Virtual Meeting Agreements

Not all parts are created equal, so be sure to make your agreement writing process a collaborative one. This allows people to offer deals that can only be offered by themselves. It doesn`t matter if an agreement applies to one or more people. This gives underrepresented people a space to feel heard and welcomed. Similar to other aspects of your team agreement, this requires some introspection and iteration on the part of the team to understand how to break down the work so that it can travel around the world. The practices we described earlier, such as goals. B clearly documented and tools for status details, are crucial in this case. It can also change the pace of your team, as you can`t rely on synchronous meetings to get status, resolve issues or questions, or make decisions when something needs to change. I hope this guide has given you a guide on how to create your own virtual community agreements. We strongly recommend that you take the time to formulate these agreements, as they can promote a more open and free space for the people you are with in a virtual community.

Many organizations create publicly accessible agreements that you can access online. Consider updating your agreements with those of other communities. 1. Secure your online events and meetingsReports about Zoom bombings at events and meetings can be a form of hate speech and harassment, as they end up targeting marginalized genders and people of color at higher rates. Save your zoom events to avoid this.2. Use subtitlesReve unlimited access for the hearing impaired by providing subtitles for your online events and meetings. Check out the resources on accessibility at Harvard.3. Make sure everyone in your meeting has the opportunity to speak Out Recent results have shown that women still struggle to make their voices heard in online meetings.

When organizing a meeting, send out the goals and agenda in advance and ask each participant a specific question to make sure everyone has the opportunity to contribute.4. Creating and Complying with Community Agreements and Compliance with StandardsHarvardWIT+ has created a list of Community Agreements that we ask our community to respect at our monthly events. We now use these community agreements at our online events to ensure that microaggressions or other harmful behaviors are addressed. Look at the use of the "RAVEN" approach to combat online microaggressions: this COVID crisis has forced people to cross the virtual learning curve, with advocates coming out on the other end. I just moderated a two-day strategic retreat (originally planned for Napa Valley, but we moved it virtually). Although they have had Zoom and GoToMeeting for years, they were amazed at some of the tools and techniques available to create a collaborative conversation. How can we give each other feedback? How should we signal to each other that we are breaking an agreement? What do we do if someone constantly violates our agreements? Ideally, you complete these preparation elements about a week before the scheduled meeting. This ensures that employees have enough time to prepare, but also that they don`t forget the specific details they wanted to discuss during the meeting.

During core hours, all team members are available for meetings and collaboration sessions. Be realistic and don`t forget to consider other jobs, regular breaks, and time zone fluctuations. ImportantTeam agreements can include positive behavior that the team wants to encourage and also describe negative behaviors. You also need to explicitly determine how the team handles violations and holds each other accountable. AttentionThe above team may only be a new employee`s step away from losing areas with overlaps in standard office hours. Asking people to attend meetings sooner or later can be very difficult for people who are janitors, which is one of the many reasons why people choose to work remotely in the first place. At some point, you may be forced to design your time zone management to support business growth and individual needs. 5. Make your informal workplace "happy hours" more inclusive Informality in the workplace could increase with online meetings, as access to chat boxes and private messages that can exclude the wider group is easier.

When planning virtual happy hours, ask yourself if they are at a time when everyone can participate. Does noon or 5 p..m. work for working parents? Do you include your employees who are not allowed to drink? Are you aware of religious events that may take place during your happy hours or events (for example. B Ramadan)? People change, and so should your agreements. When new people join the team, allow them to add their own chords. You can also set up a process to modify old agreements as a team. This may sound redundant, but it is very important to maintain a safe and welcoming space. A meeting agreement is a way to approach freedom for all that can become a virtual conversation. The agreement, which is an extension of an association`s code of conduct or code of ethics, helps foster better conversations in virtual meetings by fostering engagement and space for people who don`t feel comfortable expressing themselves.

So it`s been about four months since we created these team agreements. And in the meantime, we`ve hired a few new people to form a team. .