Virtual Stand-Up: A Simple & Effective Communication Tool for You and Your Team During COVID-19

» Here are some simple tips to ensure a successful Virtual Stand-Up:

• VIDEO CONFERENCE
• 60 SECONDS PER PERSON: 

     What did you do yesterday? 

     What are you planning to do today? 

     Do you have any unique challenges you are currently facing?

1. RELEVANT TOPICS

Ensure the topics team members present are relevant to the group. If they need to inform another team member of something, or have a discussion with them one-on-one, this is not the forum. Instead, encourage them to have the conversation independently.

2. HIGHLIGHTS ONLY

When team members review what they did yesterday, they need to focus on highlights only. The same applies to their plans for today. NOTE: When reviewing yesterday on a Monday, we refer back to Friday’s events.

3. SHARING UNIQUE CHALLENGES

When reviewing any unique challenges they are facing, these should be things that are impeding progress or causing them undue angst. This does not include things that apply to everyone like the weather, or this pandemic. An example would be, “My internet is down at home.” This is good for others to know and obviously is a relevant issue given the current lockdowns.

4. USE A TIMER

Initially, use a timer. This won’t be necessary for the long term, but people will initially give more detail than needed and when the buzzer goes off it is a good reminder to keep it short.

5. ENCOURAGE OFFLINE CONVERSATIONS

If a team member goes off on a tangent or a conversation starts up between two people, the facilitator needs to interject and suggest they take the conversation offline after the call. They can even stay on the call after everyone else drops off, or schedule a separate call or meeting.

6. ALWAYS START ON TIME

Always start the meeting on time. Team members will learn that this is a short, sharp and functional opportunity to stay connected and dialing in on time is expected.

7. USE A RELIABLE VIDEO CONFERENCING TOOL

Use a reliable conferencing tool. I usually use Google Hangouts and put the meeting on repeat so that people have it on their calendar and can dial in easily. There are lots of free conferencing tools out there, so take your pick. 

8. REDUCE BACKGROUND NOISE

Encourage team members to mute their devices when they’re not talking in order to reduce background noise.

9. VIDEO, VIDEO, VIDEO!

As often as possible, I suggest doing a video call instead of a phone call. Some teams do a video call every time. This leaves less room for distractions and miscommunication as it’s much easier for people to read each other’s emotions when they can see each other.