Simple Guidelines for Measuring Your Organization’s Web Conferencing Preparedness
With the growing concerns around the Coronavirus pandemic, we see a dramatic increase in remote work and virtual meetings. With this in mind, it is critical for organizations to ensure that their employees are equipped with the proper tools for remote collaboration. All users should have access to their organization’s designated web conferencing platform and be able to run an efficient and effective web conference from their home offices or other remote workspaces. Additionally, leaders must ensure that their staff members, as well as their employees’ remote workspaces, appropriately represent their organization’s brand.
As volume ramps up, getting into calls on the hour can be a challenge. Most users are able to get in but they may have to call a few times to overcome network congestion. Advise your team to dial in a few minutes early so that meetings can start promptly or schedule your calls on the quarter hour instead of the hour.
Below you will find ARG’s user guide for testing web conferencing proficiency. It is designed to be performed virtually from employees’ remote offices.
Complete the following web conference exercises with a partner. Prompt your partner with the action items listed below and provide feedback on your partner’s proficiency and the quality of each step. You should then switch with your partner and have them guide you through the same process.
- Ask your partner to invite you to a virtual meeting using your organization’s preferred web conferencing platform (via email).
- Confirm your partner’s audio is connected and note the sound quality (latency, choppiness, clarity, etc.).
- Confirm your partner’s video is turned on and note the picture quality (delays, fuzziness, etc.)
- Review the following “surrounding tips” to ensure your partner is visually representing both themselves and the organization in an appropriate manner. Note any discrepancies in your partner’s presence and room presentation.
- Attire – Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you can be in sweats and a baseball cap. Please dress the part and ensure you are dressed as if you are meeting in person.
- Lighting – Lighting is very important. The brighter the room the better you look on video. This may require bringing in a desk light or additional lamps. Test and adjust the placement to maximize the light. The light should be in front of you lighting up your face, not behind you. Windows in the background shadow your face so close any blinds and minimize any background light.
- Backdrop – What you have behind you matters. Please ensure that you have something in the background that looks appropriate. A picture, plant, or company logo is ideal, while boxes or hanging clothes are not.
- Ask your partner to share their screen (have them flip through a presentation, scroll through a document, perform a web search, etc.)
- Ask your partner to “pass” you the ability to share your screen and note their ability to do so.
If your organization operates in Desktop as a Service (DaaS) or a virtual desktop, complete this process on your local device (outside of DaaS) and then repeat it in your virtual desktop environment.
We will continue to gather and share best practices from our 4,000 clients. You can share your challenges and successes with us at continuity@myarg.com. If you have any questions or concerns regarding remote work enablement, please email us at info@myarg.com or call our client hotline at 703-770-2400.