Implement these remote team meeting ideas for more efficient collaboration across a distributed workforce

While remote work has existed for years, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated its adoption. Employees and employers alike realized that they could do their jobs at home. Organizations took steps to make these arrangements work for them. They relied on remote meetings to bring people together to make decisions.

Today, many are choosing to stick with remote or hybrid working arrangements. Implementing this structure means examining how your business conducts meetings. It also means bridging the gap between the employees at the office and those working from home. The following remote team meeting ideas will help keep your employees more productive, no matter where they log in.

For more effective strategies on running hybrid meetings and presentations, check out our guide, How to run a meeting that maximizes collaboration and efficiency.

7 ideas to make remote meetings more accessible and efficient

1. Build a remote-inclusive meeting process

Holding remote meetings requires more than just choosing virtual conferencing software. It demands a cultural shift toward inclusive meetings that view remote and hybrid employees as equal contributors.

You can start by relying on your remote meeting software to schedule and conduct meetings. Even if some stakeholders will be in the office, remote workers can still log in and participate as if they were in the same room. These programs will also unify schedules across the organization, letting you set meeting times that benefit everyone involved.

2. Use the right technology — and test it beforehand

It may be unrealistic to expect some remote attendees (like external clients) to have the best video conferencing equipment available. Even so, there are steps your organization can take to make the experience as positive as possible for any remote meetings you conduct.

For example, you can equip your in-office meeting rooms with devices capable of capturing high-quality video and audio of everyone in the room. This will ensure remote attendees know who is talking and what’s being said.

Likewise, remote workers should have a webcam and microphone, whether built into their work laptop or provided separately. Establishing a baseline of technical quality ensures that everyone in the meeting can voice their opinions without a communication breakdown. Be sure to test these (or other tech needs) before the main event to prevent mishaps that could cause unnecessary delays.

Did You Know?:The RICOH Meeting 360 includes high-resolution 360° views and crystal clear audio designed to bring hybrid workers into the meeting room, wherever they are.

3. Avoid meeting overload and stick to your agenda

Being called to participate in too many meetings can lead to stress and exhaustion as employees try to fit the rest of their work into their schedules, whether or not they work remotely. This leads to employees trying to multitask during remote meetings, which causes additional distraction and decreased productivity.

To avoid meeting overload, decide whether the meeting is essential before you schedule it. If time isn’t a factor, consider delivering information or gathering feedback via asynchronous communication methods like email or work chat.

If you do need to schedule a meeting, create an agenda and stick to it. Meetings should be long enough to accomplish a handful of tasks but short enough to prevent fatigue or inefficiency. 25 minutes is considered the optimal time to maximize attendee focus.

4. Set aside time to break the ice

Staying on task is critical for keeping meetings productive. That said, it’s also helpful to set aside some time so people get a chance to be human. Add a few minutes to the beginning of the agenda to give everyone a chance to chat. An ice breaker question can be a fun way to structure these discussions, offering an opportunity for camaraderie while fitting into the overall structure of the meeting.

This may not be doable in every meeting, such as those where critical attendees have a hard stop at the end. However, lower-impact meetings like weekly check-ins or daily standups are a good place for everyone to talk about their lives or discuss the news.

5. Enforce good remote meeting etiquette

When conducting remote meetings, you don’t have to be a stickler for Robert’s Rules of Order. That said, you should define some clear ground rules for interacting and asking questions that allow everyone to have a say while keeping meetings on track.

One simple way to do this is to rely on your meeting software’s “raise hand” function. This option signifies to the presenter that someone in the audience has a question. Depending on how the question fits into the overall flow, the presenter can take it immediately or hold it to the end of their presentation. If more than one person raises their hand, the presenter can look through the queue and call on people in the proper order.

Enforcing this rule is an easy way to ensure everyone has a chance to participate without causing unnecessary interruptions. If someone forgets, simply let them know to use the raise hand function next time to reinforce this action for everyone in the audience.

6. Record the meeting for future reference

Sometimes, life happens. Schedules fall out of alignment, emergencies crop up, or other events force some to check the “Not attending” box on their meeting invite. If it’s a small meeting with critical stakeholders, rescheduling might be the best choice. For larger or information-delivery meetings where most people can attend, it’s better to press on.

Luckily, you don’t have to leave anyone behind. Many remote meeting tools allow you to record a copy of the meeting for future use. This option reduces the pressure on attendees to rework their schedules to squeeze another meeting in if they have more pressing matters.

Plus, it’s easy to add the recording to your onboarding suite for new employees. Training sessions, guest speakers, all-hands meetings — if you think someone could benefit from watching the video in the future, consider hitting record.

7. Follow up with action items and solicit feedback

By the end of the meeting, all attendees should have a clear idea of any action items they must complete. However, memories are fickle. You should also send a follow-up email containing a summary of the meeting. Include the list of action items discussed and the people assigned to complete them so everyone is on the same page.

This email is a great place to gather feedback on the meeting itself. You can ask for an informal response as a reply or include a link to an online form to ask more structured questions. Whatever your approach, learning more about what people liked and what they didn’t will help you improve the flow and content for future meetings.

Our recommendation: RICOH Meeting 360

Remote meetings are a powerful tool for connecting a distributed workforce and enhancing productivity. For a hybrid work culture to flourish, it must be built on a modern foundation. For businesses looking to streamline their remote meeting tech, RICOH Meeting 360 can be a cornerstone of that foundation.

Meeting 360 offers an easy way to make meetings more immersive for physical and remote attendees, bridging the gap with 360° panoramic views, high-quality audio, and an intuitive user interface. Plus, it seamlessly connects with most major video conferencing platforms, making it easy to slide into your existing infrastructure. Learn more about RICOH Meeting 360 and discover how to improve virtual meetings in a snap.

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