The International Working Group estimates that half of Canadian employees work away from the office at least 2.5 days a week, and one out of five work outside the office every workday. With workers on vastly different schedules and perhaps in different time zones, companies need to create and maintain venues for interaction and collaboration. Virtual meetings can help companies build the connections necessary to ensure company growth and facilitate professional progress for employees.

At minimum, each team member needs high-quality internet, headsets, microphones and screens. Implementing effective meeting strategies along with the hardware can help make your virtual gatherings fruitful for all involved. Here are four ways to keep your meetings engaging and productive.

1. Innovative Thinking

Google’s chief innovation officer Frederik Pferdt encourages his team to be comfortable with taking risks and failing, so he begins his weekly virtual meetings with everyone sharing a professional or personal misstep and the lesson gained from it. Stories can grab and hold attention much more effectively than data or routine announcements. This kind of mutual sharing promotes interaction and active engagement while helping cultivate creativity.

2. Visual Connecting

Including video capabilities in your meeting lets attendees read and interpret facial expressions and other social interactions that would be lost in voice conferencing. Video fosters a greater sense of connectedness and accountability as well. Google recognizes how powerfully video conferencing impacts team dynamic and collaboration, so the company has embraced this technology. Tools such as Logitech LifeSize and Cisco Telepresence provide super-high-definition video conferencing.

3. Information Sharing

In a survey by conference call giant Intercall, three out of five conference call participants confessed to engaging in activities such as other work, eating, and shopping while on calls. Making meetings more interactive helps minimize distractions. Set up live shared docs such as Google Docs or Scribblar so each team member can contribute in real time. Enable screen sharing for attendees to take turns making presentations to the group. These components help participants remain focused and add expertise and insights to the group.

4. Virtual Team Building

Building a team is challenging in office environments and more so with remote workers. Ice-breaking games can warm up virtual meetings as well as on-site ones. Online quiz games such as QuizBreaker and Prelude help foster camaraderie and full engagement in the group while adding a light, humorous touch to your virtual meetings.