Free Microsoft Teams backgrounds are a great resource for remote workers, but they can’t make a successful meeting on their own. To get the most out of your team meeting, you need to plan ahead. Here’s everything managers can do to facilitate a productive video conference.
Make Sure You Understand Team Roles
Who has the answers to what questions? The only way to know is by understanding each person’s team role. While some groups explicitly assign roles, others allow members to step in and fulfill duties as necessary. If your team falls into the latter category, you may need to take extra steps to understand each person’s responsibilities.
Know Everyone’s Job Description
What did your company hire each person to do? Look over everyone’s job description so you know what falls outside their purview.
Learn Everyone’s Strengths
The best way to boost productivity is playing to each team member’s strengths. Look beyond the job description for this, as many people have talents outside their employment:
- Creativity
- Charisma
- Organizational skills
Additionally, let people do what they’re comfortable with. For example, pushing shy employees into social roles may help them come out of their shells — or it may backfire. It’s up to employees to decide where their boundaries are.
Get Feedback
Finally, always be willing to listen to your team’s feedback. In fact, you should invite it with anonymous servers and an open-door policy. The more you talk to your employees and hear their opinions, the better you’ll know what they have to offer.
Make Sure You Invite the Right Stakeholders
There’s nothing worse than starting a meeting only to realize you’ve forgotten someone important. Before you issue invitations, carefully consider who should be on the call. For example, you may need to speak with business partners or clients. Team members should also be part of the discussion, though you may not need everyone for every call. Instead, make sure you have your resident experts online to answer any questions.
Depending on the situation, you may have people in the meeting who have never met each other. If appropriate, you can use a virtual ice breaker with large group to help everyone get comfortable. You can also make short introductions if the setting is more formal.
Set Clear Goals for the Meeting
Without clear goals, a meeting can quickly devolve into tangents. If you have a set itinerary, you can allocate adequate time to each item and remain focused. To create productive goals for your meeting, follow these tips.
Make Them Actionable
Make sure your goals are actionable; they shouldn’t be abstract or long-term. For example, “set a project deadline” is something you can do in one meeting, while “make progress on the project” is too vague.
Don’t Overestimate Your Time
It’s easy to overestimate what you can get done in an hour. Prioritize your goals to ensure you accomplish the most urgent and important items.
Now that you know how to organize a productive virtual meeting, it’s time to get to work. Customize zoom background, create achievable goals and send out your invitations.
