How To Run a Great Remote Standup Meeting

Stand-up meetings are a powerful team tool. By holding meetings while standing up, they should be shorter and more focused.

With the rise in remote work, many standup meetings may actually take place while participants are sitting at their computers, but the principles of how to run a standup meeting can still apply :)

Participants describe what's going to happen during the day and what happened before. You can’t ignore them as they help in task coordination, identifying bottlenecks, and promoting team bonding. 

So, how can you run a great daily standup meeting called a daily scrum, huddle, or touchpoint? Here are some helpful steps:  

Step 1: Set a clear agenda; people should answer 3 questions 

Running a remote stand-up meeting is painfully simple. Every participant should answer three questions: 

• What did you do yesterday? Answer: I worked on….
• What will you do today? Answer: I’m going to... 
• What’s standing in your way? Answer: I’m having problems with…

Use this trusted formula, and you’ll thank us later. 

Step 2: Create a formal structure

Standup meetings must follow a strict structure. Start by setting a time limit. You can choose from 10-minute or 15-minute sessions. 

It's also important to know the frequency. You can have up to 3 stand-up meetings each day, but more doesn't mean better. 

Ideally, the meeting should take place at the same time with participants following the same speaking order. 

Step 3: Stay organized with a digital task board & checklists

The goal of standup meetings is to coordinate tasks between teams to ensure the successful completion of the project. That's why participants speak about what they are doing. 

Consider representing tasks visually by using a digital task board where work can be organized into three categories, To-do, Doing, and Done. 

During the meeting, participants may move the tasks around. If tasks involve many steps or milestones, you should use an online checklist maker such as WorkPilot to outline what needs to be done.   

Step 4: Choose a reliable video conferencing system 

Teams run the risk of using one software today and using another software tomorrow after experiencing slight difficulties. Well, that creates confusion. 

Choose one system that’s easily accessible by all team members through desktop and mobile apps. It should also have excellent screen-sharing capabilities. 

Now, everyone should be working from one screen, and if you run into connectivity issues, allow participants to switch to audio. 

Step 5: Assign a meeting leader 

Each meeting should have a meeting leader. Their role entails:  

• Enforcing rules by ensuring speakers are not deviating from the topic;  
• Starting the session;  
• Greeting participants as they join;  

• Setting the meeting agenda;  
• Sharing any updates after the meeting ends.  

Without a clear figurehead, the session may go off-track. You can have a rotating position with a new leader each day.   

Step 6: Stay focused and on track  

Running a standard meeting is quite easy on paper. However, many teams struggle with their stand-up meetings. They often get sidetracked. 

Remain consciously focused during the meetings and meet your goals every time by ensuring:  

• People don't introduce new goals or tasks;  
• Speakers don't try to go into deep problem-solving; 
• There are no sidebar conversations.  

If you're finding it hard to pull off daily standup meetings because of time zone challenges or other reasons, consider asynchronous (respond later) messaging. Everyone can answer the three questions and post their replies on your messaging app. 

You can similarly consider using a remote work software such as WorkPilot to organize and assign tasks. It can allow you to a digital checklist to track deliverables and milestones for individual tasks. This keeps your standup meetings running smoothly.