Hybrid Meeting Help

A friend of mine got promoted at a Fortune 100 company, but his new team is over 1,200 miles away.  Like thousands of other workers across the country his new job is mainly virtual.  When it comes to meetings, the bulk of the team is sitting around a conference table and he and a few colleagues join remotely.  

In a recent meeting, they were discussing major strategic plans for the next fiscal year, but, as the remote employee, he felt completely disconnected from the discussion and had little to no role. He was frustrated on many fronts: he couldn’t figure out who was talking, he didn’t know when he could speak, he was rarely called on by the person running the meeting, and because the room had one camera/microphone, he often couldn’t even hear his colleagues’ comments.  

His experience is common.  According to Owl Labs, the research arm of the company that makes remote conferencing hardware (don’t worry, this isn’t a commercial), in 2022 more than 75% of people who participate in hybrid meetings are frustrated by all of the above and more: 79% say they don’t know when to speak, 78% complain of echo or audio distortion, and 76% say they miss visual cues because they can’t see people’s faces.  Overall, 74% reported they find it difficult to be a part of the conversation. 

Fortunately, there are communication solutions to make hybrid meetings more effective, engaging, and less frustrating.  Rethinking how hybrid meetings run helps everyone, remote and in-person, have their voice heard. 

Here are a few tips to make your hybrid meetings more effective:

1. Everyone log on:
Every member of the hybrid meeting should log on with their laptops or tablets to the same Zoom or Teams meeting whether they are in-person or remote.  This allows everyone to see everyone else: the remote employees can see each of the individuals in the room, and the in-person participants are connected to each of their remote colleagues.  The chat also becomes a common place for every participant to add comments and caveats.  In all, the meeting environment becomes more cohesive and connected.

2. Mute and audio off:
As has become customary, everyone physically in the meeting should mute their computer microphones and turn off their individual audio output (this, of course, assumes that there is a room-wide video conferencing system to deliver remote participants’ audio into the room).  But like on a virtual call, when a participant speaks, they should unmute themselves.  This provides remote participants clear audio to stay engaged in the conversation.  Of course, like any tech configuration, test your specific setup before any important meeting.

3. Leader directs traffic:
Whoever is leading the meeting has to ‘direct traffic’ by calling on participants rather than letting people randomly speak, and they need to be cognizant to purposefully include the remote participants.  Additionally, someone in-person should be monitoring the chat and read comments/questions aloud when appropriate.

4. Use names:
The leader and all individuals should use people’s names when they are asking someone’s opinion or want them to comment during a hybrid meeting.  Using names does two things: one, everyone knows who is speaking, and two, avoids the awkward silence when a person doesn’t realize they were called upon.

5. 50/50 Rule in-person & 90/10 Rule virtually
To create a cohesive meeting, in-person participants in a hybrid meeting should look at their camera 50% of the time and at their in-person audience 50% of the time. If you are a remote participant, you should look directly at the camera 90% of the time.

The hybrid work world is one with a lot of advantages but also big communication hurdles that have to be overcome.  Thinking about how people communicate and feel connected in your meetings makes a huge difference in the meeting’s success.  Hybrid meetings need more planning and a specific process to make sure everyone is heard.