Suddenly Hybrid

Managing the Modern Meeting

Karin M. Reed

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781119831099
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Betriebswirtschaft
• Subtopic: Besprechungen & Präsentationen

Discover the challenges and opportunities of hybrid meetings with this science-based guide from an Emmy-award winning communications expert and renowned organizational psychologist

As remote work becomes less of an unusual exception and more of an everyday necessity, hybrid meetings—meetings in which some attendees are physically present while others are virtually present—are becoming the norm.

In Suddenly Hybrid: Managing the Modern Meeting, Emmy award-winningcommunications expert Karin Reed and veteran industrial and organizational psychologist Dr. Joseph A. Allen deliver a practical and actionable framework for attending, hosting, and managing hybrid meetings. The authors draw from their extensive experience in research and business, as well as firsthand stories and up-to-date studies, to offer a guide that's grounded in science and proven in the real world. You'll learn about:

• Best practices based on research from the height of the pandemic and the unexpected paradigm shifts that resulted
• The challenges and opportunities presented by the trend towards hybrid meetings
• New research insights gathered from those early in the transition to hybrid meetings, as well as those who are well on their way to implementing a complete framework

Perfect for senior business leaders, managers, and even individual contributors, Suddenly Hybrid: Managing the Modern Meeting is required reading for anyone expected to organize, host, or attend virtual or hybrid meetings in their workplace or school.

PART ONE
From Suddenly Virtual to Suddenly Hybrid

In March 2020, the world essentially shut down in response to the biggest global health disaster of the current century – COVID-19. The response to this deadly disease that has claimed the lives of so many was inconsistent across countries and even between states within the United States. However, nearly uniformly, organizations closed offices and sent their workers home, hoping they could figure out a way to get business done even though they were scattered to the winds.

The supply chain strained to the point of breaking as “suddenly virtual” workers scrambled to set up their home offices. There was a run on webcams, computers, office chairs, desks, and, oddly enough, toilet paper. Correspondingly, companies like Zoom, Microsoft, and Logitech saw massive growth in sales and usage, particularly of videoconferencing tools and platforms (Reed and Allen 2021).

While businesses accelerated the adoption of new tools and processes, leaders anticipated an inevitable dip in productivity … a dip that by and large did not occur. Much to nearly every leader's surprise, the data suggests that productivity in organizations during the pandemic remained stable (Gaskell 2021), at least for those industries that did not require face-to-face interactions. For those that rely almost entirely on people gathering together, like the hospitality industry, the pandemic caused tremendous suffering, forcing some businesses to close for good. Restaurants that had become institutions said goodbye to their patrons via social media posts. Still, for knowledge workers, the pandemic proved that fully remote work was possible and, in some cases, even preferable.

And then, this happened on Thursday, May 10, 2021 …

If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. If you haven't been vaccinated yet, find a vaccine. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] 2021)

The guidance from the CDC in the United States was applauded by most but met with apprehension by many. After a year of social distancing, COVID pods, and elasticized waistbands for work, the idea of navigating the nail-biting commute, throwing on the suit and tie or slingback heels, and heading back to the office was difficult to wrap our heads around. What did all of this relaxation of restrictions mean? Back to the office full-time? Would working from home simply end?

The answer to that final question, which hinted at the demise of remote work, is a resounding no. According to a multitude of surveys by many different interested parties, employees were not so ready to come back (e.g. Buchholz 2021). In fact, according to one of these surveys from the fall of 2020, as many as 65% of employees said they wanted to continue to work from home, with 35% indicating they'd be okay with a hybrid work arrangement. Perhaps the luster of working from home all the time started to wear off as the pandemic wore on, because results of a survey done in February 2021 found that about two-thirds of respondents considered a hybrid work environment their ideal work model, with only 15% expressing a desire to work from home full-time (Montgomery 2021).

As for employers, many found it harder to argue against what so many of their workers were desiring, especially when they looked at their key performance indicators. Not honoring those requests for flexible work options could easily become a retention issue. Employees could vote with their feet and leave for companies that offer them the opportunity to work the way they want to work – which, for many, is hybrid.

But what does “hybrid” mean, and what does it look like? And for the purposes of this book, what does it mean for meetings?

The events of 2020 precipitated the first major meeting disruption – a disruption ruled by necessity when virtual meetings became the predominant way to meet. However, a second major meeting disruption is underway – a move to hybrid meetings – and this one is being ruled by choice. If the majority of workers want to spend some of their time in the office and some of their time working outside of it, there still has to be a way for people to gather. Sure, teams can designate certain in-office days to meet, but ad hoc meetings happen and there's no guarantee that everyone will be available to be there in person.

Hybrid meetings provide the communication connective tissue for the hybrid workforce. They're flexible in how they are configured – flexible enough to allow in-office teammates to be in the same “room” with their remote colleagues. But flexible doesn't mean easy. In fact, making hybrid meetings work well requires planning, preparation, and know-how – but it's well worth your while, because this second major meeting disruption will likely stick.

But before we suggest a path forward, allow us to offer some perspective on the current state of meetings and provide some context that will inform how you approach hybrid meetings. In this part, we will take a look at the transition from being “suddenly virtual” to being “suddenly hybrid,” as well as the drivers behind the shift to hybrid (Chapter 1). We will consider meeting modalities and present data that highlights the potential and challenge of each (Chapter 2). We will also highlight issues that came to light over the past year as meetings became mostly virtual (Chapter 3), paying particular attention to the prevalence of video call fatigue (Chapter 4). The lessons learned from our fully remote work life can and should be applied to our hybrid one, so we offer suggestions to ensure that we don't repeat the same mistakes in our hybrid (and virtual) meetings going forward.

References

1. Buchholz, K. 2021. “65% of remote workers do not want to return to the office – here's why.” World Economic Forum, April 27. Retrieved July 9, 2021 from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/survey-65-of-remote-workers-do-not-want-to-return-to-the-office/
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2021. “When you've been fully vaccinated: How to protect yourself and others.” Retrieved July 8, 2021 from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html#vaccinated
3. Gaskell, A. 2021. “How productive have remote workers been during COVID?” Forbes, May 31. Retrieved July 8, 2021 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2021/05/31/how-productive-have-remote-workers-been-during-covid/?sh=2ffa24e9639e
4. Montgomery, J. 2021. “New survey: What people really think about hybrid work.” Zoom (blog), April 8. Retrieved from https://blog.zoom.us/new-survey-what-people-really-think-about-hybrid-work/
5. Reed, K. M., and J. A. Allen. 2021. Suddenly Virtual: Making Remote Meetings Work. Wiley.

Chapter 1
The Inevitability and Promise of Hybrid Meetings

The contrast on the screen could not have been more distinct.

In one Zoom box: Jay Hyett, who was bundled up appropriately, given the especially bitter day in Melbourne. In the other box: his coworker, who was basking in tropical sunshine on a beach in Thailand. Although Jay, a senior delivery coach for Envato, had perhaps a sprinkling of jealousy given his colleague's locale, he actually appreciated seeing the change of scenery: “It brings me joy as well. It does get me thinking that maybe my next holiday will be in Thailand.”

What makes the Melbourne/Thailand scene truly unusual is that it is a snapshot from 2017 – pre‐COVID‐19, pre‐pandemic, pre‐work‐from‐home as a global norm. In other words, well before the world went suddenly virtual.

But this could be a snapshot of a virtual meeting on any given day at Envato, before, during, and certainly after the pandemic. Envato, an online marketplace where creatives can sell their digital assets, isn't a purely remote company. It has offices in Australia, the United States, and Mexico, but its founders built the c...