While effective communication can be a challenge in any team science endeavour, it is especially critical to ensure meetings held in a virtual setting for geographically separated teams are executed in a way that best serve to build trust and rapport among team members while working towards achieving team goals. It is essential to be considerate of time zones and potential communication barriers, and norms for both regular communication and scheduled meetings should be established early on in the collaborative process. There are three distinct stages of holding a virtual meeting that are important to consider, as discussed below.
Prior to Meeting
- Step 1: Ensure members have been e-introduced prior to meeting to have some familiarity with one another’s backgrounds.
Trust is one of the best indications of whether or not a geographically dispersed team will successfully work together. It is important to familiarize the group members with one another as much as possible before a meeting so that they are comfortable and aware of the other people in the group. - Step 2: Send out the agenda in advance.
It is important to be realistic and considerate of the time constraints of the set meeting. Additionally, knowing the agenda in advance sets the team members expectations, and gives them the opportunity to prepare any relevant related points, issues, or questions base on the meeting material.
During Meeting
- Step 3: Stick to the agenda.
Remaining focused on the purpose of a meeting can be difficult in person, but can be further strained in a virtual setting. Additionally, engagement of participants is more likely to go off track and earlier on in a meeting with the attendees not in the same room, so following the agenda closely can help reinforce the expectations participants have for the meeting. - Step 4: Before the meeting closes, review priorities, assign action items, and set or confirm the date for the next meeting.
In order to end the meeting on a strong note and contribute to the sense that all meeting attendees are on the same page, be sure to review the priorities of what was covered, assign individuals to take care of any action items that may have been determined during the course of the meeting, and set or confirm the date of the next meeting so that all participants are on the same page.
After Meeting
- Step 5: Distribute notes, including assignment of action items and meeting date confirmation. Ask for feedback.
Send out notes regarding meeting materials and confirming action item assignments as well as next meeting. Not only will written follow-up confirm the discussion and conclusions reached within the meeting, but it serves as a reminder document for the attendees. Ask for feedback about how the meeting went in order to improve the process as time goes on.