Canadian Lawyer InHouse

www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 55 Donna McGeorge is a speaker, author and mentor who helps people make their work work. Using a creative, practical approach, she improves workplace effectiveness while challenging thinking on leadership, productivity and virtual work. She's the author of The 25-Minute Meeting: Half the Time, Double the Impact. Find out more at www.25minutemeetings.com. people are clear make sure the meeting charter for recurring meetings is available to all run a training session on how to effectively use the technology; don't just assume people know how Given a choice, face-to-face meetings are always going to be more effective, but for those times when you need to do virtual meetings, remember that, as the meeting leader it's up to you to set the tone and expectations, no matter where in the world people are. You need to be very clear on what level of par- ticipation you need from everyone involved. Let them know in advance that you may call on them specifically for input or information. Remind them that we can't afford for people to not be fully present. In addition, to get the best from your virtual or distance meetings, you also need to: use the video to see people's faces, not to share slides be considerate of other attendees' time zones and schedule meetings appropriately encourage those in remote locations to speak or contribute first encourage those dialling in to book a room or private space for the meeting (not just be at their desk) use different methods of communication to remind people of your expectations of the meeting; for example, instead of sending out an email, maybe take the time to send a personal instant message to make sure the audience. Typically, they don' t say, 'Welcome everyone out there in radio land'. They say things like, 'Thank you for joining me today'. This is because they realise that the rela- tionship between the radio announcer and listener is one-on-one. The listener is often alone in a car, or sitting at a desk, or listening via headphones, so referring to 'everyone' creates a disconnect. It can be the same when running virtual meetings. In many cases the participants are sitting in a room, or at their desks with head- phones on, looking at a screen. Even when using the camera, the radio principle applies to create inclusion and engagement. Instead of saying things like, "Thank you all for coming" or "Many of us have", try saying, "Thank you for making the time", or "You have". Tell 'em and tell 'em again Everyone in a meeting has to have a role. This is especially important in a virtual meeting. WORKERS EXPECT MORE WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY 75% of the workforce will be millennials by 2020, who believe they can work from anywhere at any time 75% of business travellers take three devices with them, with their primary device being a smartphone 62% of people work from home or at offsite locations 88% of HR managers report that employees have quit due to a lack of telework flexibility

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