Baird's CMC | A Unique Global Communications Management Consultancy

Global Health Discourse 2023

Tel: +44 (0) 1495 828300
Email: team@bairdscmc.com
  • E-mail
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
Menu
  • Home
    • Sexual and Reproductive Health
    • Stakeholder Mapping & Strategy
    • New Services
    • Qualitative & Policy
    • Communications and Management Consultancy
    • Close
  • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Our specialist areas
    • Case studies
      • EDCTP sub-Saharan Africa policy research
      • Emerging Democracies and Green Issues
      • Gauging Attitudes Toward an HIV Vaccine
      • Increasing Immunization Coverage in Central India
      • Close
    • Close
  • Network
    • Network map
    • Associates
      • Michael Acott
      • Ashoek Adhikari
      • Francois Baird
      • Gerhard Butschi
      • Steve Bowers
      • Mark Chataway
      • Lenore Cooney
      • Paul Dillon
      • Marta Dourado
      • Martina Dörmann
      • Dirk Van Eeden
      • Alexandra Fullem
      • Frederick Fussi
      • Ingrid Gavshon MBA
      • Denise Gee
      • Denise Gray-Felder
      • Bert Griesel
      • Aman Gupta
      • Darren Jones
      • Danie Kok
      • Andrzej Kropiwnicki
      • Angelle Kwemo
      • Nikolay Kudryashov
      • Mari Lee
      • Simba Makoni
      • Steve Mallach
      • Terry Mandel
      • Matshidiso Masire
      • Valeria McFarren
      • Hugh McKinney
      • Chris Opperman
      • Ken Rabin
      • Mark Rittenberg
      • Simon Russell
      • Jacob Sesinyi
      • Melinda Shaw
      • Cormac Smith
      • James Snodgrass
      • Hema Viswanathan
      • Mina Volovitch
      • Gillian Waddell
      • Joseph Makwata Wambia
      • Chris Ward
      • Gysbert J Wessels
      • Marion Zibelli
      • Close
    • Senior consultants
      • Simon Hardie
      • Close
    • Close
  • Services
    • New Services
      • Media Training
      • Presentation Skills
      • Staff Engagement
      • Reputation Management
      • Close
    • Services
      • Communications counsel
      • New media strategy
      • Advocacy and coalition building
      • Crisis management
      • Market research
      • Strategic planning
      • Staff training and development
      • Risk management and mitigation
      • Close
    • Close
  • Sectors
    • Vaccine Hesitancy
    • Pharma in top 15 markets
    • Pharma in emerging markets
    • Pharma in underdeveloped markets
    • Pharma headquarters planning teams on market assessment
    • Global Development: Health Issues
    • Global Development: Environmental Issues
    • Health equity and access to care
    • Reproductive health and population
    • Vaccines
    • International Donors
    • Government Relations
    • Political Consulting
    • Telecom Sector
    • Financial Services
    • Close
  • News
  • ShopTalk
  • Get in Touch

Ask CMC: Making the Most of Remote Meetings

downloadTips, tricks, advice, and answers for the 21st century global workspace.

Dear Baird’s CMC,

I am part of a virtual team and find that our frequent meetings are a bit of an ordeal. Some people are shy and awkward; others ramble on and on. We also seem to vacillate between long pauses and everyone trying to speak together. The meetings are inevitably unproductive. What can we do to turn this situation around?

– Mystified by Meetings

 

Dear Mystified by Meetings,

Meetings are often considered unproductive even when all the participants are in the same room – add the “virtual team” aspect into the mix, and it’s no surprise that the meetings do not have the desired result! Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to turn failure into success.

Most importantly, clearly define the participants’ roles and responsibilities for the call. Since the structure of a remote meeting is so loose (people are sitting in their homes or offices across the globe in different timezones), it’s important to let each person know their role in the meeting and what is expected of them.

1)    Meeting Organizer. The organizer is in charge of – you guessed it – organizing the meeting. This includes:

  1. Finding a time and call platform that is suitable for everyone.
  2. Arranging to record the call, if necessary.
  3. Compiling a clear agenda, with ever participant’s role outlined. For instance, who is going to lead the call? Is Mike expected to present a five-minute update on the new project in Ghana? Is Sonia supposed to introduce the new consultant who has joined her team?
  4. Sending out an email to each participant with the agenda and ALL the details required to call in. (There is nothing more irritating than confused participants frantically calling people who have already dialed in to get call numbers, IP addresses, codes, etc.)
  5. Coordinating with the call leader to make sure that any documents or visual aids for the meeting can be accessed by each participant.

2)    Meeting Leader. The leader is in charge of running the meeting. The leader is the key to making sure the call stays on track, so pick someone who is friendly enough to break the ice yet firm enough to rein in digressions. The leader’s responsibilities include:

  1. Making sure everyone is present at the beginning of the call.
  2. Greeting all the participants, introducing new members, and briefly outlining the agenda.
  3. Passing the virtual “baton” on to the person in charge of the next segment.
  4. Making sure everyone provides feedback for important sections. (“Does anyone have any questions?”; “This is important news. Let’s get everyone’s thoughts. Maria, what do you think?”)
  5. Transitioning to the next segment. This includes asking participants to conclude and move on if too much time is being spent on one topic.
  6. Verbalizing what documents/visual aids the participants should be seeing on their screens during the meeting.
  7. Sending out a summary of the meeting the day after the call: who attended the call, key discussion points, decisions taken, actionables, timelines, responsibles, etc.)

3)    Meeting Participants: Yes, the rest of us play a role too! The meeting agenda should also state what is expected of the call participants. Responsibilities include:

  1. Dialing in five minutes before the call to make sure they’re not facing any technical difficulties.
  2. Having the agenda and all relevant documents open in front of them before the call begins.
  3. Preparing for a short presentation if the agenda requests it.

4)    Meeting Note-Taker: This is an optional role. If the call is being recorded, the meeting notes can be compiled later. If not, the note-taker needs to note down meeting participants, important points, decisions, actionables, timelines, responsibles, etc.)

Finally, remember less is more. Don’t set up too many meetings that involve all and sundry no matter what the agenda. Conference call fatigue is a real phenomenon. Have meetings only when you actually need them, and invite participants based on the agenda.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: News, ShopTalk Tagged With: Baird's CMC, chris nial, communications management, public relations, virtual teams

Contact Us

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Subject

    Your Message

    Please enter the letters below and press Send

    captcha

    Latest Blog Posts

    Welcome

    An astonishing decline in child immunisation numbers in Africa amid the rage of COVID-19, yet another victim of the pandemic

    Global Elite are Bored with Health, Just When It’s Getting Really Exciting

    Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved. Sitemap