Guidance for holding and participating in remote/virtual meetings 

Since Covid-19, many branch and party council meetings are now taking place online. It is important to remember that despite the change in ‘venue’ or ‘setup’, meetings must continue to be conducted as they were previously.  

Before the meeting 

1. Meetings on Zoom should be setup to ‘Require Registration’ so that only invited members can join 
2. ‘Waiting Room’ should be ticked on, so that the Chair/Secretary may check the names of those attending before admitting them to the meeting 
3. ‘Mute participants upon entry’ should be ticked on Zoom 

Starting the meeting 

1. Once the meeting has started, the Chair/Vice Chair/Secretary shall all be made Hosts or Co-Hosts to ensure the meeting continues to run in the event of connection disruption to an officer 
2. When entering a meeting, members should have their camera on if they feel comfortable doing so, but their microphone muted for the duration of the meeting when not contributing. This reduces background noise and makes the meeting more accessible for those who are hard of hearing. Party officers will unmute members when they wish to speak and called to by the Chair 
3. Members should ensure their name as it appears on the screen is their actual name. This can be renamed if using a family or friend’s device. This will make the meeting easier for the Chair to identify a member and the Secretary to take the attendance 
4. The meeting shall be chaired in the usual fashion by the Branch or Party Council Chair 

Members speaking in the meeting 

1. The Chair shall outline at the start of the meeting, the expectations on members who wish to speak. Any member wishing to speak shall indicate their request by 
2. Clicking ‘Reactions’ and clicking ‘Raise Hand’. Hands should be lowered following the contribution, by the member or party officer. Chairs should be clear with attendees which is the ‘Raise Hand’ function and not the ‘Thumbs up’ or ‘Clap/Applause’ functions
   or 
3. If dialing via phone, saying ‘Request to Speak’ followed by your name, and waiting to be calledParty officers are still adapting to new technology so please be patient, courteous and understanding if the juggling of tasks and swiping through multiple windows of attendees means a speaker is initially missed. If a request to speak has been missed, members should revert to part 8b aboveRaising a hand on camera or requests to speak via chat will not be considered
4. Following a request to speak, the member should not progress to making their point but wait and allow time for the Chair to invite the member to speak when they are ready to do so. When the member is called to speak, the party officer will unmute the member 
5. If you a member is aware they wish to speak on an item once the agenda has been circulated, it may help to notify the Chair/Secretary in writing in advance so they can invite the member to speak on the item 
6. Similarly, for elected positions, should a member wish to nominate, it would be helpful to notify the Chair/Secretary in advance, which would allow for the creation of any poll, if necessary 

Chairing the meeting 

1. Where connection issues disrupt a member’s contribution, the Chair shall at their discretion, choose to hear from other members before returning to the member with the connection issues to allow them a further opportunity 
2. As per physical meetings, the Chair shall encourage contributions from a range of members rather than hearing often from a select few members, particularly on a single agenda item 

Other  

1. Member meetings are typically private events and so only Co-operative Party members or invitees shall attend and/or be able to hear/see the proceedings. Meetings should not be recorded or further broadcast. Photos may be taken to promote party activity 
2. Members with their camera on should be mindful of any backgrounds, virtual or physical, and ensure there can be no offence or disrepute as a result, eg. Posters etc should not contain foul language, abuse or discrimination, as would be disallowed in any party meeting 
3. The chat function may be used at the Chair’s discretion for submitting questions or some comments, but should not be used to contribute to or carry on any debate which is being facilitated by the Chair – this is similar to only having one speaker at a time in a physical meeting and not having a group in the corner whispering among themselves 
4. All meetings held are done so in line with Co-operative Rules, including the Guidance on Conduct which can be found here – Guidance-on-Conduct.pdf (party.coop).  This guidance also includes our policy on safeguarding.  Please monitor language and be mindful that these meetings are taking place in members’ homes where children may be present.  Chairs may wish to post this guidance in the chat and refer to it at the start of the meeting.