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Workplace Survey
A New Protocol for Online Meetings
November 10 ,2021
Online meetings are a means of communication that is characterized by the sharing of visual and aural information among multiple people who are in remote locations, unlike telephone calls, which rely exclusively on audio information. Let us examine how people are participating in and making use of online meetings.
In-Person Vs. Online: How Different Do Meetings Feel?
We asked 500 workers how strongly they felt a sense of unity with colleagues, concentration, etc. during in-person and online meetings, respectively. The results show that people feel such emotions more during in–person meetings, across the board (Fig. 1). It seems that a wide range of emotions are harder to convey in online meetings than in person. The results are not about online meetings being good or bad, but rather that we are perhaps not yet able to use such convenient tools to our advantage.
Ideas for Online Meetings
Online meetings are less communicative compared to inperson meetings. Then what are some of the things people do in order to overcome such obstacles? For example, we start telephone calls by saying “moshi-moshi (hello),” which we don’t use in daily conversation. In the same vein, people come up with ideas and change how we speak, in an effort to facilitate communication during online meetings.
In the above-mentioned joint research between Okamura and Tohoku University, we listed 20 ideas (6 visual ideas, 7 aural ideas, and 7 ideas for communication) that were used during online meetings, and investigated how much people were mindful of them (Fig. 2). From the results, we found that each person paid attention to around 9 aspects on average while participating. We can see that people make efforts in many ways when participating in an online meeting. On the other hand, we found that around 15% of people did not make any special effort when participating in online meetings.
Now, on the next page, we will take a closer look at the aspects that more than half of the respondents said they paid special attention to, from the 20 ideas shown in Fig. 2.
Aspects that the Majority Pays Special Attention To
The only visual idea employed was sharing materials onscreen. Next, aural aspects that respondents paid attention to were the volume, speed and manner of one’s speech, and avoiding muttering to oneself. People paid the most attention to communicational aspects, such as calling the other party by name, offering explanations tailored to the other party, confirming the other party’s intentions, prompting the other party for remarks, and choosing when to speak.
Does the Camera Make a Difference during Video Calls?
Ideas regarding visual presentation can only be carried out with the help of the camera. If so, does turning the camera on or off during online meetings make a difference in communicating?
First of all, when asked about the state of the camera in online meetings, the most common answer was that it was turned on both for therespondent and the other party when necessary (Fig. 4). The second most common answer, at 20%, was that the camera remained off for both parties, and 15% of respondents answered that it remained on for both parties. From this result, we may surmise that people prefer to keep the camera in the same state for bothparties.
If so, does the psychological state of the person attending the meeting change, depending on whether the camera is turned on or off (Fig. 5)? First, looking at the level of concentration people feel, we can see that the people who keep their cameras on concentrate best during the meeting. On the other hand, less than 30% of people who kept their cameras off said they could concentrate.
Verifying the Effect the Camera Has When It is Turned On
Similarly, when we asked respondents about the sense of unity they felt with colleagues participating in the meeting, we found that people who kept their cameras on were able to participate more with a sense of unity (Fig. 6). This may mean that facial expressions and gestures make it easier to grasp how other people think and to convey emotions.
In addition, we found that the meeting was more productive and people felt more responsible about attending the meeting when the camera was turned on (Fig. 7). Considering these three aspects, online meetings should always be conducted with the camera on, in order to be productive. However, in reality, some people may only be able to listen in while on the move, and we cannot force others to turn their camera on. It might be a good idea to educate people on the effectiveness the camera has when it is turned on, and decide when all parties are convinced.
Some companies and departments may have basic rules in place regarding the status of the camera. In any case, this means you should decide whether to turn it on or off based on what kind of information you want to convey, to whom, and to what extent.
Sense of Accomplishment vs Effort Made
So far, we have examined the ideas used for online meetings and the effects of turning the camera on or off. Next, we will look at the relationship between making an effort in online meetings and the sense of achievement.
Figure 8 shows in bar form the percentage of people who make a conscious effort, by the degree of achievement sensed in the meeting. Of those who strongly feel a sense of accomplishment in the meeting, the percentage of those who consciously make an effort approach 80%, which is very high.
On the other hand, only about 40% of the respondents who answered that they don’t feel that much of a sense of accomplishment, and about 10% of those who answered they don’t feel any sense of accomplishment at all, made a conscious effort. We may conclude that people who consciously make an effort to communicate are more likely to feel a sense of accomplishment in the meeting, and those who feel a sense of accomplishment in the meeting actively make an effort.
This tendency was also observed in the emotions shown in Figure 1, such as a sense of unity, other than the sense of accomplishment. It seems that by taking the trouble to improve communication, it is possible to make up for some of the aspects that tend to suffer online.
The results of this survey show that many people actively make an effort when attending online meetings, and such efforts succeed in overcoming some of the disadvantages.
Lastly, let's take a look at the extent to which companies encourage online meetings, and the extent to which people have become accustomed to them, in the age of COVID-19.
Online Meetings, a Symbol of the COVID Era
Approximately 80% of companies encourage conducting meetings online, due to COVID-19. In addition, after more than a year following a dramatic rise in online meetings, many respondents say they have become accustomed to them (Figs. 9 and 10). This is a symbolic change, compared to the time before COVID-19.
However, even though we are now used to them, few of us seem to have reached the stage where one is capable of taking full advantage of such a novel communication tool. In the future, it will be necessary to accumulate experience and know-how that plays up the advantages while avoiding the disadvantages of online meetings.
Summary of Online Meetings
From the survey, we found that online meetings have become commonplace, and that people who use the medium try to communicate with one other by making various efforts. If so, then how can the office environment support them? As a way to create an environment conducive to online meetings, it may be necessary to ready facilities such as booths, private rooms, and studios for webinars, while also adjusting the lighting and noise from air conditioning units.
This article was reprinted from the KNOWLEDGE WORK DESIGN REVIEW by Okamura.
Research: Kouichi Ikeda（Okamura）
Edit: Ayano Yoshida
Illustration & Infographic: Shinji Hamana, Hana Fujii（Beach）
Illustration (Top Banner): Toshinori Yonemura
Production: Plus81 inc.
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