Things to consider before your next virtual meeting
Davis
Even the most local of local businesses are getting less so thanks to technology. Take community banks. The community banks in Central Massachusetts have local people working in local brick-and-mortar branches, saving money and lending money for local businesses. Yet, even in this industry, executives at are having to get the hang of managing decentralized workforces.
Mike Olson, executive vice president of Fitchburg-based Rollstone Bank, says he's on conference calls at least twice a week.
“I decentralized my lenders a couple of years ago,” he explained. “I took them out of the main office and put them all in the branches,” which are located in Worcester, Leominster, Harvard and Townsend.
Can you hear me now?
That move was great for customer service, but presented some logistical challenges from a management perspective. Olson decided to go with conference calls for regular meetings instead of making the lenders drive to Fitchburg once a week.
As Olson has made the transition from in-person to virtual meetings, he's had to make some adjustments. For example, it's impossible on a phone call to survey the room and make sure people are truly paying attention. On the phone, not so much. But there are ways around that.
“Sometimes I randomly call on somebody to make sure that they're paying attention,” he admitted.
When eye contact and reading body language are important — for a large, complicated loan review, for example — Olson allows his lenders to use FaceTime, Apple's video-chatting feature, on iPhones and iPads. That allows the lenders to see their bosses' faces in the Fitchburg main office to gauge how their presentations are being received.
Video killed the phone call
Of course, Olson isn't alone in his shift toward virtual meetings. It's fairly ubiquitous at most companies. But that doesn't mean managers have a full grasp on how to lead virtual meetings yet, particularly video conferences. I spoke with Eric Bensley, senior product marketing manager for GoTo Meeting, a software product that enables virtual audio and video conferences, to get an expert's opinion on how to manage when meetings are virtual.
The No. 1 mistake participants make in videoconferences, according to Bensley, is simply not preparing.
“You have to understand that people's time is still valuable, even though a video conference isn't as big of an inconvenience as in-person meetings,” Bensley said.
The means doing all the same things you would do for an in-person meeting when you have a virtual meeting: write an agenda, send it out in advance so people can prepare, start on time, etc.
Another key factor, according to Bensley, is to consider your environment when you're on a video call. That includes lighting (if there's a lamp or window in the room, make sure it's behind the camera) and sound (if you're working from home, ask your family to keep quiet while you're on the conference).
Then there are the technical considerations, like the speed of your Internet connection, Bensley said. If your connection is slow, video may take up too much bandwidth.
And then there's the self-consciousness that comes from a videoconference when you can probably see yourself on the screen. Bensley said he's done enough videoconferences now to a point where he doesn't even notice his face on the screen anymore. One of Bensley's tips when you're going to lead a videoconference is to start the meeting early with the video on and actually go through your presentation. That will help you get over the initial obsession with how you look.
And finally, understand the audio portion of your conference. GoTo Meeting recommends that everyone using its software use a USB headset. This will plug into your computer and save you from having to hold the phone handset to your ear. It will also save the others on the call from the potentially annoying echo that sometimes happens when people use speakerphones, Bensley said.
Christina Davis can be reached at cdavis@wbjournal.com.
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