Effective virtual video meetings

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to design digital workplaces or “offices in the cloud.” These environments enable companies to allow flexible and remote working for their teams. I also teach the digital literacy, fluency, communication and collaboration skills needed to work in these modern technology-rich workplaces.

Yesterday over lunch I was chatting to a senior exec in a FMCG business and she was saying to me that the organization has decided to slash corporate travel from next year in favour of virtual meetings.

And so it begins.

Of course in person meetings will still happen but the majority, the plan is, will happen virtually. This will save them a huge amount of money in airfares, hotel costs, time etc. AND will reduce their CO2 emissions, air travel being the major culprit.

More companies should work this way.

However there is one cravat. For this to be successful everyone will need to up their digital literacy in order for these video meetings to be effective. In other words, how comfortable will everyone be to quickly share a screen or write on a virtual whiteboard for example? I often see companies want to have everyone in a room and project the two rooms at the two locations. The smarter thing is to have *everyone* join from their individual devices – that way everyone has an equal presence at the virtual table – as it would be if you are sitting around a physical table.

Also virtual meetings need to be part of a broader digital workplace strategy where everyone is comfortable “working out loud” in a virtual workspace.

They plan on using Skype for Business. Zoom (pictured here) is what we use for our meetings and trainings. All smart, progressive companies are already meeting this way.

How about you? Is your business also stepping into the virtual video meeting space? If so what has your experience been?