Working remotely expects to have virtual communication. Thus, if you are an IT project
manager and if you are working remotely I bet you run virtual meetings on a regular basis and
this is a part of your daily routine. However, do you know how to run virtual meetings efficiently
and according to best practices? In this episode I'm gonna share my seven tips on how to stay on
the top of your efficiency with virtual meetings and how can you get the most out of this kind of
communication. If you're interested then keep on watching. Hey everyone my name is Kristina Kushner
and you are in my Project Management Sandbox. Today we're gonna talk about virtual communication and
specifically we will discuss virtual meetings. I will share my checklist on what to follow in
order to stay on the top of your efficiency with virtual communication. Don't forget to subscribe
and to tip the notification bell in order to get notified about every new video that I post
here in my Project Management Sandbox. Let's get started! As project managers we all want the work
to be done efficiently, therefore, the very first thing that you need to consider while planning a virtual
meeting is to decide if you really need this meeting. What I'm talking about is that everything
should have its goal and we need to get results from all the activities.
Virtual meetings are not the exception. Therefore, when you're thinking about an
opportunity to schedule a virtual meeting with your team, or with a stakeholder, or with a client,
make sure that you really need to spend this time and you do not have any other
opportunity to retrieve the information you need. If there is a chance to write a short
email or if there is a chance to discuss this topic via a quick chat most likely meeting is not
something compulsory to have. While planning a meeting make sure
there is no opportunity to resolve this question without having a meeting. Moving on, tip number two
again relates to efficiency and productivity. We need to consider who are going to attend
the meeting. Make sure you need those people present 100%, otherwise you're just gonna spend
their time which they maybe need to spend on other activities.
Okay? Make sure the people who are going to attend your meeting are 100 percent
needed there. In case there is someone you're not sure whether you need this person or not
you could include this person as an optional attendee and just follow up with him or her afterwards.
You could share minutes of meeting and outlining the information potential questions
that popped up during the meeting and needed to be addressed to this particular person.
Thus, you're gonna have two categories of people who are invited on meetings: first category is
people who are invited there for sure and you need them 100% percent;
and the second category of people who are optional attendees meaning you are not sure whether you
need these people on a meeting or not, OR not sure whether you need them on a whole meeting.
Potentially you can resolve everything without optional attendees, but they need to be informed
and kept up to date. Tip number three: make sure to schedule the meeting in advance and to get
confirmations from the people who are going to attend. Although
we are working remotely, this doesn't mean people do not have anything else to do but attending
different meetings. Therefore, you want to be sure that people have received the invitations and
to attend your meeting and they have confirmed that they are available during this
particular time to attend the meeting live. This important especially regarding the key
people who are 100 % needed there, otherwise, there may be no option to
organize a meeting if they're not going to attend. What is not less important you really do not want
to spend any extra time during those meetings and you want to stay within the allocated time frame.
Tip number four is to make sure that you're sharing the meeting agenda in advance in a
perfect world together with your invitation. Be sure to outline the agenda, to outline the timing
and, to share potentially relevant documentation that people need to get familiar with.
Provide information what actually people need to get prepared for before this meeting. It could
help to reduce miscommunication and to save a lot of time during the meeting.
People will already be prepared for this meeting and they will have everything on hand.
What is more, your colleagues will understand how much time they really need to allocate for this particular meeting.
I personally prefer to have everything on hand before I go to this meeting. And not only this, I
prefer to know who exactly is going to attend to be sure that I know
these people or to get prepared. For instance, to prepare the introduction myself or to ask them to
introduce themselves. It could be helpful if you are prepared for the meeting,
if you know when exactly you are going to have the floor and what you need to present.
Tip number five relates to facilitation and staying within the timeline. Usually as project
managers we are the ones who are facilitating the meetings and that is why it is really important
to keep your fingers on a pulse when you are organizing a meeting. You are aiming
to get results out of it, right? Every meeting is organized on purpose because you
need to make some important decisions, you need to have the action items to follow after the meeting
so that everything is really clear for everyone who is going to attend and who is dependent on
the result. It is necessary to make sure you are able to stay within the timeline
and to follow the agenda.
Make sure every topic from the agenda is covered and every decision that we need to make is made.
What is not less important, we always need to stay within the outlined time frame.
Be a facilitator and work with the team.
to let people know when the time is off and whether we need to take something offline.
Tip number six is about
getting results. We are not meeting for a meeting. The purpose of the meeting is not just to
get everybody on a call, the purpose of the meeting is to get results.
As project managers we need to make sure that we are getting them.
Should this be some decision or should this be some actionable items, a result needs to be
achieved during the meeting. What is more, time is our most expensive value.
Thus, we need to make sure that we are not wasting it and on
meetings we are working towards making a progress.
The purpose of the
meeting should be to get results but not to get everybody on a call together.
We want results to be recorded, to be written down and
confirmed by everyone who is involved. Tip
number seven is to make a record and be sure not only to make the record of the results but also about the
decisions made and about the action items needed. Basically, while making a record
you could either use a video or audio record if this is allowed and acceptable during the meeting,
or just to take written notes and afterwards you really would want to follow up with everybody
and to share those notes in order to get the confirmation that everybody is aligned and on
the same page. Don't forget to let me know which tip would you prefer to use first!
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Cheers!