Blog

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

Blog

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

Blog

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

Blog

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

Blog

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

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Blog

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

Heather Mueller
/
December 11, 2017
Blog

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

MIN
/
December 11, 2017
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Episode Highlights
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Episode Transcript

See if this sounds familiar: There’s an important update that needs to be discussed, so you stop working to join the team for a 30-minute meeting. But instead of walking down the hall to a conference room, you click a link to launch your webcam. On the other side of your screen, several colleagues are starting into a lively discussion.No one’s in the same room. One person’s at a coworking space in Toronto, one is in her Utah home office, and another is at a coffee shop in Indiana. A few years ago, Formstack’s virtual meetings were still somewhat of an anomaly in the business world. But with so many companies embracing the benefits of remote work, it’s not at all uncommon for a typical workday to include remote meetings that span time zones and geographies. If your employees are among the 43% of Americans who spend at least some time working remotely—or if 50-60% of their work is done while they’re away from their desks—it’s time to embrace the virtual meeting. Studies have repeatedly shown that ineffective meetings can cost companies millions of dollars. And if you thought getting everyone together in a conference room was challenging, just wait until you’re contending with poor internet connections, audio static, and dozens of digital distractions. On the other hand...Once you get comfortable collaborating in an online environment, there’s a lot to love about the virtual meeting. As a remote company, the team at Formstack has undergone some trial and error in this area, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make meetings work. There are plenty of ways to have a productive virtual meeting. Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Use ONE method of remote communication.

If one remote employee is video conferencing, so should everyone else. This is true even if two or three attendees are in the same physical location. Having everyone meet in the same virtual environment eliminates confusion and helps ensure your remote attendees won’t get lost when in-person conversations start to get loud and lively.

2. Choose software that’s virtual-meeting-friendly.

Anyone who’s spent the first ten minutes of a remote meeting on “can you hear me?” and “did we lose someone?” knows how much time unreliable technology and shoddy connections can waste. Thankfully, video conferencing has come a long way. This is one area where your investment will pay back in spades. Platforms like Zoom are designed specifically to connect dozens of participants with high-quality video. Other software such as Adobe Connect and AirClass allows you to seamlessly switch between screen sharing and video, collaborate on digital whiteboards, and even get analytics on who’s participating.

Remote Collaboration Tool: Zoom

3. Limit your remote meetings to a handful of attendees.

This is one standard that should be set for all meetings—remote or not. Any time a meeting includes people who don’t really need to be there, you increase the risk of conversation veering off into the realm of unrelated, unhelpful, and inactionable topics—a phenomenon known as bikeshedding. Get a large group together in a virtual space, and you’ll also face increased competition from digital distractions and multitasking among attendees who have little to contribute to the actual meeting. By keeping attendance low, you can eliminate noise and stay laser-focused.

4. Embrace digital collaboration.

These days, there really aren’t any significant limitations to what you can accomplish when meeting remotely. You can use chat rooms to share important links and files, Google Docs or Office 365 to collaborate on documents in real-time, and virtual breakout rooms to coordinate on team milestones before coming together as a larger group. I’d go so far as to say that, with the right techniques and tools, remote meetings are often more productive than their in-office counterparts. Embrace them!

Looking for more ways to keep your remote teams engaged? We have plenty! Click the link below for our favorite suggestions on how to infuse your online interactions with an extra element of fun.

Blog

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

Blog

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

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See if this sounds familiar: There’s an important update that needs to be discussed, so you stop working to join the team for a 30-minute meeting. But instead of walking down the hall to a conference room, you click a link to launch your webcam. On the other side of your screen, several colleagues are starting into a lively discussion.No one’s in the same room. One person’s at a coworking space in Toronto, one is in her Utah home office, and another is at a coffee shop in Indiana. A few years ago, Formstack’s virtual meetings were still somewhat of an anomaly in the business world. But with so many companies embracing the benefits of remote work, it’s not at all uncommon for a typical workday to include remote meetings that span time zones and geographies. If your employees are among the 43% of Americans who spend at least some time working remotely—or if 50-60% of their work is done while they’re away from their desks—it’s time to embrace the virtual meeting. Studies have repeatedly shown that ineffective meetings can cost companies millions of dollars. And if you thought getting everyone together in a conference room was challenging, just wait until you’re contending with poor internet connections, audio static, and dozens of digital distractions. On the other hand...Once you get comfortable collaborating in an online environment, there’s a lot to love about the virtual meeting. As a remote company, the team at Formstack has undergone some trial and error in this area, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make meetings work. There are plenty of ways to have a productive virtual meeting. Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Use ONE method of remote communication.

If one remote employee is video conferencing, so should everyone else. This is true even if two or three attendees are in the same physical location. Having everyone meet in the same virtual environment eliminates confusion and helps ensure your remote attendees won’t get lost when in-person conversations start to get loud and lively.

2. Choose software that’s virtual-meeting-friendly.

Anyone who’s spent the first ten minutes of a remote meeting on “can you hear me?” and “did we lose someone?” knows how much time unreliable technology and shoddy connections can waste. Thankfully, video conferencing has come a long way. This is one area where your investment will pay back in spades. Platforms like Zoom are designed specifically to connect dozens of participants with high-quality video. Other software such as Adobe Connect and AirClass allows you to seamlessly switch between screen sharing and video, collaborate on digital whiteboards, and even get analytics on who’s participating.

Remote Collaboration Tool: Zoom

3. Limit your remote meetings to a handful of attendees.

This is one standard that should be set for all meetings—remote or not. Any time a meeting includes people who don’t really need to be there, you increase the risk of conversation veering off into the realm of unrelated, unhelpful, and inactionable topics—a phenomenon known as bikeshedding. Get a large group together in a virtual space, and you’ll also face increased competition from digital distractions and multitasking among attendees who have little to contribute to the actual meeting. By keeping attendance low, you can eliminate noise and stay laser-focused.

4. Embrace digital collaboration.

These days, there really aren’t any significant limitations to what you can accomplish when meeting remotely. You can use chat rooms to share important links and files, Google Docs or Office 365 to collaborate on documents in real-time, and virtual breakout rooms to coordinate on team milestones before coming together as a larger group. I’d go so far as to say that, with the right techniques and tools, remote meetings are often more productive than their in-office counterparts. Embrace them!

Looking for more ways to keep your remote teams engaged? We have plenty! Click the link below for our favorite suggestions on how to infuse your online interactions with an extra element of fun.

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No items found.
Infographic

Going Remote: 4 Tips to Make Your Virtual Meeting a Success

This is how Formstack’s remote teams make virtual meetings successful—and how you can make your own remote meetings more productive for everyone involved.
Download InfographicDownload Infographic

See if this sounds familiar: There’s an important update that needs to be discussed, so you stop working to join the team for a 30-minute meeting. But instead of walking down the hall to a conference room, you click a link to launch your webcam. On the other side of your screen, several colleagues are starting into a lively discussion.No one’s in the same room. One person’s at a coworking space in Toronto, one is in her Utah home office, and another is at a coffee shop in Indiana. A few years ago, Formstack’s virtual meetings were still somewhat of an anomaly in the business world. But with so many companies embracing the benefits of remote work, it’s not at all uncommon for a typical workday to include remote meetings that span time zones and geographies. If your employees are among the 43% of Americans who spend at least some time working remotely—or if 50-60% of their work is done while they’re away from their desks—it’s time to embrace the virtual meeting. Studies have repeatedly shown that ineffective meetings can cost companies millions of dollars. And if you thought getting everyone together in a conference room was challenging, just wait until you’re contending with poor internet connections, audio static, and dozens of digital distractions. On the other hand...Once you get comfortable collaborating in an online environment, there’s a lot to love about the virtual meeting. As a remote company, the team at Formstack has undergone some trial and error in this area, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make meetings work. There are plenty of ways to have a productive virtual meeting. Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Use ONE method of remote communication.

If one remote employee is video conferencing, so should everyone else. This is true even if two or three attendees are in the same physical location. Having everyone meet in the same virtual environment eliminates confusion and helps ensure your remote attendees won’t get lost when in-person conversations start to get loud and lively.

2. Choose software that’s virtual-meeting-friendly.

Anyone who’s spent the first ten minutes of a remote meeting on “can you hear me?” and “did we lose someone?” knows how much time unreliable technology and shoddy connections can waste. Thankfully, video conferencing has come a long way. This is one area where your investment will pay back in spades. Platforms like Zoom are designed specifically to connect dozens of participants with high-quality video. Other software such as Adobe Connect and AirClass allows you to seamlessly switch between screen sharing and video, collaborate on digital whiteboards, and even get analytics on who’s participating.

Remote Collaboration Tool: Zoom

3. Limit your remote meetings to a handful of attendees.

This is one standard that should be set for all meetings—remote or not. Any time a meeting includes people who don’t really need to be there, you increase the risk of conversation veering off into the realm of unrelated, unhelpful, and inactionable topics—a phenomenon known as bikeshedding. Get a large group together in a virtual space, and you’ll also face increased competition from digital distractions and multitasking among attendees who have little to contribute to the actual meeting. By keeping attendance low, you can eliminate noise and stay laser-focused.

4. Embrace digital collaboration.

These days, there really aren’t any significant limitations to what you can accomplish when meeting remotely. You can use chat rooms to share important links and files, Google Docs or Office 365 to collaborate on documents in real-time, and virtual breakout rooms to coordinate on team milestones before coming together as a larger group. I’d go so far as to say that, with the right techniques and tools, remote meetings are often more productive than their in-office counterparts. Embrace them!

Looking for more ways to keep your remote teams engaged? We have plenty! Click the link below for our favorite suggestions on how to infuse your online interactions with an extra element of fun.

See if this sounds familiar: There’s an important update that needs to be discussed, so you stop working to join the team for a 30-minute meeting. But instead of walking down the hall to a conference room, you click a link to launch your webcam. On the other side of your screen, several colleagues are starting into a lively discussion.No one’s in the same room. One person’s at a coworking space in Toronto, one is in her Utah home office, and another is at a coffee shop in Indiana. A few years ago, Formstack’s virtual meetings were still somewhat of an anomaly in the business world. But with so many companies embracing the benefits of remote work, it’s not at all uncommon for a typical workday to include remote meetings that span time zones and geographies. If your employees are among the 43% of Americans who spend at least some time working remotely—or if 50-60% of their work is done while they’re away from their desks—it’s time to embrace the virtual meeting. Studies have repeatedly shown that ineffective meetings can cost companies millions of dollars. And if you thought getting everyone together in a conference room was challenging, just wait until you’re contending with poor internet connections, audio static, and dozens of digital distractions. On the other hand...Once you get comfortable collaborating in an online environment, there’s a lot to love about the virtual meeting. As a remote company, the team at Formstack has undergone some trial and error in this area, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make meetings work. There are plenty of ways to have a productive virtual meeting. Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Use ONE method of remote communication.

If one remote employee is video conferencing, so should everyone else. This is true even if two or three attendees are in the same physical location. Having everyone meet in the same virtual environment eliminates confusion and helps ensure your remote attendees won’t get lost when in-person conversations start to get loud and lively.

2. Choose software that’s virtual-meeting-friendly.

Anyone who’s spent the first ten minutes of a remote meeting on “can you hear me?” and “did we lose someone?” knows how much time unreliable technology and shoddy connections can waste. Thankfully, video conferencing has come a long way. This is one area where your investment will pay back in spades. Platforms like Zoom are designed specifically to connect dozens of participants with high-quality video. Other software such as Adobe Connect and AirClass allows you to seamlessly switch between screen sharing and video, collaborate on digital whiteboards, and even get analytics on who’s participating.

Remote Collaboration Tool: Zoom

3. Limit your remote meetings to a handful of attendees.

This is one standard that should be set for all meetings—remote or not. Any time a meeting includes people who don’t really need to be there, you increase the risk of conversation veering off into the realm of unrelated, unhelpful, and inactionable topics—a phenomenon known as bikeshedding. Get a large group together in a virtual space, and you’ll also face increased competition from digital distractions and multitasking among attendees who have little to contribute to the actual meeting. By keeping attendance low, you can eliminate noise and stay laser-focused.

4. Embrace digital collaboration.

These days, there really aren’t any significant limitations to what you can accomplish when meeting remotely. You can use chat rooms to share important links and files, Google Docs or Office 365 to collaborate on documents in real-time, and virtual breakout rooms to coordinate on team milestones before coming together as a larger group. I’d go so far as to say that, with the right techniques and tools, remote meetings are often more productive than their in-office counterparts. Embrace them!

Looking for more ways to keep your remote teams engaged? We have plenty! Click the link below for our favorite suggestions on how to infuse your online interactions with an extra element of fun.

Collecting payments with online forms is easy, but first, you have to choose the right payment gateway. Browse the providers in our gateway credit card processing comparison chart to find the best option for your business. Then sign up for Formstack Forms, customize your payment forms, and start collecting profits in minutes.

Online Payment Gateway Comparison Chart

NOTE: These amounts reflect the monthly subscription for the payment provider. Formstack does not charge a fee to integrate with any of our payment partners.

FEATURES
Authorize.Net
Bambora
Chargify
First Data
PayPal
PayPal Pro
PayPal Payflow
Stripe
WePay
Monthly Fees
$25
$25
$149+
Contact First Data
$0
$25
$0-$25
$0
$0
Transaction Fees
$2.9% + 30¢
$2.9% + 30¢
N/A
Contact First Data
$2.9% + 30¢
$2.9% + 30¢
10¢
$2.9% + 30¢
$2.9% + 30¢
Countries
5
8
Based on payment gateway
50+
203
3
4
25
USA
Currencies
11
2
23
140
25
23
25
135+
1
Card Types
6
13
Based on payment gateway
5
9
9
5
6
4
Limits
None
None
Based on payment gateway
None
$10,000
None
None
None
None
Form Payments
Recurring Billing
Mobile Payments
PSD2 Compliant

See if this sounds familiar: There’s an important update that needs to be discussed, so you stop working to join the team for a 30-minute meeting. But instead of walking down the hall to a conference room, you click a link to launch your webcam. On the other side of your screen, several colleagues are starting into a lively discussion.No one’s in the same room. One person’s at a coworking space in Toronto, one is in her Utah home office, and another is at a coffee shop in Indiana. A few years ago, Formstack’s virtual meetings were still somewhat of an anomaly in the business world. But with so many companies embracing the benefits of remote work, it’s not at all uncommon for a typical workday to include remote meetings that span time zones and geographies. If your employees are among the 43% of Americans who spend at least some time working remotely—or if 50-60% of their work is done while they’re away from their desks—it’s time to embrace the virtual meeting. Studies have repeatedly shown that ineffective meetings can cost companies millions of dollars. And if you thought getting everyone together in a conference room was challenging, just wait until you’re contending with poor internet connections, audio static, and dozens of digital distractions. On the other hand...Once you get comfortable collaborating in an online environment, there’s a lot to love about the virtual meeting. As a remote company, the team at Formstack has undergone some trial and error in this area, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make meetings work. There are plenty of ways to have a productive virtual meeting. Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Use ONE method of remote communication.

If one remote employee is video conferencing, so should everyone else. This is true even if two or three attendees are in the same physical location. Having everyone meet in the same virtual environment eliminates confusion and helps ensure your remote attendees won’t get lost when in-person conversations start to get loud and lively.

2. Choose software that’s virtual-meeting-friendly.

Anyone who’s spent the first ten minutes of a remote meeting on “can you hear me?” and “did we lose someone?” knows how much time unreliable technology and shoddy connections can waste. Thankfully, video conferencing has come a long way. This is one area where your investment will pay back in spades. Platforms like Zoom are designed specifically to connect dozens of participants with high-quality video. Other software such as Adobe Connect and AirClass allows you to seamlessly switch between screen sharing and video, collaborate on digital whiteboards, and even get analytics on who’s participating.

Remote Collaboration Tool: Zoom

3. Limit your remote meetings to a handful of attendees.

This is one standard that should be set for all meetings—remote or not. Any time a meeting includes people who don’t really need to be there, you increase the risk of conversation veering off into the realm of unrelated, unhelpful, and inactionable topics—a phenomenon known as bikeshedding. Get a large group together in a virtual space, and you’ll also face increased competition from digital distractions and multitasking among attendees who have little to contribute to the actual meeting. By keeping attendance low, you can eliminate noise and stay laser-focused.

4. Embrace digital collaboration.

These days, there really aren’t any significant limitations to what you can accomplish when meeting remotely. You can use chat rooms to share important links and files, Google Docs or Office 365 to collaborate on documents in real-time, and virtual breakout rooms to coordinate on team milestones before coming together as a larger group. I’d go so far as to say that, with the right techniques and tools, remote meetings are often more productive than their in-office counterparts. Embrace them!

Looking for more ways to keep your remote teams engaged? We have plenty! Click the link below for our favorite suggestions on how to infuse your online interactions with an extra element of fun.

See if this sounds familiar: There’s an important update that needs to be discussed, so you stop working to join the team for a 30-minute meeting. But instead of walking down the hall to a conference room, you click a link to launch your webcam. On the other side of your screen, several colleagues are starting into a lively discussion.No one’s in the same room. One person’s at a coworking space in Toronto, one is in her Utah home office, and another is at a coffee shop in Indiana. A few years ago, Formstack’s virtual meetings were still somewhat of an anomaly in the business world. But with so many companies embracing the benefits of remote work, it’s not at all uncommon for a typical workday to include remote meetings that span time zones and geographies. If your employees are among the 43% of Americans who spend at least some time working remotely—or if 50-60% of their work is done while they’re away from their desks—it’s time to embrace the virtual meeting. Studies have repeatedly shown that ineffective meetings can cost companies millions of dollars. And if you thought getting everyone together in a conference room was challenging, just wait until you’re contending with poor internet connections, audio static, and dozens of digital distractions. On the other hand...Once you get comfortable collaborating in an online environment, there’s a lot to love about the virtual meeting. As a remote company, the team at Formstack has undergone some trial and error in this area, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make meetings work. There are plenty of ways to have a productive virtual meeting. Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Use ONE method of remote communication.

If one remote employee is video conferencing, so should everyone else. This is true even if two or three attendees are in the same physical location. Having everyone meet in the same virtual environment eliminates confusion and helps ensure your remote attendees won’t get lost when in-person conversations start to get loud and lively.

2. Choose software that’s virtual-meeting-friendly.

Anyone who’s spent the first ten minutes of a remote meeting on “can you hear me?” and “did we lose someone?” knows how much time unreliable technology and shoddy connections can waste. Thankfully, video conferencing has come a long way. This is one area where your investment will pay back in spades. Platforms like Zoom are designed specifically to connect dozens of participants with high-quality video. Other software such as Adobe Connect and AirClass allows you to seamlessly switch between screen sharing and video, collaborate on digital whiteboards, and even get analytics on who’s participating.

Remote Collaboration Tool: Zoom

3. Limit your remote meetings to a handful of attendees.

This is one standard that should be set for all meetings—remote or not. Any time a meeting includes people who don’t really need to be there, you increase the risk of conversation veering off into the realm of unrelated, unhelpful, and inactionable topics—a phenomenon known as bikeshedding. Get a large group together in a virtual space, and you’ll also face increased competition from digital distractions and multitasking among attendees who have little to contribute to the actual meeting. By keeping attendance low, you can eliminate noise and stay laser-focused.

4. Embrace digital collaboration.

These days, there really aren’t any significant limitations to what you can accomplish when meeting remotely. You can use chat rooms to share important links and files, Google Docs or Office 365 to collaborate on documents in real-time, and virtual breakout rooms to coordinate on team milestones before coming together as a larger group. I’d go so far as to say that, with the right techniques and tools, remote meetings are often more productive than their in-office counterparts. Embrace them!

Looking for more ways to keep your remote teams engaged? We have plenty! Click the link below for our favorite suggestions on how to infuse your online interactions with an extra element of fun.

See if this sounds familiar: There’s an important update that needs to be discussed, so you stop working to join the team for a 30-minute meeting. But instead of walking down the hall to a conference room, you click a link to launch your webcam. On the other side of your screen, several colleagues are starting into a lively discussion.No one’s in the same room. One person’s at a coworking space in Toronto, one is in her Utah home office, and another is at a coffee shop in Indiana. A few years ago, Formstack’s virtual meetings were still somewhat of an anomaly in the business world. But with so many companies embracing the benefits of remote work, it’s not at all uncommon for a typical workday to include remote meetings that span time zones and geographies. If your employees are among the 43% of Americans who spend at least some time working remotely—or if 50-60% of their work is done while they’re away from their desks—it’s time to embrace the virtual meeting. Studies have repeatedly shown that ineffective meetings can cost companies millions of dollars. And if you thought getting everyone together in a conference room was challenging, just wait until you’re contending with poor internet connections, audio static, and dozens of digital distractions. On the other hand...Once you get comfortable collaborating in an online environment, there’s a lot to love about the virtual meeting. As a remote company, the team at Formstack has undergone some trial and error in this area, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make meetings work. There are plenty of ways to have a productive virtual meeting. Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Use ONE method of remote communication.

If one remote employee is video conferencing, so should everyone else. This is true even if two or three attendees are in the same physical location. Having everyone meet in the same virtual environment eliminates confusion and helps ensure your remote attendees won’t get lost when in-person conversations start to get loud and lively.

2. Choose software that’s virtual-meeting-friendly.

Anyone who’s spent the first ten minutes of a remote meeting on “can you hear me?” and “did we lose someone?” knows how much time unreliable technology and shoddy connections can waste. Thankfully, video conferencing has come a long way. This is one area where your investment will pay back in spades. Platforms like Zoom are designed specifically to connect dozens of participants with high-quality video. Other software such as Adobe Connect and AirClass allows you to seamlessly switch between screen sharing and video, collaborate on digital whiteboards, and even get analytics on who’s participating.

Remote Collaboration Tool: Zoom

3. Limit your remote meetings to a handful of attendees.

This is one standard that should be set for all meetings—remote or not. Any time a meeting includes people who don’t really need to be there, you increase the risk of conversation veering off into the realm of unrelated, unhelpful, and inactionable topics—a phenomenon known as bikeshedding. Get a large group together in a virtual space, and you’ll also face increased competition from digital distractions and multitasking among attendees who have little to contribute to the actual meeting. By keeping attendance low, you can eliminate noise and stay laser-focused.

4. Embrace digital collaboration.

These days, there really aren’t any significant limitations to what you can accomplish when meeting remotely. You can use chat rooms to share important links and files, Google Docs or Office 365 to collaborate on documents in real-time, and virtual breakout rooms to coordinate on team milestones before coming together as a larger group. I’d go so far as to say that, with the right techniques and tools, remote meetings are often more productive than their in-office counterparts. Embrace them!

Looking for more ways to keep your remote teams engaged? We have plenty! Click the link below for our favorite suggestions on how to infuse your online interactions with an extra element of fun.

See if this sounds familiar: There’s an important update that needs to be discussed, so you stop working to join the team for a 30-minute meeting. But instead of walking down the hall to a conference room, you click a link to launch your webcam. On the other side of your screen, several colleagues are starting into a lively discussion.No one’s in the same room. One person’s at a coworking space in Toronto, one is in her Utah home office, and another is at a coffee shop in Indiana. A few years ago, Formstack’s virtual meetings were still somewhat of an anomaly in the business world. But with so many companies embracing the benefits of remote work, it’s not at all uncommon for a typical workday to include remote meetings that span time zones and geographies. If your employees are among the 43% of Americans who spend at least some time working remotely—or if 50-60% of their work is done while they’re away from their desks—it’s time to embrace the virtual meeting. Studies have repeatedly shown that ineffective meetings can cost companies millions of dollars. And if you thought getting everyone together in a conference room was challenging, just wait until you’re contending with poor internet connections, audio static, and dozens of digital distractions. On the other hand...Once you get comfortable collaborating in an online environment, there’s a lot to love about the virtual meeting. As a remote company, the team at Formstack has undergone some trial and error in this area, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make meetings work. There are plenty of ways to have a productive virtual meeting. Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Use ONE method of remote communication.

If one remote employee is video conferencing, so should everyone else. This is true even if two or three attendees are in the same physical location. Having everyone meet in the same virtual environment eliminates confusion and helps ensure your remote attendees won’t get lost when in-person conversations start to get loud and lively.

2. Choose software that’s virtual-meeting-friendly.

Anyone who’s spent the first ten minutes of a remote meeting on “can you hear me?” and “did we lose someone?” knows how much time unreliable technology and shoddy connections can waste. Thankfully, video conferencing has come a long way. This is one area where your investment will pay back in spades. Platforms like Zoom are designed specifically to connect dozens of participants with high-quality video. Other software such as Adobe Connect and AirClass allows you to seamlessly switch between screen sharing and video, collaborate on digital whiteboards, and even get analytics on who’s participating.

Remote Collaboration Tool: Zoom

3. Limit your remote meetings to a handful of attendees.

This is one standard that should be set for all meetings—remote or not. Any time a meeting includes people who don’t really need to be there, you increase the risk of conversation veering off into the realm of unrelated, unhelpful, and inactionable topics—a phenomenon known as bikeshedding. Get a large group together in a virtual space, and you’ll also face increased competition from digital distractions and multitasking among attendees who have little to contribute to the actual meeting. By keeping attendance low, you can eliminate noise and stay laser-focused.

4. Embrace digital collaboration.

These days, there really aren’t any significant limitations to what you can accomplish when meeting remotely. You can use chat rooms to share important links and files, Google Docs or Office 365 to collaborate on documents in real-time, and virtual breakout rooms to coordinate on team milestones before coming together as a larger group. I’d go so far as to say that, with the right techniques and tools, remote meetings are often more productive than their in-office counterparts. Embrace them!

Looking for more ways to keep your remote teams engaged? We have plenty! Click the link below for our favorite suggestions on how to infuse your online interactions with an extra element of fun.

See if this sounds familiar: There’s an important update that needs to be discussed, so you stop working to join the team for a 30-minute meeting. But instead of walking down the hall to a conference room, you click a link to launch your webcam. On the other side of your screen, several colleagues are starting into a lively discussion.No one’s in the same room. One person’s at a coworking space in Toronto, one is in her Utah home office, and another is at a coffee shop in Indiana. A few years ago, Formstack’s virtual meetings were still somewhat of an anomaly in the business world. But with so many companies embracing the benefits of remote work, it’s not at all uncommon for a typical workday to include remote meetings that span time zones and geographies. If your employees are among the 43% of Americans who spend at least some time working remotely—or if 50-60% of their work is done while they’re away from their desks—it’s time to embrace the virtual meeting. Studies have repeatedly shown that ineffective meetings can cost companies millions of dollars. And if you thought getting everyone together in a conference room was challenging, just wait until you’re contending with poor internet connections, audio static, and dozens of digital distractions. On the other hand...Once you get comfortable collaborating in an online environment, there’s a lot to love about the virtual meeting. As a remote company, the team at Formstack has undergone some trial and error in this area, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make meetings work. There are plenty of ways to have a productive virtual meeting. Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Use ONE method of remote communication.

If one remote employee is video conferencing, so should everyone else. This is true even if two or three attendees are in the same physical location. Having everyone meet in the same virtual environment eliminates confusion and helps ensure your remote attendees won’t get lost when in-person conversations start to get loud and lively.

2. Choose software that’s virtual-meeting-friendly.

Anyone who’s spent the first ten minutes of a remote meeting on “can you hear me?” and “did we lose someone?” knows how much time unreliable technology and shoddy connections can waste. Thankfully, video conferencing has come a long way. This is one area where your investment will pay back in spades. Platforms like Zoom are designed specifically to connect dozens of participants with high-quality video. Other software such as Adobe Connect and AirClass allows you to seamlessly switch between screen sharing and video, collaborate on digital whiteboards, and even get analytics on who’s participating.

Remote Collaboration Tool: Zoom

3. Limit your remote meetings to a handful of attendees.

This is one standard that should be set for all meetings—remote or not. Any time a meeting includes people who don’t really need to be there, you increase the risk of conversation veering off into the realm of unrelated, unhelpful, and inactionable topics—a phenomenon known as bikeshedding. Get a large group together in a virtual space, and you’ll also face increased competition from digital distractions and multitasking among attendees who have little to contribute to the actual meeting. By keeping attendance low, you can eliminate noise and stay laser-focused.

4. Embrace digital collaboration.

These days, there really aren’t any significant limitations to what you can accomplish when meeting remotely. You can use chat rooms to share important links and files, Google Docs or Office 365 to collaborate on documents in real-time, and virtual breakout rooms to coordinate on team milestones before coming together as a larger group. I’d go so far as to say that, with the right techniques and tools, remote meetings are often more productive than their in-office counterparts. Embrace them!

Looking for more ways to keep your remote teams engaged? We have plenty! Click the link below for our favorite suggestions on how to infuse your online interactions with an extra element of fun.

Heather Mueller
Heather is a website copywriter and digital content strategist who loves helping brands generate leads through the power of the written word—especially when using Formstack. Connect with Heather on Twitter @heathermueller.
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Lindsay is a writer with a background in journalism and loves getting to flex her interview skills as host of Practically Genius. She manages Formstack's blog and long-form reports, like the 2022 State of Digital Maturity: Advancing Workflow Automation.