Virtual meetings are here to stay
After many months of meetings over Zoom, 58% think they will have about the same amount or more virtual meetings 6 months from now. Knowing that the digital meeting experience isn’t ending anytime soon, it’s all that more important to optimize the experience for attendees and those running the meetings alike. In fact, for 70% of workers, gathering input from meeting attendees sounds like it would make meetings better where they work and yet only 54% of workers say they’ve ever been asked for feedback about meetings they regularly attend.
- 32% of people find themselves thinking, “this meeting could have been an email” all or most of the time.
- 65% think the onus is on both the attendees and the person leading the meeting to make sure the meeting is productive
- Only 56% come away from meetings with clear action items all or most of the time
Biggest issues with virtual meetings compared to in-person meetings are mainly centered around relatable issues and translate across industries.
- Technology issues (e.g. internet connectivity issues), (41% overall)
- Getting all attendees sorted on how best to use the technology (e.g. how to mute, use the camera), (31% overall) and,
- Virtual meeting etiquette (e.g. Attendees not focused/multi-tasking) or lack of engagement (27%)
The Key to Better Meetings
More than half of workers say their meetings could be improved with two simple fixes: “having an agenda” (54%) and “keeping meetings short” (53%).
- At big companies, meeting length is a particular pain point: 63% of workers at companies with 5,000 or more workers point to “keeping meetings short” as a way to improve meeting quality.
- Workers at smaller organizations are more likely to favor a more interactive meeting experience: 37% of workers at organizations with fewer than 50 employees say “making the experience more interactive” would improve meetings, compared with 30% among those at companies with 5000 or more people.
- By job level, execs are more likely to want meetings to be interactive (36%) and ensure everyone has time to share (28%) compared to more junior roles (32% and 16%, respectively).
Fully 67% of workers find that it would be extremely or very useful to gather feedback from employees to help shape what meetings should be like in a post-COVID world.
- Recognition of the power of gathering feedback translates across all levels of the organization: 70% among entry level and middle managers and 69% among execs find it useful.
- Younger people are more likely to find feedback extremely useful before meetings.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
On average, how much of your day is spent in meetings?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,485 3,932 4,419 All day 2%2%2%Most of your day 5%5%4%About half of your day 10%10%10%Less than half of your day 23%25%21%Hardly any time each day 58%56%59%No answer 3%3%4%Question wording: On average, how much of your day is spent in meetings?Survey dates: –Which of the following types of meetings or appointments have you attended virtually in the past year? (Select all that apply.)
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,485 3,932 4,419 Doctor visit 44%38%50%Work meeting 42%45%40%Class or other school meeting 30%25%35%Financial or banking appointment 12%14%11%Technical support 18%20%16%None of the above 20%23%18%No answer 2%2%2%Question wording: Which of the following types of meetings or appointments have you attended virtually in the past year? (Select all that apply.)Survey dates: –In general, how do video visits with your doctor(s) compare to the in-person experience? Video visits are...
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 4,027 1,697 2,274 Better than in-person visits 15%14%15%Worse than in-person visits 41%42%39%About the same 42%40%43%No answer 2%3%2%Question wording: In general, how do video visits with your doctor(s) compare to the in-person experience? Video visits are...Survey dates: –Which of the following are advantages of video visits with your doctor? (Select all that apply)
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 4,027 1,697 2,274 No commute time 61%60%61%Little to no wait time to be seen 51%47%53%Reduced exposure to other patients’ illnesses 55%48%60%More quality time spent with your doctor 17%14%19%Provide feedback in real time 20%20%20%None of the above 11%13%10%No answer 2%3%2%Question wording: Which of the following are advantages of video visits with your doctor? (Select all that apply)Survey dates: –Which of the following best describes the problems you face with virtual meetings as compared to in-person meetings? (Select all that apply)
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,485 3,932 4,419 Technical issues (e.g. internet connectivity problems) 41%40%42%Attendees struggling to get the technology right (e.g. muting, using the camera) 31%30%33%Attendees not focused/multi-tasking 27%28%27%Lack of engagement from attendees 27%30%25%Harder to speak up 20%18%21%Too much screen time 19%17%21%Having to look at yourself 15%11%19%No real decisions get made 13%14%12%Other (please specify) 11%12%10%No answer 9%9%10%Question wording: Which of the following best describes the problems you face with virtual meetings as compared to in-person meetings? (Select all that apply)Survey dates: –Which of the following best describes you?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,485 3,932 4,419 Employed – working full time 51%57%44%Employed – working part time 12%9%14%Not employed – student 7%7%6%Not employed – retired 16%15%18%Not employed – looking for paid work 7%7%8%Not employed – not looking for paid work 5%2%7%No answer 3%3%2%Question wording: Which of the following best describes you?Survey dates: –Who do you meet with the most for work?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,522 1,732 1,730 Internal peers/colleagues 56%57%55%External customers or partners 12%13%11%Both equally 30%29%32%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: Who do you meet with the most for work?Survey dates: –Whose responsibility is it to make meetings productive?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,522 1,732 1,730 The person leading the meeting 30%31%28%The attendees 4%4%3%Both 65%63%68%No answer 1%1%1%Question wording: Whose responsibility is it to make meetings productive?Survey dates: –How often do you come away from meetings with clear action items?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,522 1,732 1,730 All the time 12%10%14%Most of the time 44%45%42%Some of the time 33%34%33%Rarely 8%8%8%Never 2%2%1%No answer 1%1%2%Question wording: How often do you come away from meetings with clear action items?Survey dates: –Do you think gathering input from meeting attendees in advance would make meetings better, worse, or have no impact?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,522 1,732 1,730 Better 70%70%70%Worse 2%3%1%No impact 26%26%27%No answer 2%2%2%Question wording: Do you think gathering input from meeting attendees in advance would make meetings better, worse, or have no impact?Survey dates: –Have you ever been asked for feedback about meetings you regularly attend?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,522 1,732 1,730 Yes 54%53%55%No 44%45%43%No answer 2%2%2%Question wording: Have you ever been asked for feedback about meetings you regularly attend?Survey dates: –How do you feel in anticipation of most of your work meetings today?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,522 1,732 1,730 Mostly look forward to work meetings 27%27%26%Mostly dread work meetings 17%16%16%Mostly feel neutral; neither look forward to nor dread meetings. 55%55%55%No answer 2%1%3%Question wording: How do you feel in anticipation of most of your work meetings today?Survey dates: –Thinking ahead 6 months from now, do you think you will have more, less, or about the same amount of work meetings virtually?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,522 1,732 1,730 More virtual meetings 13%14%13%Less virtual meetings 40%40%40%About the same 44%43%46%No answer 2%3%2%Question wording: Thinking ahead 6 months from now, do you think you will have more, less, or about the same amount of work meetings virtually?Survey dates: –Thinking specifically about a return to working in-person, how useful is it to gather feedback from employees to help shape what meetings should be like?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,522 1,732 1,730 Extremely useful 30%27%33%Very useful 37%37%37%Somewhat useful 23%26%20%Not too useful 3%3%3%Not at all useful 3%4%2%No answer 3%3%3%Question wording: Thinking specifically about a return to working in-person, how useful is it to gather feedback from employees to help shape what meetings should be like?Survey dates: –How often do you find yourself thinking, “This meeting could have been an email”?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,522 1,732 1,730 All the time 12%12%11%Most of the time 20%20%20%Some of the time 42%43%41%Rarely 17%17%18%Never 6%5%7%No answer 3%3%2%Question wording: How often do you find yourself thinking, “This meeting could have been an email”?Survey dates: –Which of the following things do you think would make your work meetings better? (Select all that apply)
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 1,560 766 771 Having an agenda 54%55%53%Keeping meetings short 53%54%53%Making the experience more interactive 30%30%31%Collecting real-time feedback to adapt the meeting as needed 25%26%25%More structured Q&A 24%23%24%Ensuring everyone has time to share 22%18%27%Automated follow-up/next steps 21%20%22%Having a guest speaker 10%8%12%None of the above 6%6%7%Other (please specify) 3%3%4%No answer 4%4%3%Question wording: Which of the following things do you think would make your work meetings better? (Select all that apply)Survey dates: –
