In our last blog, we offered some tips for effective remote work. One of the realities of the new remote work world is that there are a lot more web conferences. Web conferences are part of our daily life now and are even more common than in-person meetings (no one wants to host a super spreader event, even after vaccines). But web conferences have become so ubiquitous that it’s easy to tune out an important meeting or just turn off your camera and do something else.

Web conferencing is not going anywhere, especially as many companies realize that workers aren’t coming back to the office much, if at all. Given this, it’s important to take a look at how technology can serve us rather than become a distraction. Here are five ways your company can effectively use web conferencing and ensure “Zoom fatigue” doesn’t affect productivity. 

Ask If You Need To Have The Meeting: Before you send someone an invite to a Zoom meeting ask if the meeting needs to happen at all. If you need to go over work or deliverables send a tracking spreadsheet or quickly discuss deadlines on a channel like Slack.  Make sure everyone is clear about assignments or pending work at the beginning of the week. If you plan well and communicate clearly, another meeting is unnecessary. The more you reserve web conferences for important business the fewer employees will suffer from web conferencing burnout.

Drop The Fancy Virtual Background: No one needs to see a photo of a dog or a beach backdrop or the surface of the moon. You are sitting in your study or living room just like we are. Blur the background out. 

Arrive Early: Despite cutting-edge technology, there are still connectivity problems with web conferences. Someone in the meeting – often the organizer – will have spotty Internet. A server might crash somewhere or someone will drop their iPad in the sink. Have the courtesy to arrive early so any connectivity issues can be quickly resolved and you can get work done. Don’t be the person who enters late and then distracts everyone and derails the meeting with bad service. 

Dress The Part: If you are talking to a colleague it’s probably  OK to be in a tee shirt. If you are talking to a client or discussing an important project look the part. Put on a nice shirtcomb your hair and look presentable.

Don’t Lurk: Plenty of people attend web conferences and contribute nothing. They are there because their boss included them in an invitation. If this is happening often, it might be worth a quick conversation to see if you need to be in the meeting. Your time might be better spent doing work. Keep meetings on target by only including the people who need to be there. 

Interested in joining the MGP PR team? Email your resume/CV and cover letter to hello@wearemgp.com

In our last blog, we offered some tips for effective remote work. One of the realities of the new remote work world is that there are a lot more web conferences. Web conferences are part of our daily life now and are even more common than in-person meetings (no one wants to host a super spreader event, even after vaccines). But web conferences have become so ubiquitous that it’s easy to tune out an important meeting or just turn off your camera and do something else.

Web conferencing is not going anywhere, especially as many companies realize that workers aren’t coming back to the office much, if at all. Given this, it’s important to take a look at how technology can serve us rather than become a distraction. Here are five ways your company can effectively use web conferencing and ensure “Zoom fatigue” doesn’t affect productivity. 

Ask If You Need To Have The Meeting: Before you send someone an invite to a Zoom meeting ask if the meeting needs to happen at all. If you need to go over work or deliverables send a tracking spreadsheet or quickly discuss deadlines on a channel like Slack.  Make sure everyone is clear about assignments or pending work at the beginning of the week. If you plan well and communicate clearly, another meeting is unnecessary. The more you reserve web conferences for important business the fewer employees will suffer from web conferencing burnout.

Drop The Fancy Virtual Background: No one needs to see a photo of a dog or a beach backdrop or the surface of the moon. You are sitting in your study or living room just like we are. Blur the background out. 

Arrive Early: Despite cutting-edge technology, there are still connectivity problems with web conferences. Someone in the meeting – often the organizer – will have spotty Internet. A server might crash somewhere or someone will drop their iPad in the sink. Have the courtesy to arrive early so any connectivity issues can be quickly resolved and you can get work done. Don’t be the person who enters late and then distracts everyone and derails the meeting with bad service. 

Dress The Part: If you are talking to a colleague it’s probably  OK to be in a tee shirt. If you are talking to a client or discussing an important project look the part. Put on a nice shirtcomb your hair and look presentable.

Don’t Lurk: Plenty of people attend web conferences and contribute nothing. They are there because their boss included them in an invitation. If this is happening often, it might be worth a quick conversation to see if you need to be in the meeting. Your time might be better spent doing work. Keep meetings on target by only including the people who need to be there. 

Interested in joining the MGP PR team? Email your resume/CV and cover letter to hello@wearemgp.com