Meeting Format

  1. Meetings must be scheduled using internal calendar and should have a video conference link included.
  2. All meetings must have an agenda in a shared document that's linked in the description. Items for discussion must be listed in the agenda prior to the start of the meeting.
  3. External meetings also require an agenda in a shared document linked in the description. This practice ensures a historical record of vendor and partner conversations for future reference. An OCV team member must ensure the external party is aware of OCV's meeting agenda policy. If the external party provides the calendar invite, ask them to add the agenda link to the invite and share a link to this handbook page for context.

Async Meetings

OCV (and all of our companies) operate in an all-remote environment. When applicable, we leverage an async meeting format to effectively manage time-zone differences and calendar availability. OCV ascribes to the following practice in running async meetings:

  1. Share agenda doc with attendees in advance to provide an opportunity for everyone to review, comment, and note their questions in the doc
  2. Record the live meeting and add recording link to the same agenda doc
  3. Take notes in the agenda doc, especially Q&As, so those who cannot attend live can review any time

Meeting Etiquette

  1. At OCV, we want to start all meetings on time in order for everyone to stay on schedule. When in doubt, show up a couple of minutes early.
  2. Turning on your camera allows for more complete and intuitive verbal and non-verbal communication.
  3. Preparation of agendas for meetings is useful to ensure everyone in a meeting can be aligned, focused, and structured.
    1. Meeting agendas can be useful for asynchronous follow up.
    2. Advanced preparation enables those in attendance to have some initial visibility prior to a meeting.

Note-taking During Meetings

  1. Everyone has the agenda doc open. Agendas can be "rolling" or "by date".
  2. Discussion flows linearly through the doc -- from top down if organized "by date" and from bottom up if considered "rolling".
  3. Add your name in the agenda as a way to signal that you'd like to speak. This helps prevent talking over each other and overcomes the slight delay that is experienced with videoconference.
  4. Each teammate adds their point or question in real time during the call. Always add your point below others' that that the linear flow is maintained.
  5. Use numbers instead of bullets, so they are more easily referenced in conversation.
  6. Each person's point should be its own bullet, so that you don't type on the same line as a teammate.