A recent McKinsey survey shows that 90% of organizations will adopt some combination of remote and on-site work as they emerge from Covid restrictions.
This combination will change how we meet and interact forever. Hybrid meetings, a mix of people in office and those working remotely, is the new normal.
What is a Hybrid Meeting?
A hybrid meeting refers to any event, conference, or convention where a small group engages in face-to-face interactions and conversations. The rest of the participants of the gathering connect and join in using an online mode and platform.
In a hybrid meeting, a particular set of people partake via offline means. The other members involve themselves in the conference virtually.
That's why these kinds of meetings combine and deliver the beneficial aspects and elements of live communication and interaction. They can be between virtual members or in-person participants, presenters, and attendees.
Hybrid meetings incorporate various technological advancements into presentations and events. It helps develop and sustain a unique experience and create delivery tools that can get the prepared content and message across to all the attending and involved individuals of the interaction.
What are the Benefits of a Hybrid Meeting?
A hybrid meeting has and delivers a colossal list of advantages. Neither of its virtual or offline counterparts can offer them by themselves. It combines the best traits of the two to create a constructive system that makes communication more efficient and effortless.
A few benefits associated with hybrid meetings are:
- A hybrid meeting allows an increase in the outreach of any conference or event. It helps involve participants irrespective of the place from where they work. The scope of the influence can spread over a significant distance. It can include a massive number of people who wish to take part in the meeting.
- An offline or virtual meeting can accommodate and include a fixed number of participants. The partaker limit can get owed to a constriction in the conference space or online platform. However, such restrictions disappear with no trace when it comes to hybrid meetings. In such cases, the total number of participants can get divided into two groups. Two sets of individuals can meet at a particular place. The meeting can be online, where half join in virtually using a single profile if required. It can help increase the total participant number considerably.
- A hybrid meeting can help devise new methods to deliver content between multiple groups or individuals. It offers innovative options and processes of interaction and communication. Additionally, it extends the message outreach across a broad distance. It's possible by repurposing and revising the content to change it to what a particular conference or event requires before sending it.
- A hybrid meeting can connect and bring together multiple distinct conventions or assemblies taking place from different locations yet simultaneously. Furthermore, it ensures that the event can start from and at any time or location. This feature stands true for various departments and teams as well.
- A hybrid meeting reduces or eliminates the traditional limitations and confines that a virtual or an offline event brings with them. Instead, it helps establish and maintain a collaborative and cooperative environment. Subsequently, it allows for efficient and smooth coordination and transition of work among colleagues and group members. You can even use a live word cloud to get more interaction and still get the same results.
Steps to Establishing and Initiating a Hybrid Meeting
Extensive planning and careful execution are the two elements that can aid in the establishment and initiation of a smooth-flowing and efficient hybrid meeting. It should involve all the departments and sections of messaging, content development, technology, and logistic accomplishment. For that reason, knowledge of each field is necessary.
You can use the following steps and methods to set up and initiate a hybrid meeting:
Establishing the Aims and Resolutions of the Meeting
A hybrid meeting helps develop a unique experience for the participants of an assembly or conference. It can aid in solving various professional challenges innovatively. To do so, the involved individuals must establish and understand the aims, objectives, and resolutions they wish and desire to achieve and sustain through the hybrid meeting. They need to be clear about their urgencies and priorities. This manner of approach helps considerably in the future and during complex situations.
Devising plans and methods to expand and extend the company outreach can be one objective of a hybrid meeting. Furthermore, it can entail revenue generation, cost reduction, customer satisfaction management, etc.
Considering the Technological, Political, Social, and Internal Trends
A few factors can affect the progress, development, and success of any conference or event. Hence, an individual or all the participants must consider and examine the parameters before beginning a hybrid meeting. They can create unchangeable and substantial effects on the assembly’s decisions and plans.
Developing the Budget
The budget remains an essential element of all types of meetings. In such cases, the required and involved costs should get assessed beforehand and kept within the set amount of money. This sum can get spent for various reasons. It can be for internet connectivity, streaming services, content development, video production, labor, consultation, etc.
Assessing the Success
Hybrid meetings help collect and analyze statistical data and the measurement of any content’s digital tracks. This information can help gauge and assess the success of the conference and estimate the generated sales.
These achievements can relate to the collected feedback and surveys of employee and customer satisfaction. Moreover, they can get compared with information and data of the past. It helps check the development or progress of a business or company.
Analyzing Audience Preferences and Needs
A hybrid meeting must cater to the audience’s preferences and needs to keep them engaged. It can include requirements or specifications of time zones, background settings, meeting platforms, etc. Thus, these parameters must get analyzed beforehand.
Outlining Event Execution Strategy
After deciding the elements of a hybrid meeting, the event execution strategy preparation comes next. It can include setting the progress charts and following steps according to the selected plan to ensure success and efficient work. It helps solve sudden issues and problems effortlessly.
Moving to a Hybrid Workforce
If you’re moving to a hybrid model, we recommend best practices like:
- Treat remote work and in-office work as equally important/valid. It's helpful if you have examples of senior leaders working remotely.
- Focus on the remote experience first. Communication, project management, people development, etc. — make sure they’re ideal for those that will be remote before considering the in-office experience.
- Ensure that you have a platform for effective work so that everyone can feel equally informed and involved.
- Have all employees join virtual meetings virtually. Even if some people are in the office, don't gather them in a conference room and have remote workers dial-in. Have everyone dial in the same way to improve collaboration.
- Be very intentional about how you build company culture. Don't leave anything to chance! Know how engaged your people are and exactly what needs to be done to improve that.
