enjoyable.  

Here are 3 tips to start improving your virtual meetings.

  • Never start from scratchStructure and visual starting points are always in style

One thing that most people dislike is uncertainty. People are more willing to engage when they know what to expect and feel confident their time will be spent effectively. By providing agendas, objectives, and materials to review before the meeting, you’ll prime your audience or colleagues to start thinking about topics you want to discuss (even if subconsciously) and get better feedback and participation when the time comes.  

About 65% of people are visual learners 1. Having visual aids to help provide context and bring people up to speed quickly will always supercharge your meeting efficiency, particularly in virtual settings, where you can’t draw pretty pictures on whiteboards. Having something to react to will always elicit more effective feedback and progress than trying to start from scratch.

  • Use design thinking techniques to unlock diversity in brainstorming sessions

Idea generation and innovation are some of the most difficult things to accomplish in a virtual setting. At Launch, we often leverage ideation techniques from design thinking practices such as affinity mapping, mind mapping, or SCAMPER (among many others) to make brainstorming more enjoyable and participatory for your team. By introducing individual brainstorming and voting principles within these techniques, you’re able to increase participation and better democratize decision making. Using these methods will help your team quickly align around creative ideas everyone can get excited about. Turning boring meetings into fun workshops helps bring some variety and intrigue to your colleague’s days – and they’ll thank you for it.

  • Leverage a virtual collaboration tool like MIROTM

Virtual white-boarding tools have made huge improvements since being thrust into the limelight during the COVID-19 pandemic. We leverage tools like MiroTM with many of our clients to help facilitate engaging workshops, capture requirements, and build relationships. The features of the infinite virtual white-boarding canvas help you capture some of the magic previously only possible when working in person. On top of the real-time collaboration these tools enable, they also provide access to a universe of templates and ideas for creative ways to effectively facilitate a variety of types of meetings (including design thinking techniques mentioned above).

Whatever your role may be in the corporate world, meetings are practically unavoidable, but with these tips and tools, you can become the meeting hero that saves your team from boring and unproductive virtual meetings.

Launch has become experts at virtual collaboration… Need help?

Here at Launch, we take pride in our MANAGEMENT CONSULTING practice, where we can assist you in your initial digital product development needs, all the way through to completion. Our subject matter experts’ team up with you to understand your core business needs, while taking a deeper dive into your company’s growth strategy.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.inc.com/molly-reynolds/how-to-spot-visual-auditory-and-kinesthetic-learni.html.

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3 Ways to Improve Collaboration in the Remote / Hybrid World

We’ve all been in that meeting. There were probably too many people invited, the agenda is vague, 90% of folks are remote and off camera (10% of those are probably folding laundry or some other household chore while they listen in). Then you hear the inevitable words “Let’s brainstorm this.”  2 or 3 enthusiastic participants end up doing most of the talking and the conversation takes on a circular characteristic until a senior leader or manager tries to stop the swirl by making a suggestion of their own. Everyone else is inclined to fall in line, and the meeting moves on to the next arduous loop. After over an hour, you’re left wondering: What did we actually accomplish?

It’s time to face facts that collaborating in the remote and hybrid world requires different ways of working together. The natural structures of the office that act as palaces of accountability, collaboration, and innovation have been replaced by impersonal video calls in far flung home offices.

Current trends would suggest that the reality of remote and hybrid work isn’t about to end anytime soon, but there are things you can do now to make your virtual meeting time more efficient and enjoyable.  

Here are 3 tips to start improving your virtual meetings.

  • Never start from scratchStructure and visual starting points are always in style

One thing that most people dislike is uncertainty. People are more willing to engage when they know what to expect and feel confident their time will be spent effectively. By providing agendas, objectives, and materials to review before the meeting, you’ll prime your audience or colleagues to start thinking about topics you want to discuss (even if subconsciously) and get better feedback and participation when the time comes.  

About 65% of people are visual learners 1. Having visual aids to help provide context and bring people up to speed quickly will always supercharge your meeting efficiency, particularly in virtual settings, where you can’t draw pretty pictures on whiteboards. Having something to react to will always elicit more effective feedback and progress than trying to start from scratch.

  • Use design thinking techniques to unlock diversity in brainstorming sessions

Idea generation and innovation are some of the most difficult things to accomplish in a virtual setting. At Launch, we often leverage ideation techniques from design thinking practices such as affinity mapping, mind mapping, or SCAMPER (among many others) to make brainstorming more enjoyable and participatory for your team. By introducing individual brainstorming and voting principles within these techniques, you’re able to increase participation and better democratize decision making. Using these methods will help your team quickly align around creative ideas everyone can get excited about. Turning boring meetings into fun workshops helps bring some variety and intrigue to your colleague’s days – and they’ll thank you for it.

  • Leverage a virtual collaboration tool like MIROTM

Virtual white-boarding tools have made huge improvements since being thrust into the limelight during the COVID-19 pandemic. We leverage tools like MiroTM with many of our clients to help facilitate engaging workshops, capture requirements, and build relationships. The features of the infinite virtual white-boarding canvas help you capture some of the magic previously only possible when working in person. On top of the real-time collaboration these tools enable, they also provide access to a universe of templates and ideas for creative ways to effectively facilitate a variety of types of meetings (including design thinking techniques mentioned above).

Whatever your role may be in the corporate world, meetings are practically unavoidable, but with these tips and tools, you can become the meeting hero that saves your team from boring and unproductive virtual meetings.

Launch has become experts at virtual collaboration… Need help?

Here at Launch, we take pride in our MANAGEMENT CONSULTING practice, where we can assist you in your initial digital product development needs, all the way through to completion. Our subject matter experts’ team up with you to understand your core business needs, while taking a deeper dive into your company’s growth strategy.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.inc.com/molly-reynolds/how-to-spot-visual-auditory-and-kinesthetic-learni.html.

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Recent posts
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