You Really Can Do a Big ‘Off-Site’ on Zoom … Here’s How

Earlier this month I helped a client have an “off-site” virtually. Since COVID restricted the international team’s ability to travel to a single location, it presented an interesting lab to experiment with such a meeting. The organization is a new and rapidly growing professional services group, with about 55 people, all of whom took part. We did some things right; we learned some along the way. Here are the core lessons:

Don’t lower the bar. Meetings like this typically have three main goals: making sure we see reality and challenges the same way; aligning on strategy, goals, and execution plans; and renewing trust and relationships. With the pandemic, those needs were only dialed up, so softening our goals (because we couldn’t meet in person) was off the table. We aimed high and figured out the “how” later.

Challenge old practices. When planning this retreat, we often asked, why would we do it that way? Why did we ever do it that way? Seeing it as “a meeting we need to do online” was just the wrong mindset.

Rethink time. The classic “off-site,” especially when people fly in, involves multiple days packed full. However good these meetings may be, they are tiring and have big opportunity cost. Freed of that, we did three-hour sessions for three days, and including lengthy break-out sessions.

Make a deal. We pitched this to the group: you didn’t have to get on a plane and the actual meeting time will be much less. So please do the pre-work and give us your full attention when we are together.

Name it right. We called our event a “gathering.” “Off-site” was obviously silly and “retreat” has always had a connotation of military failure. We wanted a word that felt human and different from the usual.

Develop new leadership roles. A single human facilitator will scramble their brain trying to guide the conversation while also monitoring chat and participant “reactions” (like hand-raising), distributing documents, and more. We had up to three people sharing these duties.

Test under game conditions. We used a whiteboard technology, which we tested in advance with about six people. In the actual meeting, it wouldn’t handle 55; imagine our surprise.

Expect resistance to tools. Per the prior point, we were excited to try the whiteboarding platform. Not everyone felt the way. There are benefits to these tools, but the fact is familiar tools like Google docs can provide the same core functionality. Be confident the benefits of new tools justify the adoption costs.

Plan for confusion. Much about the technology or exercises seemed to us perfectly clear, but we still met confusion. Unlike in a room, you can’t easily read their puzzled expressions. Make everything ultra-ultra-simple and still assume part of the group is thinking: huh??!!

Embrace Zoom. Although the client uses Microsoft Teams, we used Zoom for the meeting. It has some helpful functions: break-out rooms, chat function, hand raising, meeting/chat recording, polling, document distribution in chat, and more. Some love to hate Zoom, but it worked for us.

Fear not big-group discussions. I’ve had Zoom cocktail hours with eight people that didn’t work. I was worried about a Zoom discussion with 55. I’ll be doggoned, it was fine. Often the conversation flowed organically. When needed, the “raise hand” function helped keep order.

Suggest multiple monitors. Trying to swap between Zoom and multiple documents saps focus. Where people can get a second monitor, do it! Remember all that money saved by not doing an in-person meeting? It has to go somewhere!

Chat it up. Zoom’s chat function proved useful for keeping the conversation flowing between people without interrupting presentations or the broader discussion. It was an energizing and fun yet not distracting way to hear more voices. There’s no analog in an in-person meeting.

Enjoy the magic. Some things worked so much better this way. The prep was hard, but the meeting went great and there were things to love about this format. And when it was over, there was no long trip home.

Wear the right shoes. Kidding. We did a poll and asked what people had on their feet. Half the group answered: “I’m barefoot.”

Forget that the event ever was or could have been in person. Look forward, see possibility, and have fun with you can do.

(This article was previously published on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-can-do-big-off-site-zoom-heres-how-jonathan-becker/)