Where are you working from today? Some of you may work in a traditional office environment where employees gather in one building for the work day, while others work from home, use flex time, and engage with coworkers via long distance conference calls and emails. Although there are many convenience benefits to collaborating with coworkers through technology, there is something to be said for live interaction.
4 Key Benefits of Hosting Face to Face Meetings:
Face to Face Meetings Build Relationships
There needs to be a live human connection for relationships to be built. Hearing voices and intonation, and seeing facial expressions and hand gestures, gives you insight into the personalities of your coworkers. There is truth to the expression “you had to be there,” as it is very difficult to portray a sense of humor unless you are in the room. In a face to face meeting you see firsthand the character of your colleagues, and that is how relationship building begins.
Face to Face Meetings Help Establish Trust
Once you get to know a colleague on a personal level there is an increased level of trust. The ability to look someone in the eye makes a conversation more meaningful and believable than a written email or even a face-time screen. Remember the commercial where Dad and the children are in the kitchen face-timing Mom who is on a business trip, and everything looks storybook perfect from Mom’s screen…and then they show the full view of the kitchen with spaghetti sauce splashed all over the walls? You know you don’t see the whole picture when you can’t see your coworker in context, which can only happen in a face to face meeting.
Face to Face Meetings Help With Teamwork
Once you are in a face to face meeting, you begin to see how you fit in with others as a member of the team. Team members can see how the tasks they perform affect other teammates. You begin to see the value of your role and appreciate the roles of others. This creates a feeling of value and respect among contributing team members. A face to face meeting can put the pieces of the teamwork puzzle together.
Face to Face Meetings Can Also Be Fun
Don’t overlook the fun factor! You spend such a large portion of your life working, so work needs to be fun and rewarding. Though face to face meetings primarily revolve around accomplishing work-related tasks, there is usually a meal or a fun social activity planned into the meeting time. When you have fun with your colleagues it adds balance to the workday, and you may even be inspired to be more dedicated to your job.
There are many benefits to face to face meetings. When you attend face to face meetings and establish relationships with your colleagues, tasks requiring brainstorming, collaboration and teamwork go much more smoothly and are more productive. The workforce is stronger as a united front. So when teamwork is required, it is worth the trip to schedule a face to face meeting.
