Our Company Loves Hybrid Meetings

And we’re going to show you how to make the best of them

The Inheaden team has been hosting hybrid meetings since our CEO first had enough members to host any kind of meetings at all. That’s what happens when you have a team as international and diverse as ours — you learn to collaborate remotely from the get-go.

With team members hailing from Germany, India, Nigeria, Egypt, El Salvador, and the United States, we’ve learned how to navigate time zones, language gaps and everything in between.

Before the pandemic, hybrid meetings were merely optional. As we all know, with the onset of COVID19, everything had to shift to virtual, and now, nearly 3 years later, the world is attempting to reestablish its equilibrium.

In the meantime, hybrid meetings have become all the rage and everyone is trying to optimize the experience for their online and in-person attendees. Figuring out what works and what definitely doesn’t can be a frustrating and time-consuming process.

Before we tell you how to host hybrid meetings, let’s start by understanding what they are. A hybrid meeting is any meeting that involves both remote and in-person attendees. This could be a meeting with 8 employees sitting in an office and 1 attending over video call or 5 employees attending in person while the other 5 attend remotely from anywhere in the world. The number of remote or in-person employees doesn’t matter- the presence of both makes it a hybrid meeting.

There’s a lot of reasons why we here at Inheaden absolutely love them. The top two?

• They offer all the employees a lot more flexibility by allowing them to attend from home, from a remote location, or from the office.
• Utilizing them makes it so much easier for employers to find talent from anywhere in the world.

A diverse team has endless benefits, enough to warrant an article of its own, but the gist of it is that the more diverse a team is, the more perspectives you’re bringing to every project, every decision and every circumstance. It is the perfect atmosphere for innovation and new ideas to thrive.

A diverse team has endless benefits, enough to warrant an article of its own, but the gist of it is that the more diverse a team is, the more perspectives you’re bringing to every project, every decision and every circumstance.

Hybrid meetings also make the workplace so much more family-friendly — new parents can attend important calls from the comfort of their home while they take care of their newborns. Our Marketing manager recently had a lovely baby girl, and ever since she returned from maternity leave, she’s been able to collaborate with our team seamlessly, and it’s all been online!

With a few years of experience under our belt, we figured it was time to share our top tips for hosting a high-quality, ultra-effective hybrid meeting that will bring you the best possible results.

“Fostering a sense of inclusivity is my top priority.”
Lars Gröber, CTO & Co-Founder @ Inheaden

Making sure everyone feels like they are a part of the team and an important part of the discussion is crucial if you want to pull off a good hybrid meeting. Inclusivity is more of an issue for remote employees, but it is the responsibility of the person in charge and all physically present members to make all the remote employees feel more included.

The best part? It just takes a few easy steps to pull it off. Here’s what our CTO has to say about this:

• Give every individual an opportunity to speak at least once during the meeting. That way, you don’t have people yelling and speaking over one another and everyone gets a chance to weigh in.
• For specific topics, rather than throwing the question to the group, call on members, whether remote or otherwise, to give their opinion.
• Camera ON should be the default.
• The in-person employees should avoid looking at each other for prolonged periods of time; this isolates the remote employees and blocks them from the conversation.

Fostering a sense of inclusivity is my top priority.

“Good internet connection is a no-brainer, but do not underestimate the power of a good mic.”
Dennis Kohl, CEO & Co-Founder @ Inheaden

A strong internet connection is the most basic requirement for any meeting. Without it, it’s hard to look up anything or keep track of your agenda. For remote employees, their internet connection is everything, but few people pay attention to their microphones.

When it comes to a hybrid meeting, your audio is the most important element. Think about it — even if your camera is of a lower resolution or malfunctions for any reason, you can still participate in the call with your microphone.

But if people can’t hear you or have trouble discerning what you’re saying, you have no way of sharing your thoughts and opinions. Both audio and video are necessary for a great hybrid meeting, but push comes to shove, you’ll need your audio a bit more than you would your video.

Another thing we’ve noticed as a team with few native English speakers is that great audio makes it so much easier to understand one another. We communicate with each other in English, but low-quality audio can make it harder for some of our team members, both remote and in-person, to fully catch what someone else is trying to say.

So, to have a good hybrid meeting, our CEO’s best advice is to invest in your mics and make sure everyone is using their own microphone or, if you’re attending from the office, that the office shares a central system. That way, you’re avoiding echo, low-quality, or spotty audio.

Good internet connection is a no-brainer, but do not underestimate the power of a good mic.

“It’s all about the agenda.”
Ahmed Elshamanhory, Head of R&D @ Inheaden

It’s natural to throw around ideas and comments in the office while you work, but remember, your remote colleagues aren’t privy to these talks. An agenda is essential for every meeting you ever have, but it plays an even bigger role in a hybrid meeting, and our Head of R&D is here to tell you why:

• It’s a great way to address what will be discussed in the next meeting and for how long.
• It gives everyone sufficient time to prepare for the meeting.
• By placing your agenda on a collaborative platform, everyone has access to it and can add their own points beforehand- this could be questions, comments, or notes.
• Action items at the bottom of the agenda can serve as a summary of the meeting and form a solid basis for the next one.

Don’t forget to send out the agenda at least 24–48 hours in advance.

It’s all about the agenda.

“Cater to short attention spans; keep hybrid meetings as crisp as possible for the best results.”
Nancy A Elzeiny, Marketing Manager @ Inheaden

It’s hard enough to keep the attention of people attending a meeting in person. It is that much harder to keep the attention of the same people online. If you’re planning a hybrid meeting, you have to cater to both these audiences, which means keeping your meetings as concise and to the point as possible.

Honestly, this is a great rule of thumb for any meeting you host — nobody wants to sit in on a 3-hour meeting involving too many people and too little value add.

This is what our Marketing Manager has to say about hosting a great hybrid meeting:

• Avoid unnecessary over-presenting. You don’t have to repeat whatever is on the screen, especially if you’re just reading it out word-for-word. You should either give people a moment to read it themselves or place a short point on the screen and elaborate on the spot.
• Guide all team members on how to fill up their updates as the meeting progresses.
• Tag participants in the notes, especially in the action items section, so they get notifications and are well-aware of their next moves. Tagging also lets them know if there are any updates.
• Make deadlines and the details for any deliverables as clear as possible to avoid any sort of confusion.

Cater to short attention spans; keep hybrid meetings as crisp as possible for the best results.

“Take full advantage of screen share and invest in collaboration tools so everyone can feel included.”
Christian Hein, CIO & Co-Founder @ Inheaden

Oftentimes, while trying to make a point, we point at something on the screen with our fingers. This, of course, will not translate the same way for anyone that isn’t present in person.

Screen sharing is an easily accessible feature with most video conferencing tools, so use it and use it liberally. The other thing to keep in mind is the use of collaborative tools so everybody, remote and in-person, can participate in the activity together.

Make sure to add a link to the collaboration space on your agenda, and ask everyone to check if it’s working and if they need any help. Introducing new tech or programs can be tricky, and it’s better to deal with it in advance. That way, you can start and end the meeting on time and not delay everyone, another HUGE no-no for any meeting, hybrid or otherwise.

Take full advantage of screen share and invest in collaboration tools so everyone can feel included.

A quick recap to host better Hybrid meetings:

1. Inclusivity should be a top priority, especially for the person in charge.
2. After a solid internet connection, consider investing in a good microphone.
3. Meeting agendas should be finished 24–48 hours advance and should include every single detail, including timings, talking points, participant list, and action items
4. Keep meetings short and crisp; consider hosting separate meetings if the topic is too large for a single meeting.
5. Invest in top-tier collaboration tools so everyone can feel like they are a part of the process.

Remote employees often feel left out because an office environment fosters a sense of trust and camaraderie that simply does not exist when you’re working from halfway across the globe.

Hybrid meetings are a small step towards making any remote worker feel like they’re a valuable part of the team. We hope our tips from the leadership here at Inheaden helps you figure out the right formula for your own great hybrid meetings.

Good luck!

Thank you for reading!

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We are a fast-growing tech startup headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany. Incepted in 2017 by 4 co-founders, we now have a team of 20+ experts in Information Technology (IT) and Digital Product creation. As Europe’s first Tech Angel, Inheaden supports startups or small businesses by providing them with the tech strategy, assets, and maintenance they need to thrive in today’s digital era.