Question
What are your video call defaults?
Whether you've worked remotely for years, or moved your meetings to Zoom this year, there are certain things everyone does by default. Some leave their camera on or off. Some record calls for later, others let the meeting disappear into the ether. Some change their background; others embrace the clutter?
What's your company's video call culture?
- What's your default video call app?
- Do you keep your camera on or off?
- Do you keep your mic on or off by default during the call?
- Do you record meetings, and if so, where do you store and share them?
- If your team records meetings, do you find you go back and watch them later?
- Do you use the in-call text chat, or still share files and text during calls in Slack or other team chat apps?
- Do you screenshare to show your work in software, or use video calls that run inside of apps to collaborate?
- Is there anything else your team has tweaked about your calls?
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We switched from WebEx to Zoom about a year ago. We almost never use our cameras for internal meetings and only turn them on if prospects/customers ask.
Personally, I keep my mic off unless I'm talking. Based on the mute icons I see on calls, most of my colleagues do as well. We record meetings when we know we'll need a record, for instance, webinars, training, support. We store them right on Zoom.
We do both. Many of us Slack during Zoom meetings. Zoom chats are usually to share links.
We almost always share our screens via Zoom and spin up Zoom meetings for quick, casual chats. Some of us still use Slack's call feature when we know it's a real quick chat.
The primary reason for moving was cost. Managing and sharing WebEx licenses was a real pain. I think we organically decided to use voice only. No one really felt like we needed to see each other to communicate. :)
Gottcha, neat to hear.
It's wild how it could almost seem that the telephone was invented voice-only due to technology limits, but that it also managed to stumble into discovering the easiest way to communicate without having to think too much about it!
Zoom is our primary video conferencing solution, used for formal meetings. Ad-hoc 1:1 conversations, if video/audio/screen share is needed are split 50/50 between Slack and Zoom. (We'll mostly switch to Zoom if Slack is having difficulties.) Screenshare is done in the conferencing app (both Zoom and Slack).
Recording is mixed, but definitely used. My manager recommends it for all calls. (HR or private convos aren't recorded for confidentiality.) I rarely go back to review recordings, but like having the option if needed. It's more a CYA thing.
Video is mixed. Video always on when on calls with execs or customers. My team is mostly video off, but I prefer video on unless I look like a hot mess.
Chat is mixed between Slack and Zoom. Conversations related to the call for all to see & in call links to reference happen in Zoom. Side bars and follow up links happen in Slack.
We have a company wide policy of using quick meetings settings (25 for 30 minute meetings, 50 for 1 hour meetings) and a policy for agenda setting/meeting structure that is followed for the majority of formal meetings.
That's a great point on having recordings in case they're needed later, even if you don't specifically plan to re-watch them.
Interesting to hear on your team mostly keeping video off. I've noticed I feel like conversations are a bit different with video off vs. on—video on feels like a meeting with an agenda and specific things to cover and settle, where video off feels like a casual conversation that is either quick and to the point or more meandering. Do you feel that meetings end up working out differently depending on if your camera is on or not?
Sounds like a good split on text chat in calls for things specifically related to the call, versus side-conversations happening in Slack.
Great idea having a policy on meeting length. That can be so easy to overrun. I'd used a free Zoom account for years with a previous team and we joked Zoom's default free 40 minute limit was actually a feature to help us keep the call focused.
What's your default video call app?
We use Teams by default but I'm in a lot of calls with customers that use Zoom or some other tool.
Do you keep your camera on or off?
On by default internally and with clients, but depends on the call. If the customer teams have their camera off I turn it off as well, else it stays on.
Do you keep your mic on or off by default during the call?
Depends on the situation. If my role is mostly listening I go on mute, but my setup is proper so I can keep it on without disturbing others.
Do you record meetings, and if so, where do you store and share them?
Depends, only at request by client or if someone needs to rewatch the meeting that couldn't join. Teams stores it on Microsoft Stream but since that does not let you share videos with anonymous outside people yet, you cannot just send a direct link to a video after a call. So we move the file to dropbox and share from there.
If your team records meetings, do you find you go back and watch them later?
I don't, it's rarely useful for me personally.
Do you use the in-call text chat, or still share files and text during calls in Slack or other team chat apps?
Yes, to share links mainly.
Do you screenshare to show your work in software, or use video calls that run inside of apps to collaborate?
Screenshare a lot to share decks, etc.
Neat to hear you're using Teams for video calls. What made you choose Teams instead of other tools—and were you using Skype for Business previously?
I've found myself doing the same, in following clients/collaborator's lead in whether to keep video on or off (even if, awkward, I start with video on and then just turn it off if their video is off).
Curious: If you use text chat during a Teams video call, does that just use the normal Teams text chat, or is it a separate chat that's visible only during the video call?
Teams was chosen because it basically allowed it to become the hub of all teamwork and allowed us to remove 99% of internal email from the equation. Before that, we used Skype for business or normal Skype even.
Teams allows us to set up Teams and Channels within them for each client/project, which was a major benefit over something like Slack for instance. This allows us to track and communicate around each project in its rightful place, without losing overview or having 1 million slack channels. We also automated our entire project onboarding flow into Teams so once a new project or client is added, all the folders are automatically set up inside our Dropbox, all the Teams channels are setup inside Teams, etc.
Regarding your question, each Teams call has a separate chat that you can use during the call but can be referenced after the call or be continued to use depending on the permissions you have. So sometimes I can keep using the chat after a call, mostly when it's internal calls, sometimes it's an external call and then the chat is still visible after the call, but I cannot post in it any longer.
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Interesting! What got you to move from WebEx to Zoom?
Did your team make a conscious decision to do mostly voice calls, or is it just something that happened organically and stuck?
I'm the same with Slack calls: It's perfect for basically what a phone call would be otherwise, when you want to chat with one or two other people about something quick where chat isn't quite cutting it. I've used it far more for voice calls than video.