It’s hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, working from home (WFH) full-time was encouraged by many employers. Now, following the extended social distancing guidelines from The White House and more states layering in even heavier restrictions, WFH isn’t just suggested—it is mandated. So if you haven’t already, it’s time to break out those old sweatpants and get comfy with WFH.
What at first seemed like a temporary measure has turned into the 100% virtual workday and our new normal. Luckily, we live in a time when sophisticated video conferencing programs such as Zoom make this new remote reality doable. In the spirit of those well-worn sweatpants, here are a few tips, tricks and Luckie testimonials to make your Zoom experience more comfortable and seamless.
Where There’s a Will, There’s a Whiteboard: Virtual Whiteboard
Zoom’s virtual whiteboard feature is great when you and your group want to brainstorm and map out your brilliant ideas. Its features mimic a real-life whiteboard session, with drawing tools, stamps, text boxes and an eraser. Don’t consider yourself a whiteboard Michelangelo? No problem. The host can pass the whiteboard responsibilities of designated annotator to any other person in the group. You can also add as many whiteboard pages as you want during your session, and all of your masterpieces can be saved at any time as an image file.
“Without being able to be in the same room for the time being, Zoom’s virtual whiteboard is the next best thing. It allows group collaboration for brainstorming or mapping sessions while social distancing, and my favorite part is that it’s effective.” – Tyler Roy, Strategic Engagement
Ready for Your Close-Up: “Touch Up My Appearance” Feature
As much as we try to look as presentable as we would if headed to the office, we’d be lying if we said the long days of quarantine weren’t taking their toll on us. For those days when you roll out of bed to hop on an early morning conference call, the “Touch Up My Appearance” feature is a lifesaver. This function retouches your video display with a softer focus, making your appearance look more polished. Now go forth and embrace that pillow-creased face of yours, knowing that Zoom’s touch-up feature will have you looking red-carpet ready for that early a.m. meeting in no time.
“This feature is great for early morning meetings when your coffee has yet to kick in and you need to hide your rise-and-shine zombie face.” – Mat Powell, Creative
For Your Inner Chatty Kathy: Chat Feature
Zoom is primarily known and used as a video conferencing program, so it’s easy for its general chat feature to take a backseat or, in some cases, go completely unnoticed. But once you do stumble upon it, you’ll find it useful. For example, in the “jump to” section up top, you can search for people to include in an instant video call, conference rooms to connect to directly, or the meeting host in case you forgot that pesky numerical meeting ID of theirs.
“I like using the Zoom chat feature when I want to ask someone a quick question without asking the group.” – Jackie Prine, Creative
Making a Name for Yourself: Customizing your Personal Meeting ID
Speaking of that pesky numerical meeting ID that no one can remember, did you know you can rename it? Here is a simple step-by-step guide from Zoom on how you can easily customize your personal meeting ID (PMI).
“The Zoom personal meeting ID is helpful because it enables you to easily join meetings without having to remember lengthy numbers and who they belong to.” – Caroline Pitts, PM
Survey Says: Poll Feature
Zoom’s poll feature is something else you may not have noticed until you found yourself staring at Zoom screens all day, every day, for the past few weeks. You can create polls before your meeting, launch them at any time during, and share the results with your meeting participants afterward. Looking for ways to spice up your meetings? Zoom polls could serve as a great meeting icebreaker exercise or a way to get your co-workers to look forward to something post COVID-19. For example, kicking off a staff meeting with a poll asking for ideas on where to host your next company retreat or what the theme should be for this year’s holiday party could be a great way to subtly remind people that we won’t be secluded in our homes forever.
“Polls are a great way to inject some energy and keep everyone in the chat engaged when you see eyes start drifting” – Carly Wages, Strategy
Living Your Best Life (at Home): Virtual Backgrounds
But for the time being while we are housebound, there’s always the Zoom virtual background. This feature that has received the most attention these past few weeks allows you to escape the realities of working from home and pretend you’re joining a meeting from a tropical oasis, the beautiful wine country or an HGTV dream home inspired living room.
Whatever our background may be, whether we’re in person or remote, at Luckie we pride ourselves on always being passionately collaborative. Zoom and all its great features allow us to keeping collaborating so we can continue to deliver the best solutions for our clients during the times when we do work remotely. Because of our passion, dedication and relentless desire to evolve, we continue to grow regardless of where we clock in. With that, we raise a glass to you fellow Zoomers out there and invite you to consider Zooming in with us here at Luckie. To learn more about the benefits of working at our agency and to see our current openings, visit our Careers Page.
