HR Telecommuting: Solutions for the Human Side of Remote Work

Posts Tagged ‘tips and tricks’

One question/issue that I am constantly asked is ,”How to handle the conference call BEAST.” Now I say BEAST for a reason, because it truly is a beast…. Let me explain. When holding a conference, you are generally involving 3+ participants, however only 1 person can ever be truly heard. So how do you get input from multiple people, achieve a certain level of information sharing, keep participants engaged, come out with ACTIONABLE items, and end the call without requiring a new one??? For most people, you don’t. Time is spent asking, “Who just joined?” and when questions are asked, common responses of, “I’m sorry, could you repeat that,” or my absolute favorite, “Oops I had you on mute let me start over!”

With the proliferation of Remote Workers and Telecommuters, conference calls are becoming a constant part of our daily routine. Annoying-yes, productive-sometimes, and Improvable- YES continue reading.

1. Name an Organizer or Leader: Organizer/Leader hops on call 5 min early.
2. Email Goals: Organizer should send out notes for meeting at least 60min in advance with Specific METRIC goals. I can’t tell you how often people I talk to don’t know the goal of the call they are on. Even weekly update calls could get an email such as, “30 min Update call: Discuss New Business Activity of prior week- Each participant 5 min; Discuss upcoming projects- Each Participant 3 min.”
3. Keep a Tally: I always recommend that the leader of a conference call keep a pen and paper handy to write down all the names of people on the call and keep a tally of
   1. How many times People Talk
   2. What Questions they have
   3. Action Items for each person
4. Use people’s names First when asking questions or verifying information: By putting someone’s name first, you give them a heads up to pay attention to what you are saying. This helps speed up the response to the question or statement, keeps them engaged, and generally prevents you from having to repeat the statement.
5. Short After-action Email: A short email listed everyone’s names and action items should be sent to all participants to verify they understood what is required of them and others.

For more tips, tricks, or best practices on how to hold a great conference call. Please contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com
1-888-878-4832