By Ray Birch
SAN BOONARDINO, Calif.—What do virtual meetings and a séance have in common?
Sometimes a lot of spooky questions, according to Heri Garcia, CEO at ThinkWise CU, one of a number of executives who are sharing the tricks and the treats they have encountered in the new virtual world.
“It’s funny how much virtual meetings tie into Halloween,” said Garcia. “Virtual meetings are like holding a séance. At both, you are always asking: ‘Can you hear us?’ ‘Are you there?’ ‘We can’t see you?’”
In the second of a two-part CUToday.info report, credit union executives have shared with CUToday.info what they have learned during the pandemic about virtual meetings. The first part can be found here.
Garcia said staff, too, are always trying to “trick you” they are in some interesting location via a creative video background.
“Like at a Bahamas beach,” he said. “And, there is a treat in watching others when they forget they are on camera. My favorite is muted interactions with pets and children. Those are hilarious.”
Foggy Vision
Noting virtual meetings are a necessary evil now, Joan Opp is praying for the day face-to-face meetings return, observing that while virtual meetings are working for her CU, there can be some frightful drawbacks.
“It is way too easy to multitask and lose focus,” said Opp, president/CEO of Stanford FCU, Stanford, Calif.
But what really creeps out the CEO is that she can’t tell which eyes are following her during a virtual meeting.
“You can’t tell who is looking at who!” she said. “This drives me crazy because, particularly in larger team meetings or board meetings, you cannot ‘read the table.’ I’ve started asking—who do you think I’m looking at? No one knows, it’s impossible to tell.”
Opp added it is interesting what people do when they don’t realize—or forget—they are on camera.
“Nodding off, hands on the head, looking bored, talking to people off screen while muted…,” she said.
Opp said the remote meetings actually give her the chance to know more about her team, which she likes.
“I’ve Zoomed into meetings I’m not normally a part of just for more interaction with team members since the hallway exchanges aren’t there,” she said. “It has been fun meeting pets and children and getting to know employees more. And, I think people are more relaxed in one-to-one meetings, since Zoom is so much better than just a phone call.”
But there still needs to be improvement in meeting etiquette, Opp said.
“Those video backgrounds…I don’t think some people are aware of just how distracting some of these backgrounds are, especially when the lighting is bad and people are fading in and out of them,” she said. “And I often think, are you walking out of the house wearing that?”
Forgetting Something
In Edwardsville, Ill., Frank Padak, CEO at Scott Credit Union, is shaking in his shoes over the thought that remote workers over time—if this pandemic persists—are going to forget they are actually at work.
“Without requiring video, some team members can become too casual and forget they are interacting with other professionals—you need to maintain a high level of professionalism,” Padak said. “Telecommuting does not mean waking up five minutes before a meeting, throwing on a t-shirt and baseball cap. What image is that portraying? Does the other person feel somehow less important in that you didn’t take the time to shower and get dressed and be prepared for the meeting? I think it definitely sends that message.”
Padak emphasized employees need to have a designated work area at home.
“It can be very distracting to see the family pet running across the screen, family members interrupting, distractions in the background…,” he said.
Padak said the issues he has raised were acceptable, and even funny at first.
“It was acceptable then because everyone was scrambling and doing their best to keep up with work, while at the same time trying to figure out how telecommuting was going to work,” Padak said. “Enough time has passed that we now know how to properly conduct a meeting virtually and the professionalism and etiquette for doing so. Now it is time to disseminate formalized policies and procedures for telecommuting and abide by them.”
What’s missing as a result of remote meetings, said Padak, is a lot of the small, personal things picked up when speaking with someone face to face.
“It’s difficult to really see facial reactions and body language,” he said. “I also think the virtual meetings can be more sterile at times, making it more difficult to have the sidebars and add dialogue that can lead to more and better ideas.”
Padak stressed managers need to learn how to keep team members engaged and excited over digital lines.
“Communication is key. I cannot stress enough that now is the time to overcommunicate,” Padak said. “It is easy for team members to become disengaged, feel isolated and eventually lose their motivation and inspiration to do great work. Social interaction is a critical element of the work environment, telecommuting can rob team members of that very important component of work. Managers have to be creative and find ways to inspire and excite their remote team. Celebrate successes virtually.”
As an example, Padak pointed to what one manger is doing to keep the team involved—including a catered breakfast and a trivia game. Employees were divided into teams, and the wining team received gift cards.
No Hiding
In Milford, Conn., Nutmeg State Financial CU has a terrifying (to some) new rule as a result of the pandemic—no laptop cameras can be turned off during virtual meetings.
“When we do a virtual meetings, there is always the option of turning off the camera,” said CEO John Holt. “But we require everyone to keep their camera on so we can read body language while we’re listening to someone speak.”
Holt said all of Nutmeg’s meetings are now virtual, including board meetings.
“I have my one-on-one meetings with my executives each week virtually and it has become the new norm. We have fun with these meetings and treat the meetings like we’re actually face to face,” said Holt. “While virtual meetings can’t fully replace in-person meetings, one of the things that I like about the virtual meetings is that we can create different types of camaraderie through various virtual backgrounds—like the beach.”
Holt added Nutmeg State has done a lot of “fun things,” including playing Hollywood Squares using Zoom.
“Of course, I’m sure everyone has had their fair share of embarrassing moments, like when your dog is barking in the background and you forget to put mute on…,” Holt said.
Experience Pays Off
Vibrant remote team
Before the pandemic crossed the country, Vibrant Credit Union in Moline, Ill., already had a lot of experience with virtual meetings, which the credit union believes has been very beneficial.
“We were already in the habit of leveraging Google Hangouts to facilitate biweekly all-staff communications,” said Jon Sexton, SVP of culture and leadership development. “After we rapidly decentralized our headquarters and closed lobbies for branch staff safety, we focused on how we could further leverage virtual technology in which we had already invested in.”
One of the primary concerns the organization had as teams became increasingly decentralized was maintaining a sense of connection.
“We began to stress the importance of regular check-ins with staff members, leveraging video platforms,” said Sexton. “This was particularly important for managers who had little to no experience supervising remote employees prior to 2020.”
The credit union is also emphasizing “fun,” sending a package of video games to employees.
“We plan to host an organization-wide trivia night on Nov. 13,” said Sexton. “Sure, hosting an event on the evening of Friday the 13th might sound a little spooky in 2020, but the irony of the date just felt a little too perfect to pass up.”