Remote Team Meetings: A Primer
The widening impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) likely has you thinking about how you're going to need to shift your work in the coming weeks and months. Running effective remote team meetings will be critical to your success, but if you're running agile product teams, you may be stuck on the idea that co-location is essential to the efficiency and efficacy of your team.
For many, remote team meetings for a distributed workforce is the norm, but the teams that are most successful are those that are intentional about when & how different tools are applied. As someone who has managed global technology teams as well as local teams who had to learn how to work remotely on a steep learning curve, I've assembled my greatest hits of tips and tricks to run effective remote team meetings.
Give your tech a tune-up
I have a love-hate relationship with Webex, having worked for three years in one of the largest users of that particular brand of web conferencing software. Over time, I let little things that bugged me pile up - that new set of headphones that never seemed to connect when I needed them; the fact that my avatar was just my initials and a blue head; figuring out why it couldn't seem to remember my mobile phone number for the "call me" function to work.
Take ten minutes and pull up the settings on any software you use regularly, and delete old phone numbers and devices, reset your default preferences, and upgrade the photo that shows you - smiling, preferably - clearly in the frame. The next time you connect as easily as sitting down in a conference room chair, you'll be that much more prepared to engage like a champ with your team.
Get a webcam
I thought this one was silly, since I had a built-in camera on my laptop. Wasn't an external camera just a waste of money? Here's the thing...when I work at my home office, I put my laptop on a stand and use two large monitors to work. This means that when I wanted to use video, I had to clear a space on my desk to undock, open the laptop, and inevitably ruin some audio connection or screen set up I needed for the call. As a result, I ended up skipping video most of the time, even though I know it helped my team meetings run better - and that gave my team permission to skip it too.
I spent $30 on a good - but not great - webcam and it has made a huge difference. I use it on nearly every call, and - let's not put too fine a point on it - the HD capabilities pared with some "touch up" settings on Zoom make me look AMAZING even on calls at 6 am before the coffee has kicked in and I'm still wearing pajama pants below the frame. (Just being honest. And, a little vain. But mostly honest.)
Find a replacement for desk chatter
Small companies have Slack, and I won't waste time waxing poetic about its abilities to connect teams and allow for some healthy release of steam through the day. Large enterprises typically block outside platforms but nearly everyone has SOMETHING to serve as IM. (I see you, Jabber.)
Just as you gave your web conferencing software a tune-up, take some time to set up favorites, workgroups, and fun-zones on your company's platform, and start modeling how you want to see it used. Try scheduling an IM coffee break just as you would an afternoon run to the coffee cart. Come with an SFW meme and let the good times roll.
Create a schedule for face-to-face check-ins
I just read this article on preparing for your kids to be home if schools close, and there's some great advice about helping them to keep similar and familiar schedules. We all need routines to help us move through the day with purpose and ease, especially in the face of a drastic change in work patterns.
If your team does daily standups at someone's desk....actually STANDING UP, set it up on your web conference for the same time of day and make video and standing for the meeting the expectation. If your team has the habit of lunching together - even if work isn't the primary topic - schedule a virtual lunch and have everyone on screen with their lunch at the same time every day. (Bonus: you can eat tuna sandwiches with abandon without violating the office code).
Not everything has to be on video: try scheduling a walking meeting in the afternoon to talk through roadblocks with teams, and encourage your meeting attendees to get out and walk around their block with headphones.
What about collaboration?
The biggest concern I'm hearing from digital leaders is not about the day-to-day, small group or one-on-one meetings that will have to move to remote setups; it's trying to figure out how to do large-scale collaborations like road mapping, release planning, or design sprints in a remote environment. I'm exploring software like Miro, AdobeXD, and Microsoft Whiteboard for their ability to capture real-time contributions from multiple authors. Will it be the same as being in person? Nope. Will it be better than putting off critical planning meetings until an unknown future date when travel resumes? You better believe it.
Be the change you want to see
As a leader of the team, you set the tone for this experiment that we're all embarking on, together. Ask your team to help engage in rapid prototyping and iteration of tools and approaches. We're experts in digital transformation and agile methodologies, after all. We can be the leaders for our teams and our companies on how to not just survive this sudden shift, but to thrive and perhaps even to shift the employee experience for the better in the long run.
I help product teams run more effectively and efficiently and just like you, I'm preparing for an extended period of remote work. If you would like help preparing for remote collaboration and planning, let's talk.