The best meetings aren't usually hybrid

Hello meeting managers,

Perhaps there are lonely souls in your team who traipse into the office, only to find themselves on virtual meetings most of the day. Who wonder, "What was the point....?" Or perhaps you are the one traipsing in for no apparent purpose - ti attend a series of unsatisfying virtual meetings that could have been done elsewhere.

In the distant past, pre-pandemic, I always recommended that flexible teams avoid hybrid meetings as much as possible - because rarely does a team solve well for the challenges around participation and equity, which then pushes down productivity, engagement and wellbeing - all bad outcomes.

Instead I recommended either, or - either in person, or remote. That's when equity is built into the design. And participation might not be perfect, but the challenges are fewer.

Now we're in a situation where hybrid meetings seem unavoidable. One of our recent surveys with a large employer in the finance industry found that half (49.5%) of their people reported that 75-100% of their meetings are hybrid or virtual. And for the next option down the list? One third of their people (28.9%) find that 50-74% of their meetings are virtual or hybrid. This statistic was not a shock given what we knew of their office occupancy. So all together you've got close to 70% of people at this company finding that most of their meetings are hybrid or virtual.

This is particularly interesting given that their people work three days per week from a large central office, but that's another story.

Hybrid meetings appear to be established as part of the norm, going forward - for good. But I would say it is not for good, rather, it is for worse. As you know, the problem with hybrid meetings is that it is incredibly hard to create a meeting experience where everyone has equitable opportunities for participation, information access and rich communication.

So we're in a trade offs situation. In the every day course of work life, most leaders and team members don't take the time to do hybrid meetings right because they have other priorities and they have to choose. For many who work remotely, they know their remote experience of a meeting, whether hybrid or 100% virtual, might be less significant, productive and/or engaging but then working remotely has so many other benefits, it is a trade off they are willing to make.

For many leaders, the trade off is visibly unhealthy.

I do think hybrid meetings can be made excellent and it is possible to create a fantastic meeting experience with hybrid meetings. HBR has published eight 'best' practices for hybrid meetings. I use an acronym - FACES - to guide teams in creating healthy hybrid work experiences:

• Facilitation - Deliberately manage outcomes
• Audio - Manage for the best sound
• Conversation - Plan topics and style
• Equity - Maximise fairness for all
• Structure - Convey a clear structure

I've also seen it work. The problem is in the effort, time and investment required to build that experience. Practically speaking, which teams go to those lengths?

From a communication sciences perspective, hybrid meetings are fraught. Solvable but fraught.?They need particular attention paid to managing the experience, facilitating the conversation, preparing participants and making the most of technology.

The point is that we do have a choice. Hybrid does not have to be your new normal for best meeting practices. The best meetings are usually 100% remote or 100% in person. Hybrid is neither.?

The key point here is yes, boost your hybrid meeting practices. But also, what can you do to eliminate as many hybrid meetings as possible? If not much, at least make that decision knowingly, so you can manage the downsides.

Helping you run successful meetings,

Nina Fountain

Workplace Strategist

P.S. Look out for an upcoming podcast chat with Shishir Mehrotra, director of Spotify, CEO of Code and Ex-VP at YouTube. We talk about paying attention to meetings. He pays a lot of attention to meetings. Follow me on LinkedIn to see posts, or join the weekly news list by clicking this image following:

On the Workplace Makers Podcast: High performing teams and resilience with Stew Darling

Stew Darling was inspired by his experience in the military to focus on what makes people resilient – the first six weeks of his military training was designed to break people down.

Stew sees a level of anxiety in today’s workplaces that is unhealthy. In that context, Stew talked about the interesting link between focus and resilience.

While many of us think that resilience is toughening up, it’s not that at all.?

Another surprising element to the conversation was the role of communication in the modern workplace, and how that is affecting wellbeing and resilience.?

Meanwhile, there could be many listeners who don’t realise they have a resilience issue.?

Have a listen to Stew the Scotsman and enjoy a free and frank discussion about the state of resilience in the modern workplace.?

About the Workplace Makers Podcast host Nina Fountain

Nina Fountain is a leading Workplace Strategist and recognised expert in flexible modern workplaces. When Covid hit, Nina already had nearly a decade of experience pioneering flexible workplace strategy in Australia and New Zealand.?

Nina consults with Heads of Corporate, Property and People & Culture functions of medium to large businesses to improve their workplace outcomes. Her clients achieve business-clever and people-centric workplace designs, effective workplace change and enhanced in-house capability.?

Many senior leadership teams are currently at a crossroads about their workspace. Nina helps them make these critical decisions in a way that suits their business and their people. She works collaboratively with design partners to deliver requirements.?

When organisations are ready for workplace change, they can tap into The Workspace Connection’s exciting Emergent change approach. Results include wellbeing increases of up to 19%, job satisfaction increases of 25% and workstation reduction of 35% or more.

About The Workspace Connection

The Workspace Connection is a specialist Workplace Strategy and Change consultancy led by modern workplace expert Nina Fountain. We work with senior leaders who want future-fit workplaces to frame up workspaces that are clever about their business and deliver on their people goals.?

The Workplace Makers podcast: https://theworkspaceconnection.com/podcast/?

The Workspace Connection: www.theworkspaceconnection.com

Nina Fountain on LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/ninafountain/

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