Achieving remote engagement can’t wait

Recession prediction is always a difficult game, particularly since the traditional rules of that game have changed since 2020. Whether we are now on the brink of what economists would call a recession or not, it’s clear that current workforce disruptions are posing challenges to firms of all sizes and in all industries.

The big tech layoffs making the headlines could be the canary in the coalmine of a recession, but even if they’re not, they’ve created an atmosphere of uncertainty throughout the economy. Following a boom period during which workers commanded the labor market, workers are now being asked to do more while their connection and commitment to their employer is being tested by remote work and job security concerns.

Hybrid work has become a new default, but uncertainty around return-to-office plans — or rejection of hybrid work for the long term — has prevented some companies from investing fully in the technologies and culture needed to optimize it and ensure its long-term success.

Even companies that strategically favor a sweeping return-to-office policy must face current labor market challenges by supporting remote and hybrid work tactically today. A well-executed approach to virtual meetings is the critical technical and cultural factor for doing this successfully.

“Zoom fatigue”

We know that virtual meetings are supposed to help employees engage better when they’re remote, but when they’re done badly (and excessively) they can actually make morale and engagement worse.

When virtual meetings are used frequently without careful thought, they can contribute to fatigue and burnout. The reason? The standard approach to virtual meetings is quite unnatural, and taxing to our brains. Staring straight into the face of everyone in a meeting is strange, we have images of multiple interesting rooms and backgrounds to attend to, and the temptation to multitask covertly is always there.

The same problems exist for virtual trainings, particularly when they’re not administered by a live instructor. This effect for virtual training is particularly concerning at a time when employees need training to take on new tasks left by their departing colleagues.

From “Zoom fatigue” to remote engagement

To realize the promise of virtual meetings as a facilitator of true remote engagement and effective training, companies must consider carefully both the technologies they’re using and the social and collaborative function that virtual meetings have within their organization.

The approach that often spawns “Zoom fatigue” involves viewing virtual meetings as a less-desirable substitute for in-person meetings. By focusing on limitations rather than opportunities, this approach sets organizations up for negative experiences with virtual meetings and trainings, hurting both morale and job effectiveness.

From a social and functional perspective, organizations should emphasize the opportunities that remote meeting and training offers:

• Some mandatory meetings and trainings, like financial and regulatory training for most employees, are tedious. But having a robust virtual training program allows companies to offer employees a much wider breadth of training opportunities that suit their interests and career development goals. Companies should be sending the message that while workers may need specific training to equip them for new tasks, the company’s training program is primarily designed to invest in the employee, for their long-term benefit.
• Global teams can meet face-to-face as often as they’d like. Even in organizations that view virtual meetings as a lesser substitute for in-person meeting, there’s no doubt that global teams who might otherwise never collaborate face-to-face can benefit immensely from live collaboration — and not just when it’s strictly business. For large global organizations, virtual meetings offer employees a chance to share and engage with the diverse cultures and locales of their colleagues with zero travel cost.
• Virtual training can bring the best trainers to company-wide audiences. In a time when companies are looking for ways to cut costs, overhauling a training program to bring the best trainers in contact with a wide audience can save money — and spare some layoffs — while also improving training quality.

From a technology perspective, much can be achieved by using existing tools more smartly, but new approaches are particularly effective for virtual training:

• The causes of “Zoom fatigue” can be overcome. Even without adopting new technologies, policies like turning off video for all but the current speaker can ease the strain virtual meetings put on our neurology, energy, and enthusiasm.
• Invest in a virtual training program that emphasizes engagement. Use live presenters whenever possible and integrate games, challenges, and collaborative breakout groups. Any step in this direction offers a benefit, but the companies doing this best are adopting capable learning management systems and building their own custom platforms and features to suit their exact organizational needs for engagement.
• Prioritize security. Industries including health care and finance are required to meet strict regulatory standards for security, but firms of all types should take security seriously. While a breach in a non-regulated industry may not incur fines from a regulator, it could still sink the business.

Related: Empathetic benefits strategies: How to boost employee engagement and retention 

Whatever a company’s ambitions are in the long run regarding remote and hybrid work, the combination of current remote and hybrid work and the demands being made on employees require that every organization to take virtual meetings and virtual training seriously today.

Glen D. Vondrick is CEO of CoSo Cloud LLC.