How To Manage People That Are Running Late For A Virtual Event

There are two main reasons why virtual meetings run late: people are not showing on time or there are some technical issues in the beginning or during the meeting. This time we will focus on the people aspect of the issue.

We’ve all been there: a virtual meeting has already started some time ago when someone comes in late. They apologize for being late, give an explanation and soon ask for a chance to speak. Then they comment on a topic and with the same arguments that the speaker has just moments earlier already addressed.

This has been a constant problem with virtual events. In the beginning of each event, meeting and workshop, the things that are usually discusses are for instance:

planned structure of the event
goals of the event

In addition, you as a host have probably also created a base for the meeting. The ones that come in late have missed this and they might then miss the concept and the bigger picture.

Some people seem to think that the beginning part is usually boring and they end up skipping these on purpose. As individuals these people get the points that they want out of these events but while doing so the entire community is hurting.

There are also various examples of situations where the participants of a virtual event have been having fruitful, constructive discussions. People have been able to get their voices out and different kinds of points of views have been addressed. New ideas have come up and problems have been already solved.

The ones that have been late and joined the event in the later parts have not been aware of what has already been discussed and solved. The late comer has then started to criticize the solutions without knowing the reasons and logic behind them.

Things You Can Do Before And During The Event

Probably everyone agrees that the participants who came in late are themselves responsible for adjusting to the event. Still, to make things run as smoothly as possible, there are things that you as the host can do. Good people skills in remote work and in general come handy here.

When reading your tips, remember that hybrid events might require two sets of instructions.

Prepare instructions for people that are late.

At least in our experience it’s a lot better to have instructions for people being late already before the meeting. Then, when someone arrives late, you can quickly share the instructions. The idea in the instructions is to encourage the participant to keep other participants in mind and to shortly get to know the materials first before starting to make any questions.

Make the inference path as clear as possible.

You can also make things easier for the participants that are late by utilizing the shared files or a digital collaboration platform that you have been using during the event. You can encourage the ones that are late to get to know the content of these files and platforms before making questions.

Have a short recap of the session so far

If you think that it’s possible to make a short summary of all the things that have already been discussed without it being a problem to the other participants, do that. While doing so, you can ask the participant who came in late to draw the focus already to things that are important next.

What If Someone Is Always Late?

If you are just a guest host or a presenter, you most likely have no prior experience of the ones that are late in your event.

If however, you are the one usually organizing virtual meetings and events in your company or organization, you might already know that for some, there’s a pattern of being late.

Now you can ask: is it fair to you or any of the participants who show up on time that the event gets interrupted and usually by one or two people? No, it’s not. A change in behavior is needed and sometimes it needs tougher actions than one might expect.

You can start preventing people from being late by not allowing them to be late.

Start the meeting always as scheduled and do not let late comers in.
Document the meeting rules and make sure that everyone is aware of them.
Create a system where a participant should make up the time they have lost from arriving late.
Make it mandatory to be there on time.
Consider leaving some time or arrival before the beginning of the actual meeting.
Have meetings start the day.
Have punctuality as a part of the performance review.

Also, to avoid delays on your end, make sure that you have sent all the needed materials and logins to each participant.

What Participants Who Are Late Should Do

If you are the manager or the leader of the organization, you need to communicate to your team what you are expecting from them. This can mean various things and include also letting them know what to do when they know they are going to be late to a meeting

Communication: Make it clear that they know they are going to be late, they need to call or send a message to their supervisor or some other person nominated for this.
Estimation: Ask the team member to give an estimation of the time of arrival. This way the meeting can continue and you are aware of where you might be when the one who’s late finally gets there.
Planning. Make it very clear that the time that they were late from the meeting is a time they also need to cover. Meetings are an equal part of working time as anything else.