After working in a purely remote environment for almost a full year, Rob Klein, VP, Data Solutions, shares his thoughts on the pros and cons of virtual meetings compared to in-person.
Pros: Virtual meetings are much easier to schedule. People have much more flexibility, and meeting etiquette has been relaxed with everyone at home. Think pajama pants and a blazer! Beyond what the camera shows, we also get a glimpse into people’s personal lives, which isn’t something everyone necessarily talks about at work. We see family members strutting by, trying their best not to be seen. We hear the dog barking in the background. We see the occasional child popping in to say hello.
With greater flexibility also comes fewer cancellations of meetings. Take the recent winter storms, for example. For those of us in the North East where the infrastructure can handle cold weather and storms, work life has been relatively uninterrupted, whereas it would have been severely hampered during pre-COVID times.
Cons: The most apparent are technical issues, which we routinely joke about on almost every call. The biggest loss from the lack of in-person interactions is of course the difficulty of building relationships. It is possible to connect via the screen, but some don’t turn on their camera. It’s also much harder to keep people engaged when they have their email, Slack and other distractions on display while on the line.
Building relationships is critical to business growth and development. Meeting people over lunch, dinner and drinks lead to stronger connections. Once the relationship is established, the efficiency of virtual meetings is fully realized.