Face to face – But wait, someone’s Zooming in!

Effortlessly handling hybrid working situations using real and virtual CCS Cards

How are you feeling about getting back in the room with people?

While I think we all seem to have adjusted well to our online world, for me, nothing beats being in the room together.

So, I was excited to be facilitating a session this week with a new team, face to face! It was a small group of eight people and I planned to make significant use of the CCS Cards (of course!) — with everyone openly sharing, connecting and collaborating.*

But, as we have found in our “new normal,” you have to be prepared for participation arrangements to change, and this session was about to be a good example.

While I was getting set up, one of the team told me that one person couldn’t make it in as they had COVID. This was a two-day team conference, with the team-building session (mine!) for the morning. Then, we had another call to inform us that a second team member couldn’t make it. They were going to join the rest of the two days, just not my session — the most important session!

Most important, because we were setting the new team up to work together. They were a brand new team and it is important that they were all there to connect, build trust and create a space where they could all be at their best. Everyone needed to be there to participate.

It took my less time than it did to write these last paragraphs to let them know that of course the 2 people off site must be included and I had a way they could do this!

Here’s a few tips in case you find yourself in the same situation:

1. Ask the remote participants to download the free CCS VFE Cards from the App Store or Google Play Store. Tell them to search “ccs vfe” in the store — there is a QR code you can share with them from the VFE itself, but if you are put on the spot like I was, they can be downloading the app while you are setting up the session.
2. Launch the CCS Cards VFE on your computer, start a new CCS VFE session, and give your participants the Session ID so they can access a virtual pack of CCS Cards on their mobile.
3. Let them know the cards are easy to use: simply move through the cards by swiping (as you might do in other apps!) and double tap to make your choices. If they need a bit more info, instruct them to click the “Learn” button on the app and then click “Participate in a VFE session” they will be taken to a few slides to show them how to use the app.
4. Virtual people are people too!  In this session, we had two people working remotely. Instead of having them on the large screen, we had them on two different laptops so they could be taken around the room and join pairs or groups as need be. They were “propped up” and able to join in as if they were in the room!

I closed the session with a CCS Picture Positives (of course!) and it was such a joy to watch. The team placed our remote people on their laptops on a chair each, so when one person was pairing with them to share their picture positive, they were down on one knee. Love it!

As facilitators we are used to things changing and having to adapt in the moment. As CCS users, being able to mix real and virtual CCS Cards in your sessions, is just another way to help you feel relaxed and assured that you can handle anything!

*This was actually a Collaborizza session which includes the CCS Vision Pack 2017 edition as Collaborizza Cards

What is the CCS Cards VFE?

Find out more about the CCS Cards Virtual Facilitation Environment

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