We all know the importance of having an agenda for a virtual team meeting, but have you considered Virtual Team Meeting Guidelines?  - A set of guidelines your team creates together so that the virtual space can be productive and respectful for everyone.

Here are a few to get you started:  

• Make all voices part of the conversation from the get-go with a relational question or activity

• Structure the meeting so everyone can contribute

• Be present. Don’t do other work because no one can see you doing it

• Come with the mindset of an active participant rather than an observer and ask for what you need to help make that happen

• Turn off your phone

• Try to find a quiet area free from distractions

What guidelines are most important to you? What about for others on your team?

Why not make your Virtual Team Meeting Guidelines the first agenda item for your next meeting and find out. Here’s how:

1) Brainstorm ideas

2) Vote and compile everyone’s top 2-3

3) Review regularly what’s working, not working, and adjust along the way   

Team meetings should be a space where everyone can contribute to moving the work forward and feel respected and valued in the process. We owe that to one another maybe now more than ever.

Attracting and keeping top talent is not easy, and studies demonstrate how important employee engagement is to the success of your organization:

• Research suggests that organizations with high employee engagement outperform those with low employee engagement by more than 200%.

• The cost of disengaged employees is between $450 and $550 billion each year.

• More than a third of workers are either actively or casually seeking another job.

• According to the Workplace Research Foundation, employee engagement programs can increase profits by $2,400 per employee per year.

How can you create an atmosphere that encourages engagement and maximizes the talents and skills of your employees? The single strongest engagement factor is belief in senior leadership. Growth and development are a close second.

Following are 7 specific ideas, based on employee engagement research, that can help increase and improve employee engagement in your organization:

1. Let employees know how they are contributing. 80% of employees say they feel more engaged when their work is aligned with the mission and vision of the organization.

2. People need to feel challenged. 83% of employees say they are more likely to stay with an organization if they have the opportunity to take on new challenges. Provide opportunities for learning and growth.

3. Empower employees to be part of making decisions that affect them. Employees who feel that they have a voice and are listened to are more likely to be loyal over the long run, and are 4.6 times more likely to perform their best work.

4. Make sure employees feel appreciated, especially by their direct managers. Employees don’t leave jobs; they leave managers, and frequently it’s because they feel unappreciated. 70% of employees wish their managers would say “thank you” more.

5. Provide flexibility to your employees. Work life balance is critical to making it possible for employees to perform at their best, and 82% of employees suggest they would be more loyal to employers who provide flexible work options.

6. Care about your employees. A study from Businessolver shows that 93% of employees say they are more likely to stay with an empathetic employer. The same study shows that while 92% of CEOs believe their company is empathetic, only 72% of employees agree. Along with empathy, 85% of employees also seek out employers that have a high level of social responsibility.

7. Find ways to help your employees reduce stress. Employees are more engaged, more productive, happier, and more creative when not undermined by workplace stress, which can be caused by heavy workloads, unrealistic expectations, and co-worker conflicts. Reducing these causes, while also offering strategies for stress reduction – like flexible schedules or health and wellness programs – can make a big difference in your employees’ ability to function at their top level.

The Cascata Group is a training and development firm specializing in areas of interpersonal communication and effectiveness.

www.thecascatagroup.com

Sources:

https://risepeople.com/blog/employee-engagement-statistics/

https://blog.accessperks.com/2019-employee-engagement-loyalty-statistics#1

https://www.inc.com/elizabeth-dukes/want-a-more-productive-workforce-invest-in-these-3-things.html

https://www.businessolver.com/resources/businessolver-empathy-monitor

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