The COVID-19 crisis has caused many companies to shift gears completely to work from home, and Engagement Multiplier is no different. Since mid-March, we’ve been devoting all of our time, energy, and resources to helping business owners weather this storm.

As we’ve done so, we realized that something we do every day here at Engagement Multiplier to keep ourselves connected, aligned, and energized works so well now that we’re all working as a virtual team that we decided to share it: our best practices for running epic virtual team meetings while working remotely.

“Epic” may seem like an overstatement, but bear with us: it’s a handy shorthand for describing the core tenets of our meetings: Energy, Purpose, Insights, and Connection.

EPIC Meetings™

Whether we’re in a room together or on a Zoom together, our EPIC Meeting™ structure brings us together, provides all with a landscape view of the business and what’s in flight, and generates innumerable proactive next steps. As participants, here’s why it works:

  • We know what’s going on, and who’s doing what. No one is “out of the loop.”
  • We’re efficient. Team members recognize when next steps are needed, or if they need more information about something.  Either way, they quickly agree to follow up off-line, keeping the meeting purposeful and focused, while at the same time, ensuring they’re armed with the information they need to progress their work forward.
  • The ability to quickly clear hurdles, get to decisions and get work done means this team is extremely productive.

Here’s how EPIC Meetings work, and how to make them work for your virtual teams.

  • Energy: We start each meeting by asking everyone to share something they’re feeling great about at that moment – whether or not it’s work-related.  This simple act takes just a few minutes, gets everyone talking, and starts us off on a high-energy note.
  • Purpose: Our meetings have agendas, but with a twist. In addition to the purpose and objectives, the agenda also states what needs to be true at the end of the meeting. This focuses the group clearly on getting to that solution, and it’s where we pick up some real efficiency.
  • Insight: A good exchange can unleash a torrent of ideas and information. Near the end of the meeting, we ask each person to highlight a unique insight or learning they gained from the meeting.  This lets us capture – at the moment – thoughts as they’re crystallizing, and opens everyone to different points of view.
  • Connection: Start running EPIC Meetings, and you’ll see connections build: between your people to each other, and to the business purpose.  The result: business captures more value and builds a stronger, more agile culture.

Try it yourself with your teams. Make using the EPIC meeting structure a habit – especially now, while we’re contending with quarantine and continued business upheaval.

DOWNLOAD GUIDE: The EPIC Meeting Framework & Tips for Virtual Teams