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How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
31–40 of 113 posts
Re: How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
#32(2018)
Related from earlier:
Why do remote meetings suck so much?
Re: How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
#33The closer meetings are to a conversation with a couple people, the better. No one likes the one presenting to twenty slog. That sort of meeting always could have been an email because there isn’t enough time for everyone to have meaningful back and forth conversation or give good feedback.
Re: How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
#34stop having them and rely largely on email for communications that should in fact be email.
Okay, this may sound nuts but I think the only issue with your proposal is that it doesn’t address the reason that this doesn’t happen. Our colleagues do not or do not want to read business communications for the purpose of comprehension for the content of their own work or communication with their colleagues. I genuinely propose a three strike policy where professional employees are to be fired after three occasions…
People not reading emails hasn't really been a problem pretty much anywhere I worked for the last 10 years or more. People not writing them has been a problem though. Maybe this was caused by people not reading them, but I've always suspected that a lot of people just don't like writing, and/or aren't very good at it. So it's easier for them to do an in-person meeting.
And when no or very few emails get sent, no on really pays attention to them. I haven't even opened the company email in a week because there is never anything interesting there.
I really wish writing would be emphasized more in job interviews. I have seen some that emphasise written communication, but it's relatively rare.
Re: How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
#35The main issue that this gets at is that meeting time is a valuable company resource and a contentious resource for employees and should be managed as such. People shouldn’t feel free to chime in with half-baked ideas in meetings or call meetings willy-nilly any more than they would play horseshoes with equipment from the supply closet, use the company credit card for grocery shopping, or call in sick to play golf. W…
I think I agree. And this may be why there is so much variance. What worked with one team, vendor, group, might not work well with another. I am just about end a very unpleasant project about to go-live and has been something of a shitshow from the beginning. The one recurring theme throughout that we had no one person in charge, who could (edit: nicer phrasing ) help guide the conversation. Post-mortem will not be fun for anyone.
The lack of structure can be a benefit; it can work, but not when the project requires close coordination. On the other hand, stupid policies can easily hamstring PMs.
Re: How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
#36In our organization, remote meetings don't suck. It more or less just happened organically because we are a fairly flat organization but in a traditional industry. Mostly no cameras. I don't even own a webcam. A meeting is called for a reason (even if it's recurring). We have no "this is the morning meeting" kind of meetings. There a single person in charge of the meeting. This is most often the person who wants to g…
Typically I leave my camera off during meetings. (Well, the boring ones anyway.)
Which means I just keep on working during the meeting listening with half an ear.
This is especially applicable to reoccurring meetings where the manager is talking to the team, getting progress reports, working through the jira list and so on.
This actually makes for a really productive meeting. I can fill the dead time with admin tasks, but I'm also somewhat aware of what else is happening. Last month it became clear one team member was struggling (for days) trying to do something outside their experience. I offered to make an example, and got him onto the right track.
It's taken a long time to get used to these regular progress meetings (and I imagine pre-covid they were done in person and insanely frustrating) but now I gave the rhythm of them I just keep working.
One tip I noticed, if Roger should comment on what I'm about to say then say "hey roger" at the start of the piece not " what do you think roger" at the end. :)
Re: How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
#37[deleted]
Re: How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
#38It seems to me that the problem isn’t that remote meetings suck but that meetings suck. My writing group meets remotely because (a) covid and (2) one of the members moved to Ohio from Chicago. We manage not to have the issues about people interrupting etc., likely because we (a) care about what we’re doing and (2) actually that caring about what we’re doing really covers it. We do have structure in that we’re worksho…
> ... (a) covid and (2) one ...
> ... because we (a) ... and (2) actually
Why are you (consistently) follow "(a)" with "(2)"? Is this an AI thing?
Re: How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
#39purely technical, but lower latency (even at the cost of crackles), make everyone have a good mic, emulated spacial audio.
I think these things would help so so much. I wonder if there is any research on the impact of these.
Re: How do we make remote meetings not suck? (2018)
#40It seems to me that the problem isn’t that remote meetings suck but that meetings suck. My writing group meets remotely because (a) covid and (2) one of the members moved to Ohio from Chicago. We manage not to have the issues about people interrupting etc., likely because we (a) care about what we’re doing and (2) actually that caring about what we’re doing really covers it. We do have structure in that we’re worksho…
> ... (a) covid and (2) one ... > ... because we (a) ... and (2) actually Why are you (consistently) follow "(a)" with "(2)"? Is this an AI thing?
I suspect to emphasize enumeration so readers don’t incorrectly parse the sentence. But the text would be even clearer had these speech patterns been omitted altogether.