If you find that your community is split between preferring in-person meetings and virtual meetings, you've likely thought about hosting a hybrid meeting, which combines the best of both worlds and ensures every owner can attend and participate in the best way they feel comfortable. Hybrid meetings can seem daunting, but we have creating an easy-to-follow list of requirements below to ensure that your meeting runs smoothly.
What technological requirements are there on my end in order to ensure a successful hybrid meeting?
There are 3 main components necessary for a smooth experience for your virtual attendees. These 3 components can all be connected to a central laptop which will be logged into the Virtual Zoom Meeting.
- Video Camera/Webcam – Typically the laptop camera is used and placed far enough back so that the entire head table or panelists may be seen all at once. An external video camera is ideal, and can even be swiveled between different speakers, or to those in the audience who are asking questions.
- Projector connected to laptop– The projector will be the main way to display all slides throughout the meeting. This includes the audited financial statements, the board / president’s report, as well as any other images or documents that are to be shown. The virtual attendees will be viewing the same content through a screen share via Zoom on the same laptop.
- Microphone, also connected to this laptop – The microphone is vital in ensuring that every speaker at the head table can be clearly heard by the virtual attendees. Wireless microphones are ideal, as they can be passed around the room, but a microphone with a very long cable will suffice. The microphone will also be passed to owners who are asking questions to the head table, otherwise the question can be repeated by the Chairperson for the virtual attendees.
How will the voting be handled between the in-person attendees and the virtual attendees?
At the time registration opens for the in-person portion of your hybrid meeting, you will have to download the ‘Meeting Signup’ sheet from the reports within your E-Voting module on Condo Control. This report will allow you to cross reference and know which units have already participated in advanced by placing an advanced ballot. Owners that arrive in person, who have not participated online, can be given a physical ballot to participate in the voting during meeting.
How will we progress through the Meeting Agenda with motions and questions?
When it comes to moving and passing a motion, the virtual attendees have the ability to virtually raise their hand. The moderator will announce any owners who have moved or seconded a motion if there are none from the floor in person at the time. Afterwards, there would be an “all in favour” count, which will count the owners with raised hands on the floor and virtually separately, and then add them together.
During any Q&A period, the chairperson can turn to the moderator to ask if there are any questions virtually, at which point the moderator will unmute participants with their virtual hands raised in order to ask their questions.
What are the expectations for the in-person panelists to ensure a smooth experience for the virtual attendees?
Head Table / Panelists must keep in mind that everything that can be seen and heard in person may not always be the same for the virtual attendees. If someone is speaking from either the audience or head table, please ensure that they are speaking into the microphone to ensure that the virtual participants aren’t struggling to try and hear them. Anything that is being projected onto the screen and talked about should also be shown via screen sharing on Zoom as well.