Staffs of Catholic Archdiocesan Centre meeting via Zoom Online Sep 14
By Agnes Chai
Sep 27 2021
KOTA KINABALU – With the view to protect staff from the spreading coronavirus, the KK Archdiocesan office decided to run a virtual staff meeting via Zoom rather than an in-person meeting on Sep 14.
Twenty five out of the total number of 29 staff dialed-in for the first-ever staff meeting online. The absentees were unable to attend for reasons of ill health.
In spite of some initial apprehension, the meeting went smoothly. Although it is not uncommon for some to sit back and “tune out”, the attendees were able to feel like they were all at the “same “ meeting where the video conferencing provided on the Zoom platform enabled the attendees to see each other’s facial expressions, personalize their conversations and to keep everyone engaged.
The Archbishop, acting as chair, suggested attendees to “raise a hand” if they want to speak in order to allow everyone to participate without talking over each other, which worked out rather well.
Generally, the feedback from some of the staff has been positive with this new meeting norm. One expressed that this innovative way of meeting is like a breath of fresh air in a musty room. Another opined that meeting virtually is a learned behavior, and much could be evolved from such virtual meetings once staff begin to be comfortable working this way.
