In a year that saw an avalanche of virtual meetings, human resource executives may very well win the award for the group who has participated in the most. Every social, political and organizational issue that we’ve been confronted with this year has impacted HR leaders on multiple levels. This frequency of participation can numb HR leaders to the potential adverse impact these meetings have on them and their teams.
Below are five considerations for increasing their ability to listen and connect with their employees during virtual meetings:
- Be respectful of your audiences’ time.
Oddly enough, the less we see each other, the more we need to respect each other’s time. When people feel encroached upon, they become uneasy. This uneasiness often impacts their attitude, behavior and communication. Meetings were successful prior to the pandemic when they started and ended on time, didn’t last longer than necessary, only included the required attendees, stayed on topic and moved the situation forward. Since the pandemic the definition of successful virtual meetings has expanded to include the facts that they couldn’t have been replaced with an email or phone call, weren’t scheduled immediately after or before another meeting and aren’t in place because leadership struggles to trust employees working from home. HR managers can reduce many of their misinterpreted communication challenges by respecting their audiences time and responsibly running meetings.
- Invest the time to verify the information you need.
HR executives often find themselves wondering how much of what they are hearing is the truth. Once their internal monologue shifts in this direction they hear much less of what their counterpart says, distrust creeps in and they begin making assumptions that will drive their decisions. The best way to avoid this cycle is to gather as much supporting information as possible prior to the meeting, and confirm as much information as possible after the meeting. Investigators refer to this process as finding ground truth. Once HR managers have verified as much of their ground truth as possible they can focus on listening, make fact based decisions and feel more comfortable with the outcome of their virtual meetings.
- Provide clear instructions.
Confusion is the perfect kindling for emotional swings and behavior shifts. Instructions are almost always clearer in leaders’ minds than in their audiences’ minds. When people are confused they often act in ways that may be interpreted as deceptive or ill prepared. They may pause, mumble a few “ums” and “errs”, repeat the question or provide vague responses. Or worse, they feign understanding and walk away hoping they can figure it out. One of the best ways for HR executives to improve their listening skills, especially during virtual meetings, is to ensure their audiences know exactly what they are looking for. Clear instructions drastically reduce both miscommunications and misinterpreted observations.
- Don’t take observed statements and behaviors personally.
The single greatest barrier to listening may be when listeners get lost in their emotional internal monologue because they take what they observe personally. It is very difficult to know what someone is experiencing during a virtual meeting. It is nearly impossible to know all of the life stresses they are dealing with, distractions they are confronted with during the call or how they are interpreting the messages you are sharing on the call. With so many variables in play it is critical that HR executives don’t take any observed behaviors personally and don’t confront perceived offenders in front of the group. Unless the perceived offender has made clear statements or demonstrated incontrovertible behaviors that cross a clear line, the most effective response is often to ignore the potential transgression and follow up one-on-one at a later time for clarity.
- Encourage detailed responses with open questions and follow up questions.
HR executives can inadvertently put people on the defensive just by virtue of their titles. This becomes a larger issue when we consider that questions can be perceived as invitations or attacks. When HR executives are focused on resolving an issue it may be easy for them to ask questions that start with “Did you…”, “Why didn’t you…”, or “Have you…”. These questions can easily be interpreted as attacks. HR executives will be more effective obtaining information when they ask questions that start with “Please walk me through…” or “Please take me back to…”. As an added benefit these questions typically inspire linear, detailed response. These responses make it easier for HR executives to pinpoint missing information and ask the necessary follow up questions. The information gained by asking follow up questions has two benefits for HR executives. First, it allows the extra information to help them feel comfortable with their decisions. Second, the more details they obtain from their audiences, the easier it is to hold them accountable.
The consensus view appears to be that virtual meetings are here to stay. The HR executives who accept an audience centric approach that demonstrates respect and clarity while creating an environment that limits the variables responsible for miscommunications will be far more successful applying their observations to drive performance and morale.
