46% of the workforce is planning to move because they can now work remotely from anywhere. And remote job postings on LinkedIn have increased over 5X since the pandemic.
The digital divide was traditionally considered to be a question of having or not having access, but today we often talk about the inequality between those who have, or don´t have the technological skills.
We need to remember that there are people who want to go back to just working from the office and have the online meetings go back to a minimum.
So how should we adapt to this hybrid way of work and reduce the digital divide?
HACK #1: Expectations
I.DO.A.RR.T! Intention, desired outcome, agenda, rules & roles, time. These days we get invited to new meetings every day. And almost 50% of the invitations lack an agenda or information about the topic. How can attendees prepare for the meeting if they don’t know the purpose of the meeting? And how can attendees contribute their best when they do not know what is expected of them?
OUR RECOMENDATIONS:
Before the meeting
Set the agenda and share this with your meeting attendees.
During the meeting
- Start the meeting by informing all the attendees about the meeting plan.
- Inform about the order of the topics – clearly outline the agenda at the beginning of the meeting
- Are there different attendees who are speaking about the different topics?
- Is it necessary to have someone who takes notes?
- Ask if there is a need to take breaks.
After the meeting
Have you ever left a meeting confused on what’s next? Make sure to complete the following steps before anyone leaves the meeting:
- Repeat the action plan and who is responsible for each action
- If there are people left with no tasks at all, mention that as well
- Repeat the decisions made in the meeting.
Did someone leave the meeting early? Send them a message and inform them about what was decided and the action plan.
HACK #2: Tools
Stop focusing on which video conferencing system you or your external part use. Be a good leader in the meeting and the attendees will not think about which tools being used. Instead of spending time on what video conferencing system to use, rather spend time to prepare for the meeting. The attendees will not notice what tools are being used if the meeting is managed well.
OUR RECOMENDATIONS:
- If you have external attendees, make sure they are familiar with the tools. If not, be prepared to provide support.
- Encourage them to reply to your questions in the chat. Remember, not everyone feel comfortable to reply vocally.
- You will contribute to minimize the digital divide by not focusing on the different tools available, but on the people who are using the them.
HACK #3: People
It is difficult to detect social cues or non-verbal encouragement in virtual meetings. This may have negative effect on psychological safety — if people feel they can raise questions, concerns, and ideas freely without fear of personal repercussion. The good news is that technology offers ways to offset this. How do we get everyone to speak up and prevent the digital divide?
OUR RECOMENDATIONS:
- Hand-raise function can be used to indicate response to a question “Raise you hand if you have personal experiences with…”
- Polls makes it easier to express your opinion without being singled out. Use different polls; open-ended questions, yes/no, on a scale from 1 – 5 etc.
- Use chat function to share opinions rather than raising hand to speak – allows for more individual reflection.
- Use breakout rooms – it´s often easier to share ideas and opinions in a smaller environment, then return to the large group to share. Breakout rooms also give more time to each attendee.
- Consider “hide self-view” to reduce potential unwanted attention.
HACK #4: Visualize more
Are you tired of just listening in to a meeting, and hearing someone typing notes in the background? How about about using a tool where all of the attendees can type and be creative togehther during (before and after) the meeting? This can be a tool that is similar to a an actual whiteboard, or it can be a tool for kick ass brainstorming.
OUR RECOMENDATIONS:
Try:- Miro
- Mural
- Team OneNote
- Stormboard
HACK #5: Education
After Covid-19 we have experienced that a lot of businesses have started using new tools without necessarily providing training to their staff on these tools. One year later, we can see that the digital divide has increased due to lack of training.
The tech business has moved in a high speed but are pushing the non-tech employees further away from feeling comfortable with tech.
Don’t assume that every employee knows how to handle all tools provided. Make everyone feel great when using tech! How?
OUR RECOMENDATIONS:
- Provide training!
- Provide simple tips and tricks that are easily accessible everyone.
- If you notice a colleague struggling with the tech during a meeting, talk to the them afterwards so that you can help him or her feel comfortable using the tech before their next meeting.