Workshops in times of social distancing – a field report

Given that our customers and partners take the RKI's recommendations just as seriously as we do, on-site appointments are not really an option right now. Accordingly, the necessary workshops have already been taking place online for some time – and we've found that this can actually work well, as long as a few simple rules are observed. More on that shortly. 

With the partners we've been working with for longer, this fortunately fell into place very quickly, since “we know each other” – you can already tell from the tone whether there's still a need to discuss a topic, whether something doesn't quite fit, or whether a topic can be considered closed. 

In workshops with participants who are not yet well known to each other, this works when there is a good conversational culture and a good atmosphere among those involved. We have already recorded a number of very successful workshops here too, and so far we have not had any negative experiences. 

It benefits us not only that we've long communicated internally online as well - due to our setup across two locations - but also our principle of establishing collaborative working with our clients and partners as a first step, and agreeing on the tools used for this, is paying off right now.

Tips from everyday life 

Workshops are demanding – for facilitators, consultants, but also for all other participants. This applies even more to online workshops, where you have to rely even more on the spoken word and tone of voice. A workshop is most efficient when the conversational atmosphere stays productive and you don't overstretch participants' attention. 

So establish an online workshop netiquette in advance: 

• Distribute a rough agenda in advance – and return to the agenda regularly, so all participants get a sense of how they're progressing. 

• Advise participants to have drinks on hand before the workshop starts – far more talking happens in online workshops than in other forms of interaction, and a sip against the "frog in the throat" helps spare the voice. 

• Participants who aren't currently speaking mute their microphone. 

• Short coordination between participants that isn't of interest to everyone is moved into the parallel chats available in most tools. 

• If a tool enables "raise hand" requests, use that option – nothing is more frustrating than several participants trying to speak at once and none of them being understood. 

• If one participant lets another go first, a moderator makes sure they can rely on being heard afterwards. 

• Ensure regular breaks. The format requires more concentration, and the increased fluid intake often needed due to speaking means nature has to take its course. Announce upcoming breaks 5–10 minutes in advance. 

• If possible, open the channel a quarter of an hour beforehand, so there's room for private exchange or other conversations beyond the workshop. 

• Make sure participants are present on time. Don't schedule workshops too tightly between other appointments. The time lost in the workshop waiting for participants or dealing with the disruption caused by latecomers arriving is usually greater than if the workshop had simply been scheduled a quarter of an hour later from the outset. 

Talk openly about which part of the work that would normally have been done in the workshop can just as well be handled afterwards using collaborative platforms. Whether with shared documents, minute comments, voting tools or the like. 

Clarify whether a workshop should be recorded so it can be made available to participants afterwards. If concentration has dropped at some point, this is a good way to revisit a topic once more. 

Preparation is key – for the moderator just as much as for participants, especially for decision-makers among them: 

• If you work with PowerPoint, include interim slides briefly capturing results visibly for everyone. 

• Ensure what you want to show is clearly visible and legible for all participants. Walls of small text quickly cause avoidable frustration, especially for participants with smaller displays. 

• Agree an agenda in advance and address it throughout the presentation so everyone knows where they stand. 

• Also keep results and important information in a record that all participants can comment on. Ideally, this should happen in parallel during the workshop itself, so as not to lose important insights and to be able to capture the wording as closely as possible, in order to rule out later misunderstandings. 

• Keep the goal of the workshop in mind. Which points need to be clarified – and which points provide additional value for the participants? – highlight these points and pursue them.  

• What are the discussion dead ends? What can only be addressed but not decided in the workshop? Where is key information missing? – note the status so you can return to it later, but make sure no time is lost on it. 

Important tools 

First of all, you naturally need an online conferencing environment. There is a wide range of offerings that are usable and sensible. We ourselves mainly use Microsoft Teams – both internally and together with our clients – but we also use a variety of other tools depending on the client situation. Important are consistently good transmission, the option for video and desktop sharing, and a convenient chat. 

Secondly, a collaboration platform is a good option, where content can be exchanged and edited together. For documentation and minutes we use Confluence for our own purposes, but of course also use our customers' and partners' tools when needed. 

Thirdly, you should also create a way to work on files together, whether based on Sharepoint, Nextcloud or other systems. This gets you to aligned results considerably faster afterwards than via cascaded document exchange by e-mail or similar. 

Fourth, you should always have a way to take quick notes during the workshop too. That could be paper and pencil, a notes app, an open Word document – doesn't matter, it just needs to be suitable for capturing information or an idea in brief.

Conclusion 

With a manageable setup, it is possible to hold successful workshops right now and make use of the available technology. Keys to success are good preparation, consideration for yourself and the other participants, and solid coordination in advance. Then nothing stands in the way of the next workshop. 

For our projects, we provide the necessary systems on request or use those already available at our clients and partners – flexibility is the most important factor for us here. Especially in consulting, we like to use our clients' infrastructure, because in our view, the information gathered and knowledge generated belongs to them. 

If you have questions about tools that suit you, would like support with procurement and implementation, or need help with scaling, setup or organisation, just get in touch with us.