Carr Workplaces
Benefits of In-Person Meetings: Online vs. Face-to-Face Meetings

Updated August 26, 2021.

Why Host In-Person Meetings?

You’re in your third, fourth, or even fifth hour of consecutive virtual meetings and fatigue is beginning to set in – or did it set in over a year ago during the early months of remote work. You’ve become so burnt out from Zoom calls, Microsoft Teams meetings – you name it – that coffee won’t even do the trick anymore. You begin to yearn for the resumption of face-to-face meetings, where the last thing you had to worry about was the feedback of your microphone or your screaming children in the background.  

Despite the complications that COVID-19 has heaped upon social interaction, it has become abundantly clear that there are still safe ways for businesses to hold in-person meetings. While some have found solace in taking meetings virtually, others have struggled without the benefits that in-person meetings within fully-serviced meeting and conference rooms can reap.  

Benefits of Face-To-Face Meetings:

Building Team Camaraderie

While much of our own personal work can be done solo, many companies thrive on the innovation that is generated through teamwork. With teams being relegated to meet from a virtual capacity, the concept of teamwork has been negatively altered. From confusing ‘share screens’ taking the place of whiteboard sessions to new team members having to adapt without meeting their colleagues in person, it’s demonstrated that the highest quality and most efficient team building occurs in person.   

Less Distractions

Something that we can all sympathize with; the urge to check our phone, to open a new tab and start web browsing, or to turn on the television just to avoid a boring meeting have become all-too common during virtual meetings. It feels like the days of ‘undivided attention’ during in-person meetings are light years away. Not to mention, children, pets, and spouses can offer another plethora of distractions.  

Clearer Communication

I think we can all attest to the fact that technology mysteriously refuses to work when we most need it to work. We’ve all been on virtual meetings where a participant’s microphone offers so much feedback that it drowns out the rest of the audio or where four people attempt to speak at once causing a cacophony of confusion. Face-To-Face meetings allow for clear, concise communication between each-and-every participant.  

Building Trust and More Meaningful Business Relationships  

It’s a fact that our most meaningful personal relationships are built through interpersonal, in-person communication and the same holds true for trustworthy business relationships. It’s just not the same, holding one of your companies most important business meetings virtually.  

Better Participation  

While college professors and teachers can certainly make the best case for this, we’ve seen that it’s much easier to get away with non-participation during virtual meetings. With in-person meetings, participation is almost expected and those who choose not to, stick out like a sore thumb.  

Meeting In-Person vs Online: What’s the Difference?  

While it’s true that in-person meetings hold an intrinsic value when it comes to building team chemistry, fostering total participation, and eliminating distractions, online meetings do provide their own set of benefits such as:  

• Large meetings can be easily held  
• Participants can join from anywhere across the country or world  
• When technology does decide to work, platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams boast a whole host of features that improve meeting experience  
• The shift to virtual meetings has seen these same platforms continually push for new innovations in their software  
• Large conferences, seminars, or events can be held without having to pay for costly expenses such as travel, lodging, and catering  

This leads us to believe that a hybrid approach to meeting could also be a possible solution. An approach where a user can have access to in-person meeting space while still utilizing some of today’s most innovative remote work tools and support services. Carr Workplaces offers a variety of flexible, virtual office plans that support this hybrid approach.  

Utilize the Workspace plan – which allows users to book 10, 20, or 40 hours per month in any meeting room at any Carr Workplaces nationwide location – or the Virtual Office Complete plan – which gives users access to these on-demand meeting hours combined with a virtual business address to make for a prestigious remote work presence.  

Where Can You Host In-Person Meetings & Events?

Now that you can finally close your laptop and have some face-to-face meetings with coworkers and clients, there’s another important variable to consider, where can you book meeting space near you?

If you don’t have a private office space of your own, you can consider renting a meeting room near you in a class a office building. Thinking of hosting an all day event? Consider booking luxury event space in NYC or another major market like Chicago.

Only need a small meeting room for a little while? Consider booking a meeting or conference room near you in any of these major US Markets:

• New York (Including Central Park, Grand Central NYC, and Westchester)
• Washington DC
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Boston
• Chicago
• Fort Lauderdale
• Orange County, California (Including Irvine and Laguna Niguel)
• Northern Virginia (including Arlington, Alexandria, and McLean)
• Maryland (including Bethesda and Chevy Chase)
• Indiana

How to Safely Run In-Person Meetings in Today’s World  

But one may ask though, how do you safely conduct in-person meetings in this day and age? Carr Workplaces – and many other flexible office providers – have created new, safer meeting standards for you and your team, such as:  

• Limiting the number of people in meeting or conference rooms  
• Provide masks to attendees 
• Frequent cleaning to maintain sanitary meeting rooms and offices
• Abiding by state mandated COVID-19 policies

As some form of in-person work makes it return to the United States, we look forward to seeing more and more face-to-face meetings being safely held in person. We know how crucial your meeting time is and we want to make sure that you have all needed resources to safely conduct your important business. 

Learn more about how Carr Workplaces can accommodate for your in-person meetings.