How face-to-face meetings can benefit your team

Using communication as a tool

Whilst any form of communication during these isolated times is comforting, communication can also be a valuable tool for your business. According to a Harvard Business Review article by founder of Hartwell Pacific, Stephen Greer, face to face meetings were “the most important tool” at his team’s disposal. Having a team that operated over six different cities, the monthly meetings were an excellent way to touch base with co-workers and were so successful that they could eventually be decreased to quarterly meetings. Though Stephen’s company was a large organisation spanning many locations, there are benefits that can apply to both large businesses and SMEs. Stephen’s business saw its market share expand, cost controls tighten, safety improve, and operational efficiency peak along with its profits – all thanks to reviewing progress in face-to-face meetings.

More deliverables from in-person interaction

Ever click on an email asking you to partake in a survey? Unless you know the person well, it’s unlikely. However, if someone is asked to fill out a survey in person, they are more likely to say yes. According to this report, 34 times more likely, in fact.

A call to action is going to be much more effective if you deliver it in a meeting face to face – whether you want your team to fill out a survey, or your clients to write a testimonial for you – ask in person!

Achieving optimum performance

Reaching ‘optimum performance’ is something every business owner would like for their team – and this dissertation nails that down to regular in-person meetings. Face-to-face meetings can provide:

More successful results: It’s much harder to say no in-person, as many studies and articles demonstrate.
Better relationships: Building up trust with your teammates and clients is much trickier from behind a screen, whereas in-person interaction allows you to display your personality.
More time: Spending over an hour crafting an email that gets your point across is not the most productive use of time. Meeting face to face can allow you to work smarter, not harder.

It’s tricky to determine the purpose of an in-person meeting when so many businesses have survived the past five months by collaborating on video conferencing platforms. However, if you’re looking for more measured deliverables and a more tuned-in team, face-to-face meetings are the way to go. At the very least, you’ll get some human interaction – a rarity in our coronavirus world!