Meetings Archives - NuTech Services LLC

Feb, 2022

Remote Meetings Require the Right Technology

Today’s world of video conferences and remote work means that many workers are forced to endure the dreaded “Zoom Call” or “Teams Meeting,” whichever solution is implemented at their organization. While these terms might be used in a negative way, there are opportunities for you to improve the way you hold your video chats. Here are just a few ideas for you to consider implementing.

Clear Video and Audio

It goes without saying that a good video presentation starts with having crystal-clear video and audio. Much of this will have to do with procuring the appropriate hardware for the job, but your Internet connection can also play a role in this. We recommend you work with experts like NuTech Services to help you get ready for your video conferencing presentations.

Supplemental Visual Aids

No one wants to stare at a talking head the entire meeting, so you should consider the use of visual aids, like PowerPoint presentations or infographics, to help you get your point across to your staff. You can also switch between presenters so that it’s not just one person presenting the entire time, which can make a world of difference for your employees’ attention spans.

Additional Features Like Chats, Emojis, and File Sharing

Video and audio are well and good, but others express themselves in different ways that might make them feel more comfortable. By using the chat and emojis, your employees can react to the meeting in real-time, provided they are not doing anything distracting, like sending memes with quotes from the meeting to each other in the chat.

Engagement Above All Else

People tend to enjoy meetings more often when they are involved in the discussion, so do your best to involve everyone in the meeting in some way, shape, or form. Depending on the nature of the presentation, you should encourage your users to unmute their microphones when they have something they want to say, or use the Raise Your Hand feature (or its counterpart). Some video conferencing tools even allow for break-out rooms that can give your team a chance to debrief and feel more involved.

Want to get your team started with better video conferencing? It all starts with having the right tools for the job. To learn more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

Mar, 2019

Get More Out of Your Organization’s Meetings

Meetings rarely go as planned. The issue is that meetings generally aren’t planned as well as they can be, meaning that they run the risk of going on longer than necessary. If you find your meetings could be managed more efficiently, then read on; we’ll discuss three tips that you can use to improve the quality of your meetings.

Go in with a Plan
Have you ever had a meeting where you start with a general idea of what you want to discuss, then somehow wind up on a topic completely unrelated? This isn’t that out of the ordinary, and weekly meetings that are held for the sake of having a meeting could potentially result in these kinds of sessions, where substance is lacking, and focus is at an all-time low. If you have a strict agenda, then you’ll be more likely to cover important topics in a way that is conducive to everyone’s us of time.

Use Better Technology
If you find your meetings lacking in presentation, then you can use some technology to make it more interesting than just a couple of people sitting around a table. You can take advantage of media, slideshows, infographics, and so much more to provide context for the conversation you’re having. If meeting in the office doesn’t work out, you can even implement mobile technology and web conferencing software to keep your team connected from any location with an Internet connection.

Give Employees the Opportunity to Talk
People like to feel like they are involved in meetings, and if you give them the chance to express themselves in an environment that values their feedback, they will often thrive. Open up a portion of your meetings to give employees a chance to voice any concerns or thoughts they might have. You might find that the dialogue created from this could be valuable.

If your business could use some help with improving its meetings, NuTech Services can help. To learn more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

Jun, 2017

Employees Spend Nearly 80% of Their Time Communicating About Work. You Can Change That

How much time is wasted in your workplace just trying to communicate about potential projects? The notable difference between productivity and stagnation is that one is making you money, while the other is costing you money. Employees spend about 80 percent of their time in meetings, on the phone, or responding to emails, so it falls on the business owner to ensure that communications are as easy as possible so minimal time is wasted.

There are different approaches to this problem. The first place where you can cut down on wasted time is the one that you likely have the most control over: meetings.

Let’s face it; sometimes meetings aren’t as productive as they should be. One way to keep this from happening is to consider how you can make more efficient use of everyone’s time. Start by making a plan and considering what exactly is on the agenda. Ask yourself what the purpose of the meeting is, and if the goal of the meeting could be fulfilled more effectively in another way. If the goal of the meeting can be achieved without collecting your entire workforce into the same room, consider doing so.

Once you have determined that the meeting is the most efficient way to achieve this goal, you want to ensure that you communicate the purpose of the meeting to all of those who must attend. This way, everyone knows what they need to get out of the meeting, and nobody will be confused about why the meeting is being held. This keeps wasted time to a minimum.

By remaining cognizant of what your meetings should accomplish, you’ll inevitably save time and even wrap your meetings up earlier. This can even change the way that employees view meetings. Instead of keeping a meeting going long enough to fill in the space on their schedules, they will see that they can get more done since the goal was achieved earlier than expected.

Another way that you can make your meetings more effective is by creating an outline and then sending the agenda out to everyone at least 24 hours in advance. This way, your workforce knows what they can expect, as well as put together their own notes for quality input throughout the meeting. Another way that you can use this to your advantage is send them something to have read before the meeting starts–in essence, assigning homework. By using these methods, your meetings will be less improvised and more focused.

Once the meeting has ended, you can ask your employees for feedback regarding the process. If you take the time to listen to all participants’ feedback, you can then use it to improve the process and meet goals even more effectively next time. Eventually, it will lead to a chain reaction where meetings go by faster and faster, to the point where you have the process down.

When it comes to streamlining any processes in your office, the right technology can make or break the effort. Technology can help you make your meetings more efficient by utilizing video conferencing or voice chat technologies, so that your team doesn’t have to be in the same place all at once. They can even dial in with their mobile devices from their current location.

This strategic approach to collaboration technology can help your organization thrive, as well as focus on creating more opportunities for profit. To learn more about how there are technology solutions specifically designed to improve collaboration, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

Oct, 2015

3 Ways To Buck the Trend of Unproductive Meetings

Running a business means going to meetings. There’s really no way around it. And while you can’t run a business without meetings, you can run your meetings as efficiently as possible so that they’re not a complete waste of time. Unfortunately, according to a recent study by Blue Jeans Network, the worldwide trends for meetings show that they can hinder productivity more than help it.

The study is an annual report released by Blue Jeans Network, a cloud-based video conferencing company. They analyzed the data from more than five million video meetings in 177 countries, of which more than a third had an in-person component. When compared to similar studies done from previous years, patterns were spotted that showed people are wasting more time in meetings than they should. Here are a few of the more noteworthy findings.

Most Meetings Are Taking Place at the Most Unproductive Time
In separate studies, it’s been proven that different parts of the work day are better for meetings. For example, morning meetings are ideal because that’s when people are most alert, and the worst time for a meeting is in the middle of the afternoon because that’s when office workers tend to feel the most dull-brained. According to the study, the most popular meeting time is mid-afternoon, sometime around 3 p.m.

Solution: Schedule your meetings during the mornings, preferably right after the coffee kicks in.

It’s Normal For Meetings to Start Late
One of the most annoying aspects of meetings is waiting for people to show up. While waiting for Johnny-come-lately to make an appearance, everyone is forced to participate in small talk–and get paid for it. This kills productivity. According to the study, a whopping 81 percent of meetings start late, up 30 percent from the previous year. Inc. describes how tardiness is dangerous because it’s a self-perpetuating problem:

If you arrive five minutes late to a meeting and it hasn’t started yet, you’ll figure you haven’t missed anything, so you’ll likely do the same next time, or maybe show up even later. Meanwhile, the punctual people who’ve sat around waiting for you will figure they have better uses for their time, and next time they’ll come five minutes late as well, or maybe even later.

Solution: Be strict about your meeting times and have consequences for late comers.

Bad Weather Equates to More Meetings
The study shows that Winter, with all of its blusteriness and bitter cold, sees twice as many meetings as other times of the year–when it’s presumably warmer and nicer outside. It’s also the case that, the worse the weather is, the more likely that a meeting will take place. The study shows that “meetings were up by as much as 26 percent during the recent Texas flooding, and an impressive 35 percent during the Boston blizzards last winter.”

Solution: Consistency is key to not wasting too much time during meetings, and to not have unnecessary meetings. By having regularly-scheduled meetings, you will decrease the number of unnecessary meetings that take place, simply because someone feels a strange connection to the weather patterns.

Meetings are kind of a necessary evil, but if you plan them right, you can make them more productive and less, well, evil. In addition to being on time and intentional about how often you meet, you can take advantage of technologies like video conferencing and cloud-based scheduling software that will keep your meetings as productive as possible. To schedule a meeting with NuTech Services about this, give us a call at 810.230.9455.