Hybrid meetings and their demands on corporate meeting culture

As a result of the pandemic, many companies and their employees had to learn how to relocate their usual working day to home and hold their usual meetings completely remotely. The motivation behind this is clear: people are social individuals and therefore benefit from personal contact on site. On the other hand, we are all required to maintain distances and hygiene regulations, which is why a meeting room may only be half occupied. And, but this argument is as old as the form of hybrid meetings, it is very easy to save on travel costs. Consequently, sooner or later everyone will probably find themselves in a hybrid meeting.

So why are my personal experiences with hybrid meetings so negative?  

As a manager of a team of 24 employees, I became part of an organization with around 80 people as a result of outsourcing. I sat in Frankfurt, superiors and 3 peers sat in Hamburg. I was the new guy, was warmly welcomed and initially also went to a meeting of the leadership team every 2 months. Everything was ok.

But that changed abruptly when travel was prohibited for cost reasons. The meeting still took place, but now I was sitting in Frankfurt and the others in the meeting room in Hamburg. There was no video, so I had to dial in by phone. There was a telephone conference system in the meeting room, which we called a spider.

My experience:

• The sound quality was poor at times, participants sitting further away from the spider were hard to understand at times,
• In the room, objects were pushed across the table or people were typing on the keyboards of the notebooks. The noises produced in this way were sometimes more audible than the spoken word,
• At times there was clearly audible whispering while someone had the floor,
• Participants left the room, but I did not notice this,
• After a break, topics were taken up that had been discussed during the break, I was left behind,
• One of the local participants was eagerly drawing on the flipchart, I then had to be explained what was to be seen there,
• At times, lively discussions broke out on the spot, during which I could sense that they had long forgotten that there was also someone on the phone.

In other words: the meeting culture was miserable.

My experience at different companies still shows that the culture of hybrid meetings needs to be worked on.

Rarely have I found conference rooms that were equipped with appropriate video technology. The optimal conference room has a large screen TV as well as a camera system that recognizes the speaker in the room and automatically brings them into focus. This is important for remote participants, as it is sometimes difficult to tell who you are listening to due to the sound quality.

When employees are equipped with notebooks, the focus is often not on the quality and position of the integrated web cam. Cameras installed at the bottom of a notebook's screen provide an unfavorable image. Alternatively, external web cams can be used, which often offer the advantage of better image and sound quality. Saving money is not advisable at this point.

The technology requirements are comparatively easy to implement. More challenging is the implementation of a modern meeting culture that is appropriate for hybrid meetings.

The first step is to raise awareness among the workforce that hybrid meetings require an adjustment of the usual behavior in meetings. It is worth taking a look at the practice of previous on-site meetings. Are the rules being followed here?

• Are participants invited with an announcement of the topic and a preliminary agenda?
• Do the participants usually show up on time or inform them if they are late?
• Is there an agenda with a time schedule and does it fit the agenda?
• Is the moderator prepared and proficient in moderation techniques?
• Is it clear who is taking the minutes?
• Is there a no-screen policy (laptops are closed, cell phones stay in pockets)?
• How are requests to speak made?
• Is everything that is needed available (flipchart with blank sheets, facilitation case or at least pens in several colors that still write)?

These points, essential for any meeting, are especially true for hybrid meetings because anything that interferes with the flow of the meeting is all the more inconvenient for remote participants.

If the mentioned points are common practice in the company anyway, not much changes for the moderator. However, it should be checked whether a digital whiteboard is available in the room instead of a flipchart. If so, the technology must again be mastered. This also gives remote participants the opportunity to sketch something.

When preparing for the joint appointment, the moderator of a hybrid meeting should keep in mind the fact that there will be participants who will not be sitting in the room on site. A short window of time should be reserved for them to arrive at the beginning of the appointment.

Video images and sound cannot completely replace the real impression on site. In principle, however, each participant should be able to take part in the appointment "with all their senses" as best they can.

While the on-site participants have already met in the office, at the coffee or beverage machine in the kitchen or canteen, and have been able to greet each other informally, the remote participants virtually click themselves into a black box that only becomes transparent with the first glance into the meeting room and the first exchanges of words. What impression do the people on site make, are they in a hurry, do they look sick, are they laughing or are they serious? Is the mood tense or rather relaxed?

Remote participants can only get a picture of this if they have the opportunity to exchange views with those present in the form of a short small talk before the actual start of the meeting. Therefore, the moderator should not omit the item "greeting" from his agenda, just "because you know each other". The point enables a targeted address especially of the distant persons.  

If previously unknown persons participate in the meeting, a round of introductions is obligatory and can then replace the small talk.

In the interest of the remote participants, it should be agreed at the beginning of the meeting that requests to speak will be given by a show of hands. This gives the moderator the opportunity to state the name of the person who wishes to speak. This is particularly important in rooms without a video conferencing system.

Incidentally, the requirement to raise hands should also apply to participants at the PC. Since they may not be able to perceive what is happening in the room at the moment, talking over the loudspeaker can be very disturbing. During presentations, it has proven useful if the moderator monitors the screen and informs about requests to speak at the appropriate time, since the person giving the presentation often does not notice the request to speak on the PC.

Prolonged side conversations between two participants are already unpleasant and impolite in normal meetings; in hybrid meetings they are a no-go. Even quiet whispers are picked up by modern directional microphones and degrade the presenter's audio transmission. Typing on the keyboard may be unavoidable for the minute taker, but everyone else has their notebooks closed anyway, right?

A hybrid meeting is good when all participants can participate equally. Therefore, topics of the meeting should really only be discussed together. Breaks should not be used for further exchange of topics, otherwise the remote participants will be left behind. A short reminder at the beginning of the break is advisable.

Remote participants should be visible to all participants during the phases when nothing is being presented. This requires that the participants at the cameras release their video signal. Again, this is far from a given and should be enforced by an appropriate policy.

This also helps the moderator not to lose the people at the PC. They should be actively involved, as a certain reluctance can often be observed among remote participants. Requesting the floor by a show of hands also supports here.

Finally, it should be noted that the efficiency of a hybrid meeting suffers more quickly than with any other form if an appropriate meeting culture is not anchored in the company. If several of the aforementioned requirements cannot be met in the company in the long term, preference should be given to pure online meetings, because then all participants are on an equal footing.

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