If any of you feel virtual meetings are not as good as face to face, please read on.
For the past ten years, Manpower has held Global Leadership Team meetings in various places around the world. Approximately 100 top managers from the company gather at the beginning of the year to discuss strategy and tactics for the year ahead. It was always a highlight to travel to a cool place to hear from top management and to get together with colleagues.
But this recession changed our approach. Last year, for the first time, we held the meeting virtually. Many were skeptical and felt that the value of the meeting would be diminished to the point that it wouldn’t be worth the savings. Well, were we wrong!
I felt — and I know many of my colleagues felt — that last year’s meeting was the best ever… because:
- No one was jet-lagged or had, had too much to drink the night before.
- We weren’t sitting in a huge, darkened, crowded room listening to talking heads and watching powerpoint slides — trying to stay awake.
- Every voice was heard during our discussion threads.
- Accents did not get in the way of understanding — we could understand those who didn’t speak English very well and they had the opportunity to read rather than hear the very fast, idiom-filled comments from the Americans.
The consensus was we all were more engaged and learned much more than in past years. And the commitments we made were seen by all so the accountability during the past year was at an all-time high.
This year’s meeting starts today. I can’t wait!