The software for online meetings of the company’s management and electronic document management is an excellent solution for a large enterprise that wants to protect its employees from infection during a pandemic. And although Covid-19 is now fading into the background, it seems that more than one such test awaits humanity ahead.
The tips below will help you understand how to build the proper communication with board portals.
How to choose the proper meeting type?
The main trap for meeting organizers is to forget how different they are. Not all meetings should be conducted in the same way. Many meetings are boring for 90% of participants because the purpose of the meeting conflicts with their structure and number of participants. It is impossible to have a highly interactive discussion if more than seven or eight people are convened, whoever leads it. Generally, there are three types of meetings with different limits and purposes. Always consider which type is best suited to the issue on the agenda.
- Highly interactive discussion. Such a discussion implies that each participant is actively involved in the work during the meeting. The depth of the debate is essential here to hear each participant in the forum and to bring in alternative ideas. Sessions of this type include project discussion or crisis management, for example. It is optimal to hold meetings of this type in small groups of up to 8 people.
- Reports and discussions. At such a meeting, the facilitator is one person who wants to get feedback or share information with the rest of the audience. This is similar to the first format, but the involvement of participants is lower, and their number is more significant. From 5 to 15 people can participate in such an online meeting. This is the correct format for a product review or presentation.
- Overview of status and project. Such a meeting is characterized by a precise regulation on the part of the leader of the meeting. From 10 to 100 or even more people can participate in it. The peculiarity is that here the listeners receive instructions or feedback from high-level managers.
The worst version of the meeting is when the format of the discussion does not correspond to the task. For example, if there are 20 people gathered, then it will not be possible to hold a highly interactive meeting for them. On the one hand, there is not enough time to hear everyone. On the other hand, some participants will take a more active position, while others will take a more passive role.
Regular meetings online or on-demand?
Regular meetings are also not a very convenient format. Of course, when you have something to discuss, they are helpful. But large companies often face the fact that there is nothing to do at a regular meeting. Then online meetings become a burden; managers try to avoid meetings.
Sometimes senior managers are afraid that the team will go out of control if they stop holding regular online meetings. However, that’s what you’re a manager for—you don’t have to bully employees with useless weekly meetings to keep them in line.
Meet with the management team if you agree on the need for one. Agree that everyone will receive information about the plan a few hours before the regular meeting. If there is an agenda for the meeting, the meeting is held. And if not, the conference is rescheduled for next week.