Working From Home During Coronavirus Lockdown? Here's How To Hold Productive Meetings

Remote working is no more alien to us, thanks to technology. Here are the tips on how to stay on course to manage the productivity in meetings in a WFH situation.

Tips on how to stay on course to manage the productivity in meetings in a WFH situation. (Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: A lot of things have undergone a drastic change including the way people work, play, learn and socialise in the last seven days of the lockdown period. In order to stem the spread of COVID 19, the country was put in lockdown for 21 days and so far, over 1,400 cases have been reported of the virus and 32 deaths. The lockdown has started taking a toll on several businesses as employees are forced to stay productive and work-from-home (WFH) to stem the virus. In such a situation, those companies who haven’t yet explored this option previously are still grappling with the sudden changes. Some of the business services such as call centres, IT and business process automation were not really up for work-for-home arrangements. However, remote working is no more alien to us, thanks to technology. Here are the tips on how to stay on course to manage the productivity in meetings in a WFH situation: Rely on technology: It is not that the world is facing a pandemic for the first time in history. There were cases of such epidemics before which have ravaged many nations the past. But today is different because of the advancements in technology because of which we can carry out businesses from remote locations. So, try to leverage technology to bring people closer.  Make use of the preferred Video Conferencing and WhiteBoard tools like Zoom, Skype, BlueJeans or OpenBoard. Plan meetings in advance: Managers suggest that online meetings should be planned in advance and the person heading the meeting should be able to define the objectives, agenda, and outcomes in advance to manage time effectively. Be comfortably dressed: It is not so important to be dressed in business casual unless called for. Make sure that you have a comfortable sitting in a well-lighted room. For those who have to spend a lot of time talking on the phone, it is crucial that you carry a hands-free headset as it will help you to multitask for example typing while talking to your counterpart at the same time. Keep water at your desk to remain hydrated. Connect with your people: According to the recent survey by TheOther 2 Thirds Consulting,  the major problems being faced with the GEN Z are workspace at home, remote external meetings, and the effectiveness of team discussion. The ‘Prevent Corona-WFH Survey’ points out at these reasons for the drop in the overall engagement score to 53 per cent, where a major chunk of the Gen Z workforce is feeling disengaged. Prashant Srivastava, founder, TheOther 2 Thirds Consulting, says, “It is important to listen carefully and encourage teams to speak more. Look directly into the camera to make others feel a sense of eye contact.” Experiment: Most importantly don’t be afraid to try out new things. If there’s a tiny positive aspect to this mess, is that we are all in this together. Stay positive and focus on the work rather than the news surrounding the pandemic. In the long run, if it works well and productivity is achieved, then it may also pave way for flexible work options for the majority of employees, and also help in solving real estate problems, ease traffic, and other issues.