In far too many offices, the typical hybrid set-up involves only one laptop, perched at the end of the roomies’ table, with its screen showing the video feeds of those remote participants who have their cameras turned on. The laptop webcam shows a “bowling alley view” of the roomies to the Zoomies, and its microphone and speakers provide the only in-the-room audio facilities. That never works. The remote participants can’t hear or see what is going on, they can’t get a word in, and it ends up being horrible - and exhausting - for them.

When you fix the technical infrastructure, you’ll fix <em>some</em> of the issues with horrible hybrid meetings. But you won’t fix all of them, because fixing the hybrid meeting isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s also - perhaps primarily - about people and how they interact.

<li>“informal” discussions and associated relationship-building</li> <li>food, drink, movement and other physical needs</li> <li>the timing and structure of discussions and decision-making</li>

Share responsibility for making sure everyone’s included in the conversation, for example by having two facilitators

Be explicit about the behaviours you’d like to see across the group, for example asking people to wave if they think you haven’t noticed that someone wants to speak. Pairing roomies and Zoomies as “buddies” can work well

Ensure everyone speaks within the first five minutes of the meeting, for example in a quick warm-up activity

Keep any presentations under ten minutes - and ensure the presenter can always see their audience

Explicitly favour the remote participants, for example by asking one of them to speak first on any topic, or by checking for further remote comments before changing topics

If you lead a regular hybrid meeting, alternate between leading it as a roomie and as a Zooomie