The Data Analytics Route to Better Meetings
Can data-driven agenda help meetings become more productive? Certainly so, feels Brian Goodman, director of product, Poll Everywhere. Here in this article, he also shares a few strategies for using data analytics to drive more productivity.
Meeting norms have changed amid hybrid work. As such, companies are conducting many of their team meetings online. However, these meetings are leading to employee fatigue. Here, Brian Goodman, director of product, Poll Everywhere, discusses how data analytics can be used to improve online meetings.
In the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, it seemed like a sure thing that remote and hybrid work would become the new normal. However, the aftermath of the pandemic has revealed something interesting: a relatively even split between WFH supporters and detractors. Sure, remote work provides more flexibility and work-life balance to employers while giving employers access to a much larger talent pool and lower overhead costs for things like offices, snacks, and commuter reimbursement. But a massive influx of virtually hosted meetings during the past two years became a key driver for employee fatigue at work, threatening the long-term viability of remote progress work. How did we get here?
When the global workforce went remote, the goal was to keep business as close to usual as possible, just in a new digital format. In practice, however, the idea that we should mimic the same norms has proven impractical and unsustainable in the long term. Sitting in on as many video calls as we formally did in-person meetings tends to feel more required than inspired. On the other hand, many leaders are puzzled over how to execute meaningful virtual socialization to maintain culture, camaraderie, and inclusion for their staff, and the need to do so is becoming more and more compulsory.
See More: Top Tools That Help You Improve Remote Worker Productivity
In 2021, the Great Resignation brought about a massive hiring boom of more remote and hybrid employees than ever before. Today, a mix of current realities further complicates that shift, including the potential for layoffs in a forthcoming recession, the rising cost of living amidst massive inflation, as well as employee demand for better diversity and inclusion in their places of work. Employees have qualms about how too much remote work could inhibit their connection to their colleagues and companies and hurt their ability to weather layoffs, let alone get promoted or receive raises and bonuses. This could lead to yet another pendulum swing where candidates look for more in-person work opportunities.
As a result, leaders simultaneously hear calls for greater and fewer online meetings. So how do we reconcile this?
The answer is that we need to start measuring the impact of our meetings and only keeping the ones that are truly driving value for our organizations. Now that online encounters are the cultural norm in the workplace, it is time for them to start thinking more innovatively — enter data analytics.
The Power of Data: Making Meetings Work for You
Meetings are a goldmine of information and can be utilized to pull excellent feedback from attendees to determine sentiment and engagement levels. But how is this rightly done?
It is easier than one may think. With meetings now being largely facilitated on platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, data can be collected by engaging participants in activities such as polling, Q&As, open-ended and multiple-choice questions, comments, reactions, etc. Tapping into this feedback can help business leaders improve meetings exponentially bringing endless benefits.
Here are some examples of the main ways data analytics can be used to improve remote meetings:
Track how many people were invited vs. how many people attended
Tracking attendance can be used as the basis of all engagement metrics. In addition, it helps to segment your audience for content fit, the agenda, and how a meeting is marketed to participants.
Track Q&A questions and run reports after looking for patterns
Once questions are asked, leaders have the ability to compare the number of Q&A feedback from meeting to meeting. Also, questions can be grouped by themes to adjust the material accordingly.
Track how many people left early and when
Uncovering when people jumped off can be crucial to determining content engagement. It can be used to determine the best time for a meeting or to find pain points in the presented information.
Get post-meeting feedback from all attendees
After meetings are over, you can gauge people’s sentiment toward the meeting that was held. This is the time to listen and give everyone a chance to express their thoughts — consider this for every future meeting you conduct.
Democratize the meeting and feedback
Every group has those folks that love to jump in and share their thoughts with the group. There will always be those extroverts who naturally lead a conversation, and those people are great. But it is essential to find ways to include and give a platform to those not-so-loud voices, allowing everyone an equal chance to contribute their ideas. Using digital software that allows for participants to provide 1:1 or anonymous feedback is great for intentionally obtaining feedback from quieter attendees.
All responses are considered data. Now, let us jump into the analytics side of things.
Putting Feedback to Work
The feedback received by meeting participants improves meetings exponentially. Simultaneously, you get an accurate representation of what is working and what is not. Gathered insight can be presented visually in the form of charts to give company-wide leadership a visual on their efforts and how well processes are going. Thus, leaders can improve online engagements and overall decision-making by leveraging data.
In addition, data serves as a single source of truth. Leaders have an imperative to democratize data and make it possible for everyone within the organization to access, collect, and tap into data over time. By fostering a culture of transparency and participation in collecting valuable insights from analytics, you give teams the power to drive innovation and real change leading to a better understanding of what is going on in your organization and more dedicated employees.
See More: Top Remote Collaboration and Productivity Trends to Watch Out for in 2022
Data = Knowledge
The question, “could this meeting have been an email?” is an age-old saying. However, two essential truths remain:
- There is no silver bullet for productivity and satisfaction at work, and
- Connection is essential to humanity, so meetings will never fully go away.
If we are truly set on adapting the way we work for the better, it is time to open the door to better listening, especially in an age where you often cannot read the person across the room. So jump in, ask questions, gather insight, and put your data to work. In doing so, you will come that much closer to finding a happy medium for your unique workforce.
Are you employing data analytics to improve your online meetings? Tell us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We’d love to know!
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