Remote and Online or In-person Business Meetings? Connectivity Matters

In recent years we have been presented with irresistible forces almost driving human interaction into non-existence. I will admit that some benefits can be gleaned from this experience, and certain skills may be lost forever. How has your business or work communication changed since 2018?

Without question; I spend more time with family and friends in group video calls than ever before. I am also in closer and more frequent contact with them, deepening our relationships over distances. We are here to talk about work communication.

Thailand was quick to lock down. Any meeting room in Bangkok was empty. The Parliament meetings were suspended. Conference Centers were ghost towns. Business must go on. Communication gaps had to be spanned.

Have you experienced similar business communication changes due to distancing requirements?

• Companies that were decentralized and working between distanced offices before the pandemic, continued to do so. Communication at upper levels did not need alteration to accommodate isolation and work. These teams had technology familiarity since speaker calls in a board room.
• The working groups that required time to discuss planning, design ideas, systems integrations, and the like had a lag time to adjust to the technology. More importantly, they lost contact in their communications and needed to adapt. These adaptations were responded to with applications and tech to suit new dialogue.
• Meetings can be a waste of time when poorly utilized and planned, regardless of whether they are online or in person. Can you agree? People who were poor meeting organizers had an added difficulty compounding the waste of time and performance.
• Over the last few years individual productivity has been up but team productivity is down. Labor productivity was withdrawn in most of the 37 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. These are democracies that collaborate on policy standards for market-based economies and they are seeing performance reduction.
• It is nearly impossible to improve your interpersonal communications business skills remotely. However, you can transmit facts.
• Meeting schedules, documents, notes, and follow-ups had to be shared, not printed and handed out. This leads to more issues with communication and productivity.
• When you aren’t in the same room there is a loss of productivity to distractions. At home, a coffee shop, or other spots have distractions. I would say there was a high level of abuse in timeliness, appropriate attire, and professionalism due to the ability to block cameras and mute.

Connectivity is more than communication. Meeting in person strengthens relationships, helps with the interpretation of non-verbal cues, fewer distractions, networking, brainstorming, interaction, and small talk.

Why are interviews done in person? Body language, expressions, etc give more communication. Would you like to reduce office stress? Get together and face mutual roadblocks to your progress. You are at work to solve problems. Share the problems and solutions clearly by being close enough to shake hands.