“Hybrid Work Has Changed Meetings Forever,” - 3 tips

 Thu 04 July 2024

Fix Your Team’s Broken Hybrid Meetings

Hybrid work has changed meetings. Despite many companies’ recent return-to-office efforts, teams are relying on virtual meetings more than ever, and participation is down. As a manager, how can you improve your team's meetings in this hybrid world?

(1) Treat meeting culture as an important part of company culture. 

What meeting culture do you want for your team? Determine best practices and define roles and responsibilities. This can also include expectations on when not to meet, such as scheduled focus hours and meeting-free days.

(2) Identify and invest in meeting leaders. 

Running effective meetings is a skill, and like any skill, it can be cultivated and strengthened. Recent research shows that 54% of all meetings are hosted by just 10% of employees. Targeted training for this group of “power users” can help promote a healthier meeting culture on your team.

(3) Leverage data. 

One of the advantages of virtual meetings is that they produce data that provides meaningful insights into productivity, engagement, and even retention—so make use of it. For example, if a specific department has a particularly high no-participation rate, you could monitor how that number changes as you roll out trainings within the department. 

This tip is adapted from “Hybrid Work Has Changed Meetings Forever,” by Mike Tolliver and Jonathan Sass