Making Hybrid Meetings Equitable So Everyone Is Included
Hybrid meetings are here to stay but organizations can do a better, more intentional job of making sure in-person and online folks feel more included in hybrid meetings. Here’s how.
Upgrade Your Technology
Firstly, if your organization is still huddling around a single laptop in a conference room to interact with hybrid meeting participants, you probably aren’t ready for truly productive and equitable hybrid meetings.
If the technology isn’t inclusive, the meetings won’t be inclusive. Invest in larger monitors or tvs so the in-person crowd can physically see all online participants and so online attendees can adequately see what is happening in the physical in-person space too.
Make sure the folks working remote have computers, cameras, headphones and mics advanced enough to ensure participants are adequately seen, heard and connected into the meeting.
Assign An Online Monitor
Secondly, assigning a meeting monitor whose role it is to monitor the online chat, assisting people with getting connected into the call etc. can make a huge difference ensuring participation from online folks is seen, heard and considered in hybrid meetings.
Pro Tip: Consider this a rotating position so that everyone on the team has the opportunity to support hybrid colleagues. Some organizations even assign rotating notetakers each meeting or time watchers or agenda leaders so why not add in a meeting monitor too?
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Assign Meeting Leaders
Thirdly, assign someone as the meeting leader so there is order to the meeting and not just a creative “throw topics on the table” kind of meeting. These types of meetings uniquely disadvantage the folks online as it’s difficult to collaborate and create with some folks in different mediums and spaces.
Next, make a call for agenda items at least 48-72 hours in advance so all topics get a chance to be discussed. Getting an agenda out before the meeting gives people an opportunity to consider, think about and reflect on the agenda items so they are more prepared for a productive hybrid meeting.
Open The Floor- A Lot
And lastly, be sure you are continuously opening the floor up for online folks. Specifically, call the online group out “anything else from the online group?”, “let’s hear from our online group.”, “what do you think online group?”. These are great ways to include everyone but not specifically call individuals out within the online group.
There are so many physical and social cues that organically and subconsciously happen during in-person interactions we often forget online folks aren’t getting that same experience. It’s very nuanced but overtime, it can cause an “us” vs “them” vibe between in-person and online meeting participants.
Keep Iterating
Hybrid meetings can be equitable and successful if the proper design and intention is set when creating the meeting format and consideration for equity and inclusion. So make sure you are being intentional and direct with opportunities for all meeting participants to be seen, heard and valued. Try things, get feedback, change it and try again! It’s going to be a learning process for everyone so fail fast, fail often and learn what works for your team and what doesn’t.
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Meet The Writer!
Hi! My name is Nadia Ibrahim-Taney and I help people design happy and fulfilling careers through authentic career coaching. My expertise includes career exploration guidance, resume writing, interview prep and LinkedIn profile optimization. My pronouns are She/ Her/ Hers and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I focus on how diverse identities impact and influence folks holistically and professionally. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or at Nadia@beyonddiscoverycoaching.com
