The advent of the digital world has ushered a major change in the business world: the remote meeting.
The benefits of being able to host a remote meeting are obvious. No matter where they are in the world, all of the necessary stakeholders can be looped in.
This means cutting down on travel costs for even the most important meetings and being able to utilize talent that’s located all around the globe.
If you’ve never set up a remote meeting before and you’re looking for some tips on how to get started, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll share five top tips on how to run your next remote meeting smoothly.
1. Use the Right Conference Call Software
First things first: ensure that you’ve bought the right instant conference call software. Whenever you shop for conference call software, there are a lot of factors to consider.
Beyond the obvious ones like budget, you also need to consider how many meeting attendees are permissible on the call. Some tools have stringent limits. In addition, some software may not enable recording as a built-in feature. Another thing to keep in mind is whether there are any location restrictions.
2. Schedule the Meeting Appropriately
Once you have the right tool in place, it’s time to schedule the meeting. You want to conscious of everyone’s time zones, so the best way to schedule the meeting is by pulling up everyone’s calendar at the same time to find a free time slot. If you need to ask someone to move stuff around, do so (depending on the importance of the meeting).
3. Record the Meeting If Necessary
Remember to record the meeting. A last-minute emergency could always prevent one of the stakeholders from attending the meeting. If his or her involvement is not crucial to the meeting occurring, but they still need the info, then they need access to a meeting recording to catch up on the conversations that transpired.
4. Send Out an Agenda Beforehand
The best way to keep everyone on-task during a long remote meeting is to send out an agenda beforehand so everyone knows what to prepare for. Once you’ve got everyone on the call, remember to stick to the agenda, come hell or high water.
Nothing quite derails a meeting’s productivity than going off on irrelevant tangents.
5. Ensure Great Connectivity
Last but not least, ensure that everyone in the meeting has great internet connectivity in their location. You don’t want to have to deal with calls dropping midway, having to catch up a certain person on a few seconds that were broken up, et cetera.
Top Tips for a Smooth Remote Meeting
There you have it — if you’ve never run a remote meeting in your life, never fear because these tips will get you through the experience smoothly and successfully.