When Covid-19 restrictions started and employees began working remote, the idea of having meetings on Zoom, Teams and other video conferencing platforms sounded like a good idea – even fun! Employees were able to engage from the comfort of their home and even participated in social hours and other inventive team building activities. But how do those same employees feel now?
The honeymoon is over, and the fun and newness of video meetings has worn off. It is becoming harder to keep those same employees engaged and excited about meetings and the anticipated outcomes when it’s their 12th meeting of the day on video. We need to ask ourselves, are employees coming prepared for meetings? Are they leaving meetings ready to tackle the outputs from that session? Are they even “present” during the meetings?
Considering these challenges, a hybrid work model may be better for team engagement and burnout prevention than a completely remote workforce. This could be the catalyst that brings the enthusiasm back into the workplace and better meeting output, but it could also bring to the forefront some anxiety with the change in what has been the norm for the past 18 months. Here are a few tips for transitioning teams away from Zoom and back to engaging meetings.
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Flexibility will be key during this transition time.
Communication with each person versus company-wide communication will continue to be necessary.
Allow time for the transition.
As this return to work occurs, decrease the number of meetings since in-person communication should now be occurring.
Schedule in-person team-building events to bring everyone back together.
But also, don’t get complacent: Remind employees not to come into the office to work if they feel unwell. Keep the sanitary habits that were established during the Covid-19 period, including hand sanitizer and desk cleaning.