Setting up a call with a virtual team can be tough to do fairly. It’s especially hard when people are spread across countries and time zones and speak different languages — who has to do the call in their pajamas at 2 A.M.? Rather than favoring one location or group, aim to level the playing field and inconvenience everybody equally. For example, you might consider rotating the meeting time so that at some point, everyone — whether they’re in Shanghai, Berlin, New Delhi, or New York — is up late at night or in the middle of their workday. It can also unfairly change the dynamic of a meeting if some people are together in one room, since they can read each other’s facial expressions and talk to one another easily. So you might try asking the people who are all at the same location to call in separately from the others. This forces everyone to put their expression into their voice. To handle language differences, send an agenda out ahead of time to give people the chance to get familiar with the topics before the meeting starts.
Adapted from HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter Ebook + Tools
