7 Ways to Make Hybrid Meetings More Inclusive

Hybrid meetings are the new norm but making them inclusive for all participants is still a challenge. When some employees work remotely while others are in the office, engagement,  communication and decision-making can become unbalanced. Workplace managers need to make sure everyone  feels included and valued, no matter where they are.

What is a Hybrid Meeting?

Hybrid meetings combine the best of in-person meetings and virtual meetings, creating a dynamic environment where some attendees are physically present in a meeting room and others join remotely via video conferencing platforms. This format offers flexibility and inclusivity, where remote participants can engage and contribute alongside in-person attendees in real-time.

For teams with members spread across different locations, hybrid meetings are a game changer. They eliminate the need for extensive travel, reducing costs and increasing productivity. By using technology, hybrid meetings ensure everyone, regardless of location, can participate fully and be heard.

Here are 7 ways to make hybrid meetings more inclusive, backed by research and practical tips

1.Design Hybrid Meetings with Inclusion in Mind

A hybrid meeting should never be an afterthought; it should be part of your team management strategy. By designing meetings to be remote-first, you can ensure remote participants don’t feel secondary to those in the office.

How to design an inclusive remote-first meeting:

• Set a clear agenda and share it in advance so everyone knows what to expect.
• Ensure all documents and presentations are digitally accessible for remote attendees.
• Use a facilitator to ensure equal participation and avoid in-person dominance.

2. Use the Right Technology for Seamless Participation in Hybrid Meetings

Bad audio, background noise, video lag and unreliable platforms hinder inclusivity in hybrid meetings. Great hybrid meetings should combine the best of in-person and virtual meetings and investing in the right meeting technology levels the playing field.

Best Practice:

• Use 360-degree cameras (like the Meeting Owl) where possible, to give remote attendees a 360 view of the room.
• Ensure good quality microphones are installed to pick up all voices.
• Leverage real-time transcription tools (like TL;DV or Microsoft Teams) for accessibility.

Trust among remote participants increases with the right tech. Jabra found through research that in cases where hybrid meetings are necessary, meeting room participants saw an 84% increase in engagement from remote participants when using an optimized professional meeting-room headset and video camera.

By using tech, hybrid meetings ensure everyone, regardless of location, can participate fully and feel heard. Adding a virtual element allows for more flexibility and reach.

3. Give Remote Participants Equal Speaking Time

In hybrid meetings, in-office attendees often dominate the conversation, unintentionally silencing remote participants. Investing in the right meeting technology helps level the playing field. Employees who feel their voice is heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered at work. Ensuring all meeting participants have access to good audio and video is key to inclusivity. To be fair, establish ground rules for equal participation.

How to Improve Hybrid Meeting Engagement:

• Implement round-robin where everyone gets a turn to speak.
• Assign a remote champion to speak up for remote employees if they’re being overlooked.
• Use hand-raising features in virtual platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams to manage turns.

4. Rethink How You Use Visuals and Body Language on

While hours of our days are now spent on Zoom meetings , Teams or Google Meet, when joining a meeting where some people attending are in the same physical space, remote joiners can be at a significant disadvantage. 55% of communication is non-verbal so remote workers often miss out a lot in hybrid meetings. Being intentional about body language and visual engagement can bridge the gap. Workplace managers should set ground rules for equal and inclusive meeting engagement upfront so that everyone knows what is expected. This ensures virtual participants have the same opportunity to contribute as in-office attendees.

Tips for Workplace Managers:

• In-office attendees should face the camera and not chat to each other.
• Use gesture-friendly tools like Zoom reactions to help remote participants express themselves.
• Ask presenters to describe slides and key takeaways verbally for those who may have limited video quality.

5. Plan Meetings to Minimise Last-Minute Disruptions 

A common frustration for remote participants is waiting for in-office employees to scramble to find an available meeting room at the last minute. Being intentional about meeting planning means all participants, in-office and remote, can start on time and feel heard.

Using a meeting room booking system can avoid these disruptions by booking the right space in advance. A meeting room booking system like Ronspot can eliminate scheduling conflicts, provide ideal spaces for collaboration and ensure hybrid meetings run smoothly.

How Meeting Room Booking Software Helps:

• Ensures teams can book the right-sized meeting room with the required tech.
• Allows for easy coordination of in-office attendees, so they know when and where meetings are happening.
• Reduces last-minute disruptions by integrating with calendars and showing real-time availability.

6. Use Inclusive Decision-Making Tools for Hybrid Meetings

Hybrid meetings solve the problem of coordinating schedules and getting all stakeholders in the same room at the same time when decisions need to be made. But when decisions are made in hybrid meetings, remote employees can sometimes feel left out of important conversations, especially when in person attendees speak among themselves. Using digital collaboration tools means transparency and fair decision-making.

Recommended Tools:

• Use virtual whiteboards (Miro, Mural) for brainstorming.
• Conduct anonymous polls (Slido, Poll Everywhere) to capture all opinions.
• Summarize key decisions in a shared document for visibility and alignment.

7. Follow Up – Inclusion doesn’t stop when the meeting ends

Most companies are still figuring out the right approach to effective hybrid meeting etiquette. After a hybrid meeting, it’s important to review how it went and get feedback from all participants; both virtual audience and in person attendees This review helps identify areas for improvement so future hybrid meetings can be even better.

Following up means every participant—regardless of location—feels heard and valued.

Post-Meeting Review. Here’s what to consider:

• Technical: Were there any audio or video delays, connectivity issues or screen sharing problems? Fixing these can improve the remote experience.
• Communication: Did all participants feel included and able to participate in the conversation? Were there any communication gaps between in-person and remote attendees?
• Engagement: Could remote participants fully engage with the meeting or did they feel detached from the in-person attendees?
• Productivity: Was the meeting productive and effective in achieving its goals?
• Feedback: Get feedback from all participants, both in-person and remote, to identify areas for improvement and ideas for future hybrid meetings.

By reviewing these aspects you can refine your hybrid meeting approach and create a more inclusive meeting environment for all participants.

Follow-Up Best Practices:

• Send a meeting summary with key takeaways, action items and next steps.
• Keep post-meeting conversations online (e.g., Teams or Slack threads) so remote employees stay engaged.

Conclusion

Creating inclusive hybrid meetings is not just about fairness—it’s about unleashing the full potential of every employee. By using intentional meeting design, better tech, structured participation and inclusive decision-making workplace managers can foster engagement, collaboration and productivity in hybrid workplaces.

Following up means every participant—regardless of location—feels heard and valued. Providing all the details in the follow-up means clarity and alignment.

A meeting room booking system can help with collaboration by ensuring the right space, technology and team members are available when needed. Companies that invest in inclusive meeting practices and seamless room booking solutions will retain top talent, drive innovation and overall employee experience.

Want to improve your hybrid workplace? Start with these actionable steps today to make meetings a space where everybody’s voice matters and if you’re looking to streamline your hybrid meeting setup consider Ronspot to help coordinate your teams, book your meeting rooms and boost collaboration and engagement in the workplace.