Beware of ‘mixed-mode’ meetings

Hybrid work is seemingly here to stay. 

Earlier this week, I shared the results of a PwC survey that found many CFOs said hybrid work is not a challenge to revenue growth. And Fortune Analytics’ assessment of the consortium Future Forum’s global survey of more than 10,000 skilled office workers found a hybrid workweek is the No. 1 choice.

But what about hybrid meetings within a hybrid workforce?

“Mixed-mode meetings” is the term of preference for the authors of a report published in MIT Sloan Management Review on August 25. When Does It Make Sense to Have Mixed-Mode Meetings?, written by IMD Business School professors Robert Hooijberg and Michael Watkins, explores the drawbacks of meetings where some participants meet in person, and others participate virtually. 

“If mixed-mode meetings become the norm in intact teams (it’s not so much a problem for ad hoc meetings), then the risk of creating two tiers of participation, access, and influence rises dramatically,” the authors write based on their research. This is “problematic” as employees working virtually are already at a disadvantage because they’re not physically with the team, according to the report. In a guide for leaders, the professors noted that mixed-mode meetings should be avoided—unless the team has a foundation of trust and connection. And if mixed-mode meetings increase, there should also be more in-person meetings of the entire team in order to sustain the foundation, the report found. Virtual meetings are the new norm, but in-person meetings are ideal because they foster “deep teamwork,” the authors noted.

So, that points to why employee engagement and team building have become even more significant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees are craving deeper meaning in their work, according to an August 2 McKinsey & Company report. “Organizations can achieve a 55% improvement in employee engagement by addressing their need for work recognition through nonfinancial means,” McKinsey noted. Companies should review the “link between their purpose and how that manifests on a day-to-day basis,” the firm suggested.

But along with the engagement aspect of mixed-mode or hybrid meetings, the technical aspect should be a priority as well. Bob Frisch, founding partner, and Cary Greene, managing partner of Strategic Offsites Group, suggested in a Harvard Business Review article published in June that companies can help even the odds with a conscious focus on technology. For example, they found setting up two additional large monitors on each side of the room in addition to the main monitor helps offsite employees feel more connected.  

Hybrid meetings are “easy to do poorly and hard to do well,” Frisch and Greene noted. 

---

See you tomorrow.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

****

Quick note: Fortune is currently offering magazine subscription discounts to CFO Daily subscribers. Plug in the code CFODAILY at this link to get 50% off your annual subscription.

Big deal

Young investors are more likely to be interested in products that line up with their lifestyle preferences, according to The New State of Advice, an Accenture report released on August 24. Overall, 59% of respondents have asked for advice on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investments and socially responsible investing (SRI) from their advisor. However, 80% of Gen Zers have done so compared to 27% of baby boomers. The data is based on a survey of 1,000 investors in the U.S. and Canada. 

Going deeper

An old-fashioned phone call may help boost team morale, according to How to build a high-performing team, a new report commissioned by Front, a hub for customer communication, in partnership with Dr. Ron Friedman, a social psychologist and founder of ignite80. Some key findings: in addition to virtual meetings, teams designated as high-performing average 10 phone calls per day, while other teams reported only six phone calls. The majority of high-performing teams (77%) draft agendas and require pre-work ahead of meetings (46%). The data is based on the interviews of 1,106 U.S. office workers who operate in teams of three or more, according to the report. "Creating a high-performing workplace takes more than simply hiring the right people or building a strong workplace culture," Friedman said in a statement. "It requires creating opportunities for genuine, authentic relationships to develop."

Leaderboard

Sheel J. Patel was named CFO at Incline P&C Group, an insurance market services firm. Patel has more than 20 years of experience in financial leadership strategy. She previously served as CFO at Covariance Capital Management, and Simmons & Company. Patel was also CFO of Houston Endowment, a private foundation.

Alok Gupta was named CFO at Hyperfine Inc., a portable MRI-maker. Gupta brings more than 20 years of experience in the financial and banking industry. Prior to Hyperfine, Gupta served as the chief strategy and CFO at Halio Inc., a smart glass technology company. He was also the head of semiconductor and enterprise hardware investment banking at Mizuho Securities and in TMT investment banking at Citigroup.

Overheard

"The officials have a tiger by the tail, and for now they are not getting clawed or mauled by the tiger. But if you let go of the tail of the tiger, you're going to very likely get mauled. And that's what's going to happen."

—Jeffrey Gundlach, founder and CEO of DoubleLine Capital, on potential economic disruption when the stimulus programs end or when the evictions moratorium is lifted, as told to Yahoo Finance.