How to run meetings (virtual or otherwise)

Whether your company is gearing up to go back to the physical office or keep a hybrid work situation, you cannot escape meetings. JCVA has always had a hybrid work set-up even prior to the pandemic but given the nature of our work, most of the team are needed to attend meetings with different project stakeholders.

While the past year and a half have proven that a LOT of meetings could have been an email (YES!), an assembly, done right, is still necessary to “enable you and your employees to communicate and share information, solve problems or resolve disputes, improve performance, build teamwork and move projects forward” (Linton, 2019).

In the era of Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, what have you, it is easier to get detached from meetings due to bad internet connect, unclear or nonexistent agenda and maybe the plain fact that you are not even supposed to be there. Without further ado, based on industry experts’ opinions and my humble ones, here are some things to keep in mind before sending that meeting invite:

1) DOES IT REALLY HAVE TO BE A MEETING?!?

Ask yourself this many times over. Can it be a conversation with your staff or a teammate? An email or a text message? If the answer is still yes, then proceed to the next point.

2) FOR EVERYONE’S SANITY, HAVE AN AGENDA.

Not just an agenda, but a clear and concise one. If you find that the agenda you’re drafting has too many subtopics involving different people, take a step back and decide if that can be a different meeting (OR email).

3) HAVE FEWER ATTENDEES AND KEEP IT SHORT.

Keep invitees to the decision makers, project owners and resource people. Less people mean less unnecessary chit-chat and discussion.

Keep the meeting less than an hour and don’t feel the need to use up the allotted time even if you’re already finished with the agenda.

4) SEND OUT HOMEWORK.

Make sure to distribute your agenda to meeting participants at least a day before the meeting. Would be good to send out other references, reports and previous meetings’ minutes related to your agenda, so people don’t need to catch up during the meeting itself.

5) ASSIGN ROLES.

Every meeting needs at least a moderator/chair to keep things on track and on time.

6) MAKE EVERYONE SEEN.

The facilitator should briefly introduce everyone and their role in the meeting agenda, if necessary, so people know how their work relate to other people on the team.

For online meetings, ask everyone to turn on their videos to get visual cues (remember, communication is at least 70% nonverbal), standardize backgrounds (it’s now easy to make corporate backgrounds via Canva), and go on mute unless they are called on to talk --- all these to avoid distractions.

References: Linton, I. (2019, February 5). Types of Meetings in the Workplace. Retrieved from Chron.: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-meetings-workplace-36827.html

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JCVA is a real estate consultancy firm composed of a leadership and project team with over 120 years of combined industry experience. Regardless of project scale, quality assurance and risk management remain our priority and our commitment to on-time and within-budget delivery stands firm.

Our services range from project planning and development, cost consultancy to WELL and LEED advisory. We specialize in providing tailor-fit project management solutions to businesses in need of expeditious and cost-effective means to achieve business goals. JCVA is with you at every point, from the very beginning of the project to when we hand you your keys.

We consider your success to be our own. Guided by your vision and our mission to build better businesses, JCVA delivers bespoke solutions that will lead your project to success.

Part 2: The Post Covid-19 Workplace – How it’s Going to Be Like

JCV & Associates Project Management and Development Inc. (JCVA) with EDS Global advice companies on anything WELL and LEED. These programs have come to the forefront in real estate as their concepts directly tackle the concerns that companies and occupants all have due to this pandemic.

As we try to get back on track with our operations, one thing is for sure, it will never go back to business as usual. Companies now aim to make their spaces not only look good but also feel safe. While safety can already be included in design considerations, it is the day-to-day protocols and operations that will greatly impact the safety and wellness of occupants.

Based on WELL guidelines, here are crucial procedures to enforce:

• Refresh your cleaning and sanitization procedures

  • Maintaining good cleaning protocols can support organizational resilience by helping reduce the risk of infection.

A CDC article provides more information about this - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/disinfecting-building-facility.html.

• Install signages to display steps for proper hand washing and other proper hygiene reminders is an effective way to reduce the spread of infectious diseases.

• Assess high-touch surfaces and items throughout the workspace to be able to implement temporary and/or permanent cleaning strategies and device alternate ways to avoid direct contact with surfaces, like door handles.

• Assess and maintain air ventilation and filtration

  • Increase in ventilation rate is a recommended strategy to mitigate airborne contagious diseases. Regular maintenance of ventilation is also required to ensure acceptable air quality is achieved.

  • Install air filters and UVGI systems in the HVAC systems to reduce pollutants in the circulated outdoor air and improve the indoor air quality.

Of course, there are other ways for companies to bolster their building or office operations to mitigate the spread of illness in their spaces. In the Philippines, herd immunity is still a distant concept for now, but businesses cannot wait for that to happen to start cautiously operating again. We all need to be proactive in implementing ways to address safety and health issues that go above minimum standards to protect our space occupants and ultimately protect our business sustainability as well.

JCVA and its partner EDS Global are here to help companies face the future safely. Contact us today to know more about WELL and LEED certification services.

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JCVA is a real estate consultancy firm composed of a leadership and project team with over 120 years of combined industry experience. Regardless of project scale, quality assurance and risk management remain our priority and our commitment to on-time and within-budget delivery stands firm.

Our services range from project planning and development, cost consultancy to WELL and LEED advisory. We specialize in providing tailor-fit project management solutions to businesses in need of expeditious and cost-effective means to achieve business goals. JCVA is with you at every point, from the very beginning of the project to when we hand you your keys.

We consider your success to be our own. Guided by your vision and our mission to build better businesses, JCVA delivers bespoke solutions that will lead your project to success.

Part 1: The Post Covid-19 Workplace – How it’s Going to Look Like

JCV & Associates Project Management and Development Inc. (JCVA) has advised companies from different industries in realizing their visions for their project buildout. Prior to the pandemic, primary considerations were time and costs for most projects that we have handled, but all of that have changed now. Safety and flexibility have become equally important to ensure health of the office users and support a hybrid office set-up.

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As vaccination rollout gathers momentum, businesses are now contemplating on how to move forward with transitioning back to working in their offices. There are differing but not polarizing viewpoints as to how we will be working post Covid-19 and given current literature, there is an opportunity to challenge traditional set-ups and usher in more sustainable, wellness-focused and innovative designs.

Many agree that physical office spaces still serve a purpose even after the pandemic with articles, studies and surveys pointing out excellent reasons to keep your space albeit with modifications.

Videoconferencing and web apps have been indispensable to be able to stay on top of operations but there are still limitations to interacting online, “People need to be together to accomplish what is difficult to achieve remotely — building personal relationships, intense teamwork, creativity and collaboration all leading to breakthrough innovation.”[1]

In the Philippines, where data infrastructure is still a work in progress especially in less urbanized locations, employees still prefer to work in their offices to be able to utilize a more dependable internet connection. Offices also offer better facilities like air conditioners, ergonomic furniture, and lighting. Should an employee want to enjoy the same comforts at home, she will have to shoulder the costs on her own.

Work from home set-up has also provided challenges to workers in terms of blurring the lines between work and home responsibilities. Added stress from this has caused mental and physiological strains to employees.

While telecommuting is necessary for safety right now, as we cautiously move forward to economic recovery, companies need to revisit the function of their office spaces and the new needs that must be met before they transition into either a complete return to the office or a more flexible/hybrid remote-office model.

Whatever the scope and resources, with our flexible end-to-end services, we at JCVA are ready to work with companies looking to transform their current set-up or build a new one that can address these very real and relevant concerns.

[1] (McCarthy, 2021)