Some thoughts from an Office Manager in lockdown…

Video calls

I can’t believe I actually enjoy setting up video calls!

Pre-lockdown, my heart used to sink whenever anyone asked me for help with them. I could never quite get my head around Skype and some unsuccessful experiences with it caused me to have a mental blank whenever video calls were mentioned.

Then lockdown forced the issue and I discovered the wonders of Zoom! (other video conferencing sites are available but we’ve found Zoom the smoothest). On our last day in the office, my colleague Alison gave me a quick tutorial in setting up Zoom calls and I was off! There have been a few bumps in the road since then – discovering security issues and a stressful meeting when some key people couldn’t get on the call – but these have now largely been ironed out and my heart positively lifts when someone (usually Sue, our CEO) asks me to set up a Zoom call!

And, like most people I imagine, I enjoy peering into people’s homes and assessing their home furnishings…

Here are my 3 top tips for Zoom…

• When scheduling meetings, keep the default settings in place – this helps with security (more on Zoom security can be found here)
• Make sure participants are kept on mute until they need to speak – this helps reduce background noise
• Look into getting discounted Zoom licences (for meetings longer than 40 minutes) from Charity Digital Exchange
• Keep them short and sweet!…