The Truth About Meetings When You Have a Remote Workforce

At the end of 2022, I sent a questionnaire out to my remote workforce. These annual surveys offer an opportunity for everyone to provide anonymous, honest feedback. The answers I got back shocked me. 

No, they didn’t say I was the “boss from hell,” nor was anyone complaining about their actual job. But my ego was bruised, nonetheless. They wanted to put the kibosh on our weekly team meetings. Not only that, but they no longer wanted to participate in our monthly “Friday Fundays” where we dressed up in silly costumes and Zoom hung out together.  

My first gut reaction was “ouch.” I felt a bit stunned. Personally, I loved these opportunities to see everyone together. I thought I was fostering a sense of global camaraderie—17 countries wide! Apparently, the team didn’t feel the same. 

Meetings When You’re A Startup

When Ginni Media was just getting our feet wet back in December 2017, we were a small remote team of 3 people. The birth of a startup requires constant, regular communication to make sure we’re all keeping the boat moving in the same direction. We were slacking and emailing each other all day long, so team meetings would have been superfluous. 

Fast forward to the 1.5-year mark and our team of freelancers was growing. It felt like the natural next step was to start having weekly team meetings. I didn’t want these meetings to be all about business, so we did a reverse-mullet version: start with a few jokes, move into a shared gratitude practice, then business housekeeping. When we grew a bit more, I added the optional monthly Friday Funday to help my global team get to know each other better. 

Then came the anonymous survey feedback. Instead of weekly meetings and gratitude sharing, they wanted podcast-project-based meetings. Monthly department meetings, trainings, and workshops all survived the amputation. But Friday Fundays were out. And just like that, an entire year of creative costume themes was chucked into a bonfire of the workplace vanities. 

It was time for a change. Ginni Media is made up of 100% freelancers with an average tenure of 2.5 years. Their feedback holds a unique weight because our responsibilities to each other are reciprocal rather than hierarchical.

It all came down to this: In a remote team setting, how do you determine when meetings are necessary? I started jotting down some thoughts and eventually came up with a framework to help reshape the way I look at meetings.

Ditch the Ego 

As a leader, it was hard for me to hear that team members didn’t want to be a part of weekly meetings. I love a gratitude practice and think it’s the best thing in the world, and I loved hearing team members share what they’re grateful for.  It was clear that they did not. So, I had to let go of my ego and embraced humility. 

The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?

Values Evolve Over Time

There’s been a huge shift in how workers value their time since remote work became normalized in 2020. Whether you hire freelancers or employees, it’s important to remember that people have personal lives happening just on the flip side of that home office door. 

One study from the University of Texas determined that meetings have become more frequent for remote workers since 2020. A 59% uptick in meetings per employee in 2022 comes to an average of 5 to 8 meetings per week. And, because freelancers aren’t monogamous, you can bet they’re experiencing that overload throughout their client base. 

Purpose-Driven Meetings

Having meetings to encourage team members to subscribe to company culture can seem forced, even if they’re optional. And while I still want to focus on building culture, connection and relationships, I know that meetings are not the only way to build teams. Focusing on smaller meetings with team members on a project basis makes these interactions feel more purposeful. 

Time Is Money

A lot of freelancers and contractors work hourly, making their ability to manage their time paramount. This can be applied to employees as well. Since their work is task-based, rather than counting the minutes from 9-5, any meeting is going to potentially interrupt their focus. If I have a list of more than five items that need to be covered, or I’m seeking their expertise and feedback about a project, then a meeting is warranted. I’ll send out a quick “what time and day works best for you” multiple-choice question and then schedule it. Otherwise, a simple Slack message to the team will suffice. 

Also, 1-hour meetings where one person talks at you the whole time with directions? Hell no. There is another way of working.

Same Company Culture, Fewer Meetings 

It’s still important that my team understands our company culture. But rather than trying to communicate it through weekly meetings (for a global team of remote freelancers living in wildly different time zones!), I’m reinforcing it in other ways. 

Birthday messages and shout-outs are simple ways to let people know I care. Impromptu calls when someone seems stressed out or in the weeds. Offering honest advice and empathetic feedback when it’s asked for or needed. I make sure to be fully present with my team for every call, Slack, email and Zoom meeting.

What I’ve noticed is that without weekly meetings (even though I’d bring them back in a second if people wanted them!), it now feels extra good to get those spontaneous messages in our #random Slack channel: birth announcements, cute kid/pet pics, hilarious memes, a heads up about a must-listen album. People willingly share podcast recommendations, vacation photos and videos of their city celebrating a World Cup win. 

So, are you ready for my hard-learned advice? Authentic company culture doesn’t require meetings to thrive. In this new remote workforce frontier, time has become just as valuable as currency.