We all know it, 2020 came to revolutionize the way we run meetings. Am I right? People working from home means virtual meetings popping on your calendar everyday. But what is a virtual meeting without a clear agenda? And even worse, what is a virtual meeting without an intentional action plan? The ones that continues after you push that “conclude meeting” button on your keyboard? Sadly, that is just time wasted. 

Have you experienced meaningless meetings?

 You have probably experienced the typical meeting where you show up, not knowing why you’re even there. You, and many in the team, end up zoning out and counting the minutes and seconds until it’s over, at least until the next day. Hey! we’re not judging, we totally get it. You’re a valuable asset. Your time is crucial not only for you, but for your company as well. Meetings should be designed and tailored for each team within each organization to potentiate efficiency, and give a space for creativity and fresh ideas.  

And yes, ideas are great. They represent new opportunities and ways of growing your business, but you need an action plan to take them to full fruition. If not, they’re mere illusions. This becomes especially tricky in the virtual scenario. Why? Because you don’t want ideas to be living on a cloud. You want them to be transformed from intangible into tangible. In order for this to happen, each member in your team needs a place where to store all their action plans other than a sticky note next to their laptop. They need to track progress, check off completed tasks, write notes to not forget important details, collaborate with the rest of the team, and share if there’s a blocker. It’s all part of the well-oiled machine of effective virtual meetings. 

We can help

If you’re still struggling with ineffective virtual meetings, or feel that your team is not as engaged as you’d want to, or things are simply falling through the cracks… Don’t you worry. We can help! Being a remote company ourselves, with teams from different countries (and continents!), virtual meetings didn’t start in 2020 for us, we were pretty much experts by then. Our ace under the sleeve? Meetings.io^®

With meetings.io you’ll be able to get the most out of your virtual encounters while integrating with your favorite video conferencing software. Just add your link and you’re set. Tailor your meeting agendas down to the minute, with sections that are truly relevant to each team. And no need to waste time planning before each meeting since everything lives in one single place and is stored in real time.

The life after the meeting? All the to-dos that were assigned, the notes that were taken, the topics that were discussed, and more will be available to you and your team to tackle and monitor. And after each meeting, each attendee will receive an email summary with important information from the meeting.

You’re not alone in the universe of unproductive virtual meetings, but there sure is a way out.

Written by
Mary Mantica  

TIP! Check out Career Karma’s article to discover 17 awesome virtual team building activities!