With the rise of telecommuting in business, web meetings and virtual conferences are becoming more common tools for team communication.  At Innovatively Organized, we use web meetings on a regular basis to stay in communication with one another from different locations.

While virtual meetings have the advantage of allowing teams to communicate from various locations, it’s important to remember that they are still meetings. And like any meeting, they can quickly turn unproductive if you’re not careful.  Here are some of the tips we recommend to help yours run smoothly:

Make sure you have a good microphone

Few things are worse than repeating yourself over and over (or listening to it).  A good microphone will help you reduce background noise and improve the clarity of your voice. We recommend the Snowball microphone for it’s intuitiveness and it’s ability to pick-up sounds in a variety of environments (individuals speaking vs. a group of people sitting at a conference table).

Arrive early

Think of logging into your web meeting similar to parking your car to go to an in-person meeting.  You never know what bumps you’ll come across when you’re logging in, so better to leave buffer time to ensure promptness.

Be prepared

The same rules apply to web meetings as they do with in-person meetings.  In order to stay productive, you still need an agenda, a timekeeper, and all the right people in attendance. Don’t forget to add time to your calendar to complete follow-up tasks from the meeting.

Don’t forget the “little things”

Make sure your laptop is charged, have a strong internet connection, and look presentable if you will be using a web cam!

For more help conducting business in the cloud, we offer business productivity solutions, including process improvement and project management.

You’ve probably been frustrated by these email faux pas before. Perhaps you’re guilty of a few yourself? Here are 10 email faux pas to be mindful the next time you hit send on an email:

1. Subject Line Confusion: Subject lines can be a very valuable tool—they help us decide if we should open an email now or later (or delete it all together).  When there is no subject line, an irrelevant subject line, or a ridiculously long subject line, we feel like our time is being wasted. Remember to take a look at your subject line before you send. Is it still relevant?  Sometimes the subject of your email changes from the time you start writing to the time you finish.
2. CC’ing the World: CC’ing others is important, but make sure the people you’ve included actually need to be on the thread. Also, keep in mind the difference between “To” and “CC.” By including someone in the “To” field, you are implying that an action is required. “CC” typically suggests the person has been included for informational purposes.
3. Can I Have Your Number? Have you ever tried contacting an email correspondent via phone after an email conversation, only to find they don’t have an email signature?  Make sure your signature includes all the contact information others need to reach you.
4. Email Novels: Emails shouldn’t be the next War and Peace.  The very nature of an email is to be concise.  Channel your Twitter skills and make sure you’re not sending unnecessarily long messages.
5. Email Tweets: In the same vein, don’t you despise emails that are so short they didn’t deserve becoming an email in the first place?  If you have a quick comment or question, connect through instant message rather than email.  You’ll probably get a faster response too.
6. Tpyos: Did you catch that one? You should not have to guess what a word means.  Especially with auto correct and spell check. Take a moment to glance over what you’re sending before you send it.
7. Replying to the Wrong Part of a Thread: If you haven’t checked your inbox in a while and begin opening the earliest messages first, make sure you don’t respond to outdated emails.  Turn the “conversations” feature on in your inbox so you can respond to the most recent email in the thread, rather than comment on parts of the conversation that have been resolved already.
8. “Where’s the Attachment?” How many emails have you received detailing the important attachment you must review and sign off on, only to find the attachment was not…attached.
9. Too Big Attachments: How do you feel about emails with way too many graphics in the body?  If you need to send large files, images or documents, try sending them a link via Dropbox to download the files directly.
10. Wait, What Are We Talking About? If your thread conversation starts to round a corner towards a new topic, just start a new thread with the appropriate subject line.  This helps recipients stay on track with the conversation and find the archived thread later.

How many of these pesky faus pas are you guilty of?  Share this blog post with your team to help everyone avoid these tendencies and stay on track!

By now, many of us have heard about the controversy over Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s recent ban on employees working remotely. In a company-wide memo, they explained that in order to “become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side.  That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices.  Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings.  Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.  We need to be one Yahoo, and that starts with physical being together.”

At Innovatively Organized, this has been a hot topic of discussion in our office. We are a company that values flexibility and remote working, but we also value our frequent team meetings and collaborating on-site; there are benefits and challenges to both sides of the debate. It is not a black and white issue and what works for one company, may not work for the next.

Pros of Yahoo’s ban:

• Gets employees talking more and being more collaborative
• Allows decisions to be made faster
• Stops employees from feeling isolated
• Disables any unproductive habits produced from working at home

Cons of Yahoo’s ban:

• Disrupts positive routines that employees may have working from home
• Employees will now lose time commuting to work
• More distractions can occur in the workplace with everyone working side-by-side

Other Options That Could Have Been Considered:

• Review technology options for collaborative virtual meetings
• Provide training on how to be productive when working from home

What Others Are Saying:

“If culture and innovation are important to the success of your company then working with colleagues IN an office - at least most of the time - is important. One caveat - if working from home is a benefit that can help recruit top technical talent then it makes sense to use it. Call centers and other non-innovation-based positions can actually be more productive when done from home and should be considered.” 

- Daniel Rossi, Northwest Entrepreneur Network, @NWEN_org

“Employees today need choice and control over where and how to work. Choice and control means giving workers a ‘palette of places’ – zones to play, socialize, concentrate, collaborate or create in the physical work environment in combination with some latitude in working from outside of the office, whether that’s at home or at a coworking place. We’ve seen that having options is key to a company’s productivity, creativity and wellness.” 

- Jimmy Kwan, Turnstone, @cultofkwan

“This is a reminder that we really need to stop and think hard about sweeping social changes. Working from home is an attractive option for many reasons, but there are significant cultural issues. I would share Mayer’s concern about the lost productivity, creativity, and relationship potential that results from an at-home workforce, but I don’t know what kind of science or analysis went into the decision to ban the practice outright.” 

- Jim Hessler, The Boss Show, @TheBossShow

Regardless of which side of the debate you fall on, or what your work environment is, our primary goal is for you to work productively. Here are a few productivity resources for people who telecommute or work in a traditional office.

Telecommuting Productivity Resources:

Mobile Professionals Checklist, Going As Paperless as Possible, A Time Management Tip You Can Implement Today

Traditional Office Environment Productivity Resources:

10 Personality Quirks That Make Your Office Unproductive, Time Management Advice for Bosses, Avoiding Distractions

What are you thoughts on the work-from-home debate? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Did you know perfectionism is actually a form of procrastination?

When the deadline has been met or the job completed, instead of moving onto the next project, perfectionists tend to drag things out until every detail is perfect (you know who you are). Striving towards perfection is admirable, but being a perfectionist can sometimes be an obstacle when you’re trying to move forward on a project.

Here are some secrets from a “recovering perfectionist”:

1. Use a timer: When you really need to focus, set a timer for every 15 minutes to remind you that time is passing.  This encourages you to just “get it done” rather than worry about minute details.
2. Remember things don’t have to be perfect: Sometimes you just have to make it work, especially when collaborating with others who are waiting on you. If you’re a visual person, write a note to yourself that reminds you to just get it done.
3. Set deadlines and tell someone about them: Since perfectionism is a form of procrastination, it’s important to set a deadline.  Then inform a colleague of your deadline so they can hold you accountable.
4. Get up from your desk and do something else: Sometimes you just need a break to clear your head.  Go for a walk, get some water, or complete a task that requires less concentration.
5. Resist the urge to keep everything: It may seem unrelated, but if you’re the person who everyone comes to for information (and perfectionists often are “that person”), it’s hard to get rid of things.  But the reality is that you don’t need to keep everything.

Are you a perfectionist? What are some tips you have for perfectionists?