Working from home shouldn’t  mean barely communicating with your colleagues aside from the odd email. Work can go on as usual, and meetings between colleagues can be scheduled when necessary. Of course, remote team meetings are different from your usual boardroom meetings, given how their success depends on stable internet connectivity, reliable communication tools and devices that function properly. There are also several other factors to consider if you want your remote meetings to run as smoothly as possible. Here are various practices that you can put in place to ensure this happens. 

Prepare correctly

When planning to hold a remote meeting, there are certain questions you must remember to ask yourself before making any final decisions. First of all, you should make absolutely sure that a meeting is necessary to impart whatever information you have to share. All you might need to do is spread the relevant information to your colleagues via email instead of having them all joined together in a meeting. For example, if there’s documentation you’d like them to read through, don’t immediately set up a meeting for that purpose. Rather send an email with that information attached, give your correspondents a deadline for reading it, and then set up a meeting in which you can all discuss it. You don’t want to waste your time or theirs.

On that note, when you do have a meeting, be sure only to invite people who need to be there. There should be an exact reason why each person is present. If anyone is there who doesn’t need to attend, then their time is being wasted. Also make sure to plan out a concrete agenda for your meeting and share that agenda with the relevant colleagues. That way, you’ll all be able to prepare accordingly and everyone will be on the same page when the meeting takes place.

Use the best tools possible

There are many communication tools available that can make a remote team meeting run as effectively as possible. One very useful collaborative tool is Microsoft Teams, which comes courtesy of Office 365. It’s with this tool that multiple people, and we mean as many people as possible, can meet together and collaborate on work, either by means of a group chat or a video conference. With Microsoft Teams you can also access, share and edit Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets in real time. Nashua supplies Office 365 with Microsoft Teams, so keep us in mind the next time you’re planning an important remote team meeting.

Turn on the cameras

If you’re using a tool that allows for video conferencing, then, if it’s possible, ask everyone to turn their cameras on. Remote work can make one feel very isolated, especially if you think of the buzz of an office space and how you easily turn to a colleague and have a quick chat. This is why it’s advisable to keep the cameras on during a remote conference, as there’ll be more of a human connection between team members.

Remote team meetings can run smoothly if you’ve taken the time to prepare for them correctly. If you’re certain a meeting is necessary, then set an agenda and only include people whose presence is absolutely necessary. Also make sure you’re using the most effective conferencing tools possible in order to ensure that your team collaborates efficiently and without any hassles or interruptions. Lastly, it’s a good idea for all team members to turn their cameras on in the meeting to make up for any possible feelings of isolation resulting from remote work. Nashua offers a variety of devices and accessories, available in packages, that will meet your remote work needs. Contact us via our PC’s & Services page for more information on our ICT solutions.