Meetings can be hard for many entrepreneurs, especially if you have to run it. If your team is spread out or remote, meetings are even more challenging to run. But you can have successful meetings that are a good use of your valuable business time and money if you follow a few simple tips. Here are some to get your remote meeting mojo started.

Have a Set Schedule

Remote workers have unique schedules and varying distractions. This can make it hard to be in the right place, with the right information, and in the right frame of mind for a meeting.

You can help remote workers prepare for and give great input at department meetings by making those meetings part of a routine. While your employees might need a while to get in the routine, you'll develop a habit that will help focus everyone throughout the week or month.

A meeting schedule also helps you prepare in advance and ensure fewer unnecessary problems once the meeting starts. You can prepare the meeting room, make sure all audio and video equipment is running properly, and send out reminders to team members. You'll also know exactly when you need to block out your own schedule to avoid being distracted yourself.

Get People in the Room

Virtual meetings with disembodied voices on speakerphones are often less productive. Why? People get left out of the conversation, things don't get said, and teammates don't feel connected to each other.

So, no matter how you have to do it, get people together in a face-to-face discussion. You might be able to schedule a time and place where at least some workers can meet in person — such as a rented space in a central location.

In addition, make sure you use technology to boost face time — or at least a semblance thereof. Tie in a video chat rather than a speakerphone. Use webcams to see other team members. Incorporate visual aids on computers so you can all share the same information at the same time. In short, make your members feel like a team rather than a bunch of faceless email names.

Encourage Discussion

Meetings should be about sharing challenges, solutions, and ideas — but not only from one source. If all you need to do is tell the group something or disseminate information, send an email or create a video. Don't call a meeting and then do all the talking yourself.

Instead, make this time with your remote workers a chance to see them and hear from them directly. Give the outline, offer your thoughts on the topic, and then open the forum to all members. Hear them out fully. Do a round-the-table discussion if you need to encourage shier team members to speak up.

The more you can get things out in the open and resolved at an open meeting, the more included everyone will feel and the more open your virtual door will be to your employees.

Stay Focused

Meetings of any type have a tendency to get off track very easily. As a team leader, your job is to not let this happen. Why? Not only will tangents make the meeting longer and less productive, they will also obscure the point and build resentment among staff who've taken time out of their schedules to be available.

Set the meeting agenda before you get there and then distribute it to everyone involved. Keep the agenda short and focused on only a few main points (or even just one). Defer less important topics to a group chat, an email, or even a different meeting another time.

No matter what the goal of your organization or the size and locations of your team, your meetings can be useful and effective with a few simple steps. Start with a visit to the rented office and meeting spaces available at Executive Suites, LLC, today. We can help you find the best ways to keep your team moving forward together.