In 2020 the Future Point of View team put together a comprehensive guide on how to lead a home-based team. That was in April, at which point it was still unclear how long the pandemic-related shut downs would last. However, one thing we did know was that virtual interactions of all sorts – internal meetings, external meetings, sales calls, events, etc. – were here to stay, and the organizations that mastered the virtual shift would be the organizations to not only stay afloat, but thrive in the years to come.

Our team has been developing strategies and mastering technologies for virtual interactions for years, and 2020 allowed us to place even more focus on this area.

From our expertise, we came up with the following list of 4 key areas of virtual internal and external interactions that we believe organizations need to master in 2021 in order to stay ahead of their competition. We’ve also included a brief description and some tips in each of these areas that you can implement immediately.

Make Internal Virtual Meetings More Effective

The unexpected push to virtual allows organizations to become unchained from the old ways of running meetings. And poorly managed/executed internal meetings can cause team productivity to plummet. In order to retain star employees in 2021, effective and engaging virtual meetings are a must.

We recommend creating a virtual interaction map to match tools to the appropriate interactions. Once you’ve decided on the best technology platform for internal meetings, be sure you test the technology thoroughly and work out all the glitches.

While also true of in-person meetings as well, virtual meetings by nature can be dominated by the more dominate personalities and the extroverts on the call. It’s easier to shrink back in a virtual meeting and fly under the proverbial radar. But meeting leaders should not allow this to take place. Every participant should have a voice and it is the duty of those running the meeting to get everyone involved.

We recommend using technologies like Qualtrics and Slido to keep everyone engaged and prevent multi-tasking. This method could actually increase engagement among more shy teammembers. Some helpful questions to present to the group include:

  • Ask for quick updates about their priorities, challenges, successes, etc.
  • Ask if they have anything to add to viewpoints that have already been shared by others
  • Ask if they need any help with their workload or if they have capacity to give

Improve Virtual Sales Calls

External virtual meetings with bad interactions are bad for both your brand and bottom line. To start, there are some basic tips that will put you at the same level as your competition. While the vast majority of people (89 percent) think their audience multi-tasks less when their cameras are on, 82 percent don’t ask their audience to turn on video. Two-thirds of salespeople don’t even turn on their own cameras. Simply put, if you want to discourage multi-tasking and other distractions from pulling peoples’ attention away from your presentation, turn on your camera. And ask your participants to do the same.

If you want to get ahead of your competition you’ll have to go beyond just turning on your camera. Make sure your camera and lighting is professional quality. Consider standing in front of a green screen for demos and presentations. The more technologically savvy your virtual meetings are, the more likely the client is to trust and want to work with you, no matter your industry.

Invest In A Professionally Equipped Studio

Given forced work-from-home orders and inevitable growth of the remote workforce, if your organization rents or owns an office building you probably have a lot of free space available. Instead of letting that space go to waste, we highly recommend building a sophisticated in-office virtual interaction studio. This can include high res cameras, green screens, teleprompters, microphones, and more. Neglecting to invest in your virtual production can undermine the ongoing success of your brand, especially if this will be your client or audience’s first impression of your virtual experience.

Prepare For Hybrid Interactions

The future is hybrid. Even when organizations are able to return to in-office work, many employees, customers, and strategic partners will choose to interact primarily virtually. Hybrid events are the best of both worlds. Some of the participants are able to attend face-to-face while others are “brought in virtually”, thus adding to the benefit of the overall interaction.

Hybrid meetings can also be used as a method for cost reduction since you don’t have time and travel expenses for the entire attendee pool. Allowing attendees to participate from wherever they sit in the world also offers flexibility and convenience for busy executives, physicians, and sales team members.

The Future Point of View team is uniquely equipped to create custom strategies to meet your organizations needs and improve your virtual interactions by at least 25% – putting you ahead of the competition, and making your team more efficient.

Click here to learn more about our virtual interaction strategy services.