Our first hybrid team session

Last week we had a go at our first hybrid team session. I know for some this isn’t new, but a lot of managers/leaders are trying to figure out how we will make this work. My biggest concern is how we make these meetings fully inclusive and I think this is something that we will need to continue to experiment with.

My immediate challenge was finding a venue for those that wanted to meet in person. Due to the COVID restrictions in place there are only a few meeting rooms that cater for the number of people who wanted to meet face to face, and those had been booked well in advance. I made the decision that the in person element would be outside making use of the wonderful weather we have been having (didn’t last long!).

Our monthly team sessions are generally focused on team development and learning. Following work we’ve been doing to learn more about each other and how to communicate better using Colourworks Insights, I’ve been trying to get a session outline out further in advance which is particularly important for hybrid meetings so everyone knows the plan.

On Saturday before the meeting I popped to county hall to take some photos of the location, giving people who were attending virtually the choice of 3 to use as teams backdrops for the meeting, this worked really well as it looked on screen like we were all in the same place. Some people joining virtually sat outside in their garden to have that outdoor experience.

On the day 13 people met in person, 11 connected from home, and 4 people were absent. Because we weren’t in a meeting room people had to connect individually using their devices.

The start of the meeting included 15 minutes setup time and chat for those meeting in person, and social time for those connecting virtually if they wished. In person we needed that time to sort kit, headsets, connectivity, and of course eat ice creams that someone had brought along.

I’ve used all sorts of icebreakers in the virtual world over the last 18 months, including a scavenger hunt to break down the virtual and physical world boundaries as people go off and find an item then show it to the camera. I used ‘find something orange’, nearly everyone did this and it means everyone gets the opportunity to speak at the start of the session as we checked out what each person had.

We then agreed the rules for our hybrid session were very similar to those in the virtual or real world:

· Raise a hand – electronic or physical if want to speak

· Cameras on where possible

· Mics off unless speaking

· No side conversations, even for those attending in person, keep chat still in the chat bar so everyone can be part of it

For those speaking in person we heard ourselves twice with the slight delay of Teams which was a bit off putting. This was because we were using individual devices and this wouldn’t have been the case if we were sat in a meeting room using a single microphone/speaker.

Its highlighted accessibility issues for people who use adaptive equipment that they are unable to move to other locations, so we learnt the keyboard shortcuts for Teams to see if that would help.

It felt exciting and created energy seeing and interacting with people in person again. One person said it felt like sensory overload navigating the real and virtual world at the same time. As the facilitator and someone who can get over excited at times, I found it hard to keep up with everything that was going on even though other people were leading items.

My track record of getting through items planned for team sessions/meetings is not very good, I’m always over ambitious, we are still learning what works, and I think more time is needed in the virtual world for group discussions/activities. So true to form we didn’t get through my session plan or try break out rooms – one for next time!

At our team check in the next day we did a reflection on what we liked, what could be improved and ideas for next time:

· the team didn’t like the social aspects at the start being separate, the people at home wanted to see and hear those in person chatting

· one of the hardest aspects was not talking to people directly/having side conversations when in person and using hands up / chat still, I think everyone felt we lost the benefit of being in person during the session

· those at home missed out on the general chit chat but did feel uplifted by the vibes being generated by those in person

· new roles are required beyond the meeting lead, someone to look after chat and hands up online, someone to monitor the in person room

· back up kit required in person like headsets, chargers if people forget them

· build in time before or after the meeting for breakfast or lunch to make the travel worthwhile and enable socialising

· we will need to remind ourselves of the ground rules at future sessions until they become a new habit

· it would be better if those in person could share one mic and appear as a group to those at home

People at home said the session felt fresher and were happy to be able to join in without having to travel, but there were mixed views about how included they felt. For those absent on the day, they were able to access the recording so they didn’t miss out.

Trying the meeting in this way shows that it is possible with the technology we have now to run hybrid meetings, but we still need to work on making sure everyone feels included. For next time I have booked a meeting room to see how that changes the experience and we will be trying more new things like jazz hands for both virtual and in person attendees :-).

Our team is great at giving it a go, have you cracked inclusive hybrid meetings yet?