The pandemic made the business and organizations across the world break the monotony, step out of their comfort zone, and go virtual with their meetings and other meet-ups. Thanks to all the advantages and conveniences virtual meetings come with, organizations across the globe are still preferring to host virtual meetings through virtual meeting platforms. It clearly shows that virtual meetings are here to stay for a longer period of time than we imagined. 

If you are looking for a guide that will help you understand more about virtual meetings, here is a well-explained guide for you. 

What is Virtual Meeting? 

Similar to in-person meetings, virtual meetings allow the professionals to come together on a single platform and discuss an agenda. Where physical meetings are held in person at a physical venue, virtual meetings are being conducted on a virtual meeting platform.

Since virtual meetings are conducted through the internet, they don’t require the attendees to travel and spend money, in order to connect with people. Virtual meetings are more advantageous than physical meetings. They are time-efficient, pocket-friendly, flexible, and allow people to connect from all corners of the world; irrespective of the physical and geographical constraints. 

The medium of conducting virtual meetings are the virtual meeting platforms, which come with several advantages. People think that virtual meetings are less efficient than physical ones and don’t give a real-life experience to the attendees. However, proving them wrong is the virtual meeting and online conference platforms that come with immersive audience engagement tools that provide a real-life experience to the participants. Not only this, but online event platforms also come with immersive networking tools that allow the attendees to connect with each other, no matter the location. 

Apart from this, there are more advantages of hosting meetings virtually; for example, virtual meetings are quick, and they take less time for the organizers to set up, etc. 

There are various types of virtual meetings prevalent in the business sector across the world. Some of them are as below:

Virtual Town Hall Meetings: 

Virtual Town Hall Meetings are an integral part of the business world across the globe. The agenda behind hosting town hall meetings is to bring all members of the entire organization together on a single platform. The objective behind these meetings is to discuss reports, the performance of the company and that of the employees in the past month. Generally, the town hall meetings are held periodically; monthly, quarterly or half-yearly.

Other than discussing performances, the objective behind hosting town hall meetings is to boost communication between employees from different departments. Since it is not always possible for the employees to connect with employees from different departments, town hall meetings boost interaction between them. In addition, town hall meetings bring people working in an organization on the same page. Physical town hall meetings and virtual town hall meetings are the same in all kinds, except the medium.  

Annual General Meetings: 

Organizations host Annual General Meetings to review the annual performance of the organization in the past year. The significant feature of annual general meetings is that they involve almost everyone belonging to the organization. The shareholders, investors, leadership, board members, and employees of an organization attend AGMs. Other than reviewing the organizational performance, the strategy for the upcoming year is made. Not only this, an annual general meeting includes discussing the financial strategy for the passing year as well as the upcoming year. In addition, generally, an AGM includes a selection of new board members. Virtual AGM platforms come with several networking opportunities and engagement tools that make it possible for the attendees to connect and interact with each other seamlessly. 

Virtual Conference: 

Where the above two types of meetings that we have discussed are in-house meetings, virtual conferences generally include people from several organizations, belonging to the same field, or who share the same interest. Virtual conferences are larger in scale and generally last for a day or month. Since people belonging to different organizations attend virtual conferences, they provide the attendees opportunities to interact with each other and make global connections. Virtual conferences consist of keynote sessions, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, etc. We can also say that virtual conferences are the most immersive kinds of meetings, and come with several elements that add value to the overall experience of the attendees. 

Board Meetings: 

Virtual board meetings are generally attended by the board members of one particular organization. The agenda behind these meetings is to discuss, plan and execute company-related policies. These meetings are quite confidential in nature and only the people who hold authority in an organization attend them. Virtual meetings allow the people of a particular organization to come together on a single platform; irrespective of their location. To ensure seamless execution and effortless transition, meeting platforms come with tools such as live chat, breakout rooms, etc. 

Virtual Regular Meetings: 

Virtual meetings are just like in-person regular meetings, held between the members of a team or inter-departmental or even inter-organizational. While the above-mentioned meeting formats require planning and then executing the meeting, virtual meetings can be instant; all depending on the agenda and members involved in the meeting. The main objective of the virtual meetings is to discuss an agenda and come to a conclusion. Virtual meeting platforms come with several audience engagements and networking tools. These tools make it easier for the attendees to connect with each other and network seamlessly. 

Virtual meetings are as efficient and effective as their physical counterparts. The reason behind this is the fact that virtual meeting platforms are advanced. Also, they ensure smooth transitions between all the virtual attendees. Not only this, virtual meetings are quick, money efficient, time-saving, and open new horizons for the organizations. There are various kinds of virtual meetings, as mentioned above. Depending on the agenda, attendees, and nature, organizations can host different types of virtual meetings. We hope this guide has helped you understand all these types and the objective behind hosting these meetings. Get your hands on an expert online meeting platform, and deliver an unforgettable online meeting experience.