Research shows that video fatigue stems from numerous factors including difficulty making eye contact, a maximum concentration span of 30 to 40 minutes, and increased stress after 2+ hours of screen time. Yet virtual meetings are here to stay, regardless of some businesses returning to physical work spaces. To minimize “Zoom Fatigue” and increase productivity of virtual meetings, three management consultants at Innosight, borrowing from behavior change literature, suggest using behavior enablers, artifacts, and nudges (BEANs). “Behavior enablers directly help people follow desired behaviors (think checklists). Artifacts and nudges act as powerful indirect reinforcements (consider visual reminders or gamification).”
The process of building a BEAN involves three steps:
Step One
Be clear about the specific behavior you are trying to encourage by completing the statement “It would be great if we…” For example, one team wished that members would all be mentally present during virtual meetings, enabling vibrant discussions and creative problem solving.
Step Two
Identify “behavioral blockers,” or the things you are doing instead of following your desired behavior. The prompt here is “But instead we…” The virtual meeting group talked about how it felt collective minds wandering as meetings droned on, with people getting distracted by emails, turning to other activities, or simply tuning out.
Step Three
Build a BEAN that helps to encourage the desired behavior and overcome the identified blocker. The virtual meeting team suggested the idea of appointing a Zoom jester. As the “fool” in the room, they could speak truth, saying tough things that would be hard for others to articulate due to fear of reprisal. Similarly, the Zoom jester would have the authority to tell people when they are monopolizing conversations or meandering.
Outlining a desired behaviour, inhibitors to said behaviour and solution will shed light on barriers to productivity in virtual environments and hold teams accountable to breaking the cycle.
3 Steps to Better Virtual Meetings was initially published on February 19, 2021 by the Harvard Business Review.
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