Here Are Google’s Best Tips and Tricks for Efficient Conference Calls

You’ve got coworkers scattered across the country/globe/universe. And that means one thing: lots of conference calls. Technology makes it easy to do business and show support for your coworkers, but dialing in is just the first step of getting connected. Thankfully, the People Innovation Lab at Google wrote on the company blog about three things employees can do to create a better virtual work culture. 

If you and your coworkers are in different office locations, then you don’t get to have casual conversations at the kombucha tap, but those small interactions are important for team building. So join the call early to chat with everyone, or kick off the meeting with an open-ended question. A simple “How was your weekend?” goes a long way.

Finding a meeting time that works for everyone’s schedules is tough enough as it is. Accommodating for different time zones can make things even trickier, but try hard to find a sweet spot that won’t inconvenience anyone too much. If that’s not possible, be sure to change up the meeting time every week or month. That way the same people won’t have to wake up early—or burn the midnight oil—every time.

Keeping yourself on mute when you’re not speaking is great for minimizing background noise, but if you stay too silent, your coworkers can’t hear if you’re engaged and actually listening. Be sure to chime in to validate other people’s ideas, to agree (or disagree) with a point and so on. Toby in the L.A. office will thank you.

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