One of the most popular web conferencing tools wants to help you run better meetings, as Microsoft Teams announced a few hybrid meeting hacks to make your team more effective and inclusive.
It's been more than two years since the pandemic forced the majority of workers into a remote role, but still some video chat users have trouble navigating this new normal.
With these tips, Microsoft hopes to provide users new and experienced with some actionable data that should help them steer meetings in the right direction.
How to Make Meetings More Inclusive and Effective
With an understandably large amount of available data on meetings to the company, Microsoft conducted an impressively thorough survey in hopes of learning exactly how to make meetings more effective and inclusive. And considering 43% of meeting attendees don't feel included, it's safe to say these kinds of improvements are necessary for a successful business.
So exactly what tips did Microsoft have for improving meetings at your business? Here were some of the most impactful tips that Microsoft recommends implementing for your team:
- Using an agenda
- Active participation
- Having video turned on
- Keeping meeting sizes small
- Sharing pre-meeting material
The actual data is a bit complicated, involving technical models, machine learning algorithms, and a web of meeting dependencies. The gist of it though as that the actions listed above drive participation in meetings, which in turn makes them more inclusive (~6%) and effective (~4%).
Other means of encouraging participation in meetings included making sure those in attendance actually need to be there. You've likely heard the phrase “this meeting could've been an email” on more than on occasion from coworkers, further demonstrating the need for a bit of common sense when it comes to who attends meetings.
Is Microsoft Teams good for your business?
We've done extensive research on team collaboration or web conferencing software, and found that Microsoft Teams is definitely a solid option for your business. It provides video conferencing, document sharing, project tracking, and fun features like customized backgrounds. Plus, it's offered for free and comes with Microsoft's infamously easy to use interface. Simply put, it's a great option for businesses looking to facilitate more seamless collaboration.
That doesn't mean it's the best option though. Our research showed that GoToMeeting is actually the best web conferencing option for businesses, with Zoom and Google Meet similarly great options for businesses.
Generally speaking, though, Microsoft Teams is absolutely a solid choice for any business looking to improve meetings with their teams. Perhaps most importantly, Microsoft is frequently updating its platforms, from Teams to Dynamics 365, so you know that it'll always be at the forefront of business resources.
