It was midway through the first training session and one of the lawyers hit the nail on the head.
“I can see how it’s important to build engagement at the beginning, but we’re always on the clock in our client meetings. How can I find – and justify the time with my client – to do that, Ian?”
It’s the big question: how to apply the principles of Rees McCann’s Leading Exceptional Remote Meetings to the time-pressured world of one of the UK’s leading City law firms?
In late 2020 my client began to recognise that they were facing a second wave of “remote working” challenges.
Earlier in the year they had already made one huge transformation. Their business had thrived on building highly-successful client relationships through face-to-face meetings. And in a few short weeks they’d switched to supporting those clients remotely, meeting via Zoom. In response to the pandemic, significant parts of the UK legal system moved online. Even trials and arbitration hearings were being fully run remotely.
Like so many businesses, through the first lockdown the firm had quickly adapted to these very different virtual ways of working. Throughout this period of huge change, the client’s business remained as busy and successful as ever. The challenge they now faced was to keep working remotely in a sustainable way, building both their client relationships, and their teams, online.
Zoom fatigue was a growing issue for the lawyers and support staff as everyone’s diaries became overloaded with online meetings.. In a business that thrived on building strong client relationships, the lack of “in-the-room” contact was a growing concern. How could rapport and connections be built while meeting and working was almost exclusively done online? Especially with new clients, who might not have met anyone from the firm face-to-face.
The firm needed help – without adding to the diary overload. So I designed a super-focussed one-hour masterclass, condensing key principles of building online engagement so that the lawyers could apply them immediately.
In other words, I had to demonstrate the essence of what I was teaching – how to get the best possible value from a short chunk of time. But 60 minutes of “tell” wouldn’t do the job. I needed to build engagement with the group and make sure they had a chance to air the frustrations and questions built up over six months of working remotely, and to share the valuable lessons they had already learned.
Even with as short a time as an hour, it was important to create space for facilitated discussion, tapping into the wisdom and curiosity of each group.
So, what did I do to address the pressing needs of the client in such a short timeframe?
- Used Rees McCann’s Web Events That Connect model as a design framework. We incorporated several quick iterations of Content – Breakout – Debrief, preceded by an engaging warm-up exercise that got the insights flowing right from the start.
- We quickly unpacked the key root causes of challenges as they relate to the client’s world. The discussion felt quickly “on point” for each group.
- Short and impactful exercises demonstrated different elements of building engagement. We looked at the importance of holding and directing attention, and conversationally explored how to do this online.
- We made explicit the link between key engagement principles, such as variety and feedback, and the root causes they’d identified earlier.
- Finally, participants worked in small groups in breakout groups to apply their new knowledge to their own upcoming online events and meetings.
This blend of laser-focused content, stimulating exercises and powerful group discussions created a learning experience that the client’s teams really valued:
Afterwards the client said: “This was a real success. Ian was lovely to work with and the timing of the training was perfect for us. We ran four one-hour sessions, one for each department, and the feedback was very positive”
By working together with the client, we created a tailored learning experience that supported and immediately improved their remote working experiences, both internally and with their clients.