Video Conferencing Suggestions

I am finishing up my sixth month of working from home and last night found myself trying to decide between 2 different video conference calls. Actually there was a third one I could also have attended but opted not to long before last night. Video conference calls are not just for work either. One of the calls I didn't bother attending was for a personal hobby. I know that families are also holding them in place of getting together and risking the spread of COVID-19.

In the first few weeks of working from home, people tried to continue holding meetings as usual. It didn't take long for insightful organizations to realize one or two changes needed to be made. My company put out some specific guidelines for video conferencing and I think many of them are worth sharing.

One of the benefits of face-to-face meetings is that you get up from your desk and walk to a conference room. If you need to stop and use the restroom, you have the option. You also get a minor change of scenery. With video calls you can schedule them back-to-back all day long and never have to leave your desk. An early suggestion we received is to cut back on the length of meetings. Instead of a 30-minute meeting, make it 25. If it is usually an hour, make it 50 minutes. This will allow people time to gather thoughts between meetings, grab a drink or snack, and take a bio-break if needed. My personal preference is to start meetings on the hour or half-hour and end early. Starting 5 or 10 minutes late is a bit tougher for me as I find myself waiting at my desk for the appointed start time.

Another suggestion we received is to see if we can cut down on the number of meetings being held. Some days are so full of meetings that people don't have the chance to do actual real work. What I have done with my team is remove one of our daily stand-ups each week. For those that don't know, daily stand-ups are short meetings where the team quickly reviews progress of daily work. We have them Monday through Thursday but not on Friday. Should something come up and we need to cancel one of the meetings, we reserve Friday for a make-up, just in case.

Cutting down on the number of meetings also goes along with another suggestion: setting aside one day a week with no meetings, if possible. Unfortunately this is a tough one for some people. My boss has multiple meetings every day and so even though we don't have stand-ups on Friday, he still has meetings. I am one of the fortunate ones that has no meetings on Friday and so I don't have to worry about making sure I am at my desk during specific times throughout the day. I generally use this freedom to actually get stuff done. So far this morning I have taken care of a load of paperwork I haven't had time to get to during the week. I am also making sure to put together this posting during my lunch hour so it doesn't distract from the time I am at work.

There are many other suggestions ranging from what to wear (you don't have to wear pants as long as nobody can see your legs), how to make sure you pay attention (taking notes helps me), and always making sure you are muted unless speaking in the meeting. For those that find themselves attending way too many meetings, you can put together an avatar that will attend your meetings for you. It is a funny read and should put a smile on your face even if it does have one or two issues. Good luck with your next meeting.