Developing and Sustaining Virtual Collaboration
Virtual collaboration presents both challenges and opportunities. It can increase participation and inclusion for people who are unable to join in-person meetings. However, virtual meetings can leave participants feeling physically and mentally drained. Reflecting on what is achievable and managing expectations (including your own) from virtual collaboration is important.
When scheduling a virtual meeting, remember that the people participating will have:
- More distractions
- Shorter attention spans
- Much less opportunity for informal socialising
- May have to pay for data to join
Practical Considerations for Virtual Meeting Planning
Do we need the meeting: Ensure that a meeting has a clear purpose and agenda. Would an email be more appropriate?
Office Culture: Familiarise yourself with partner institutions' office culture, including working hours (do not assume 9-5) lunch schedules, and norms regarding family and religious commitments – avoiding meeting times that don’t work for partners. Don’t automatically set meeting times at UK time.
Late Office Hours: Consider that traveling after dark may have safety implications. Agree the timings with consultation with partners and try where possible to avoid asking people to stay later than their usual office hours for meetings. If scheduling meetings during normal office hours isn’t possible, consider whether funding home internet or data for dongles to support virtual interactions is feasible.
Daylight Savings: Consider maintaining meeting timings throughout the year rather than automatically shifting with UK daylight saving time, as time changes can disrupt schedules.
Timely Notifications: If time adjustments are necessary, notify all participants well in advance, do not assume that partners will simply “know” that the clocks change in the UK.
Time Zone Consideration: When dealing with diverse time zones, aim for meeting times that accommodate everyone, not just the inviting party. If some partners must attend outside regular hours, rotate meeting timings, but be mindful of late hours' impact particularly from a work/life balance. Consider funding home internet/dongles to ensure participation.
Regular Feedback loops: Designate someone to track engagement across research activities. Are there specific people who are regularly missing? Are there patterns in absences e.g. a team member that rarely checks-in? Make supportive follow ups to understand if there is a structural factor preventing regular engagement.
Practical Considerations for Hybrid Meeting Planning
Things to consider when facilitating hybrid meetings:
Technology Testing: Prior to the meeting, test the technology to ensure a smooth experience for all participants, particularly for those joining online. Provide support if challenges are encountered.
Audio Quality: Confirm that the room is equipped with high-quality microphones to enable remote colleagues to hear clearly. In the absence of multiple microphones, consider using a handheld one. Enabling the transcription feature can help participants to follow the conversations more easily or revisit after the meeting.
Muting Etiquette: Avoid putting the meeting room on mute, as it may make remote attendees feel excluded. Do mute individuals if there is distracting background noise.
Facilitator's Role: A facilitator can introduce participants and encourage active participation from both online and offline participants. Consider having a dedicated facilitator in the room who supports online interactions, as this helps to bridge the divide between people attending in-person and online.
Equal Contribution: Ensure online participants have an equal opportunity to contribute. Use names when addressing remote attendees rather than vague prompts like "Does anyone have comments online?" Encourage questions in the chat to involve everyone.
Video Perspective: Continuously consider the participants' perspective when using video. Ask, "What do remote participants need to see to fully engage?"
Etiquette and Collaboration: Prioritise trust, respect, and collaboration in hybrid meetings. Follow agreed-upon meeting etiquette and treat both remote and in-person colleagues with respect.
Consider that some workplaces use the "One Remote, All Remote" Approach: Consider implementing the principle of "one remote, all remote." If one person is attending remotely, encourage those to connect online separately to create a level playing field.
Building a Sense of Community
Virtual communication pathways can alter opportunities for informal connections, reducing the ability to build rapport and develop a sense of community within teams. Ways to overcome this include:
- Prioritise well-being check-ins: At the start of every meeting check in with everyone on the call. This helps to ensure everyone contributes early to the meeting and lets everyone get to know each other a little better and understand any challenges that they are currently facing. Encourage people in more senior positions to also be open about struggles/challenges to demonstrate that sharing challenges is okay.
- Manage virtual time: Consider having everyone share an update by email in advance of the meeting, and share any critical documents ahead, to leave more room for discussion and engagement and less for updating on day-to-day activities.
- Sofa chats: Consider holding informal Zoom talks with everyone on their sofas, to allow for a window into people’s lives and a more informal and relaxed interaction. However, it is important to recognise that not everyone may feel comfortable sharing this way and people should be able to opt out without reproach.
- Virtual coffee breaks: dedicate a regular time where project team members can join for informal chats.
- WhatsApp groups: these can give people an opportunity to share quick updates and maintain contact.