The COVID-19 situation has forced many businesses to operate remotely, resulting in many employees now working from home. This shift equates to many adaptations. One, in particular, is maintaining open communication with employees. In order to keep communication lines open, lots of businesses are opting to create conference call via Zoom calls, Microsoft teams calls and other tools to improve the daily work-life conversations.

We understand it can be difficult to keep employee’s attention on these calls and create productive and engaging online meetings. That is why we gathered a few tips from our day-to-day conference calls, to assist making conference call’s for your business, more interactive.

Organise daily and regular meetings. This ensures employees remain in a routine and provides structure to their day. Hold meetings that last 15 – 30 minutes; preferably in the morning to go over what the team should do for the day. Assess in advance which people should participate so that the meeting does not become unproductive. When unnecessary people are included on certain calls, this can cause ‘zoom fatigue.’

Turning your camera on is one of the easiest things you can do, so do it! When you speak be-hind a photo or icon, your colleagues cannot pick up on body language and facial ques. It can result in lack of attention or even lack of communication.

The most important thing to remember about remote meetings is that not all are necessary. “What is this meeting for?” Focus on reducing meeting times. Only meet for as long as necessary. Time can be saved by sending an email/invite in advance outlining the meeting agenda. Save the actual session for questions, strategy discussions and brainstorms.

Encourage your employees to share their goals and plans for the week ahead. It allows other employees from different functions/teams to remain informed, especially during the pandemic. Previously, due to busy work schedules, different functions/teams may not have had time to understand how different departments operate and interlink with each other. By applying this strategy, employees are encouraged to learn about the Company’s operations and what exactly their colleagues do.

Discussing external news and updates is a great way to make the meeting more interactive. Whether you discuss local news, business topics etc., it will encourage your employees to participate.

Undoubtedly, this pandemic is reshaping the workplace with many employees now working from home. Online meetings held through videoconferencing has proven to be a perfect option for keeping communication lines open and enabling the continuity of working activities.

Creating employee engagement during the conference call can be challenging. However, these tips can help you connect with your employees remotely and develop a more interactive meeting.

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