Optimized Collaboration and Meetings.
Ideas and Tips for Teams
Source: Modified by a resource from Catalyst
Finding balance between focused project/work time and meetings is a challenge
employees across the company are voicing. Many times we hear from employees
saying ‘I’m in meetings all day and then I do my work all night, I’m feeling
exhausted”. To help alleviate this, consider hosting a discussion with your team to
review your meeting and collaboration practices and identify possible areas of
improvement. Try to spell out some norms to ensure optimal use of the time of all
team members and prevent possible miscommunication and lack of connection.
Use our Meetings, Communication and Collaboration Team Portal, where you
will find more information on how to use all our resources effectively.
Use the sample TEAM CHARTER below as a starting point and then work together
to define what specific ideas would make a big difference for your team. Find below a
few sample ideas.
Core Hours for Communication and Collaboration:
Given our dispersed locations and different schedules, as a team, we agree
to be available during these core hours so we can host meetings and
leverage live Teams collaboration:
Add Your response here:
We will accommodate global time zones by:
Add Your response here:
We will not schedule any meetings or collaboration times during the following
days and hours:
© 2020 Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All rights reserved.
Add Your response here:
Effective and Inclusive Meetings:
We will make our meetings shorter (25 min instead of 30 min; 50 min instead
of 60 min) to allow attendees to take small breaks.
We will share a meeting agenda and any materials to review in advance of
the meeting.
We agree to replace recurring meetings about updates and information
exchange with emails or Teams.
We will have meeting notes after our meetings to ensure that people who
cannot attend them can get the information that they need
We will make our meetings more inclusive by the chat panel during meetings
so that attendees can more easily signal when they have a comment. One
person will be assigned to monitor the chat during meetings to alert speakers
when there are comments from others.
OTHER IDEAS that your team might have
Communication and Collaboration Technology:
We commit to using the right technology for the right type of communication.
Email: We will avoid using email for sensitive feedback or conversations. We will
clearly indicate the deadline for tasks and clarify expectations in the subject lines:
Action item or Action Required
Time Sensitive
Urgent; Not Urgent
Please reply by <date>
No need to reply; No response necessary, For your information (FYI);
Informational
Teams: We will use chat frequently for real-time communication during core
business hours. We will respect each other statuses in Teams (do not disturb, busy,
focused hours, in a call).
Project and Task Management: We will make sure that our Team documents are
visible and accessible by all team members, including project plans, documentation,
meeting notes, etc.
Brainstorm: We will create and share virtual boards to help with brainstorming (e.g.,
Microsoft Whiteboard, Miro, Mural)
Team building:
We agree to use icebreakers or spend some minutes at the beginning of
meetings to allow some time for socializing.
2
We will use video conferencing, so we have more visual cues from all
participants. We will understand each other's situation and make exceptions
when attendees cannot (or do not wish to) turn on their camera.
We assume good intentions when something goes wrong and try to
understand what has happened.
We will share and resolve concerns with one another instead of ignoring
them.
We will schedule quarterly/monthly virtual coffee breaks, game breaks, or
virtual lunches to build and maintain team member relationships and reduce
feelings of isolation.
We commit to using a positive tone in our communication with each other.
OTHER IDEAS that your team might have.
Effective Meetings
Progress Resources:
Effective Hybrid and Virtual Meetings
Productive Meetings Cheatsheet
Productive Meetings Checklist
Virtual Icebreakers: Overview
Virtual Icebreakers: Activities
External Resources:
PMI: Successful Virtual Meetings
Center for Creative Leadership: Take Back Your Meetings
Harvard Business Review: How to Get People to Actually Participate in
Virtual Meetings
Harvard Business Review: How to Foster Psychological Safety in Virtual
Meetings
Catalyst Resources
Managing Your Remote Team Inclusively: Knowledge Burst
Running More Inclusive Meetings: Knowledge Burst
Create an account using your Progress email address so you can benefit from everything
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