How To Include A Remote Assistant In Team Meetings

The Risk Of Second-Class Remote Members

When some people are in a room and others are on a screen, the remote participants often fade into the background. They miss side comments, cannot interrupt, and get overlooked when decisions are made. A remote assistant on a team call can quietly become a silent observer.

Inclusive meeting habits fix this. They are simple, and they improve meetings for everyone.

Before The Meeting

• Send an agenda at least one day ahead with topics, goals, and the decisions needed.

• Choose a reasonable time for all time zones, and rotate if someone always gets the inconvenient slot. See time zones and scheduling.

• Share documents in advance so everyone can prepare.

• Assign roles: a facilitator, a note taker, and a timekeeper.

During The Meeting

1. Start on time and use video so faces are visible.

2. Ask remote attendees to speak first, especially on important topics.

3. Use the chat for questions and reactions, and read them aloud.

4. Avoid side conversations in the room.

5. Summarize decisions aloud before moving on.

6. Check the clock and end on time.

After The Meeting

• Send notes and action items within an hour, with owners and deadlines.

• Share the recording with people who could not attend.

• Post decisions in your shared decision log.

• Follow up on action items in your task tool.

Good Meeting Types For Remote Assistants

For details, see weekly workflow and effective check-ins.

Make Room For Connection

Start with a short personal round, such as “one good thing from this week.” Occasionally hold a social call with no agenda. These small moments build trust, as described in how to build trust with a remote assistant.

Technology Tips

• Use a good microphone in the meeting room.

• Turn on captions for clarity across accents and connections.

• Test audio and video before important calls.

• Use tools like Zoom or Google Meet with recording enabled.

When You Cannot Meet Live

Use asynchronous updates instead: recorded videos, written summaries, and comment threads. Read our async communication guide.

Roles That Benefit Most

Coordinators, project managers, and customer success roles spend a lot of time in meetings. Globaltize’s overview of the onboarding specialist and community manager roles shows how meeting facilitation is part of the job.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting to send notes

• Holding meetings that could be messages

• Letting the loudest voice in the room dominate

A Real-World Example

A marketing team added their remote assistant to the Monday planning call, sent the agenda the day before, and gave her a standing item to report on. Within a month she was suggesting ideas the team had not thought of. Before that, she had only heard about decisions after they were made.

Being in the room, even virtually, changed how the team saw her.

The team also started recording the call for anyone in a different time zone.

A Quick Checklist Before You Start

Before you invite your assistant to meetings, prepare:

• An agenda sent in advance

• One item the assistant owns

• Camera-on rules that apply to everyone

• A recording or notes for those who cannot attend

• Time for questions at the end

Read how to build trust with a remote assistant or remote team culture tips.

Questions Owners Ask

Should my assistant be in every meeting?

No. Include them where they own a task or need context. Skip the rest.

What if time zones make live meetings hard?

Record the meeting and let them respond in writing. Rotate meeting times when you can.

Next Steps

Apply two of these habits at your next meeting, and tell us who you need. For meeting best practices, Harvard Business Review’s meeting guides are a useful reference.