HAPPY HERALD
Zoomed Out? How to Tackle Video Fatigue
By Megan Wagner-Ingram – Senior Consultant/DEI Consultant
Zoomed-out (adj): Mental fatigue from overuse of Zoom, the enterprise video conferencing software turned digital classroom (source: Urban Dictionary).
In the pandemic era of virtual meetings, some now face four to eight Zoom meetings per day. Now even my extrovert colleagues are struggling to smile during the next steps on the list.
You are not alone in wanting to run away from conference calls—video fatigue is genuine. Steadily gazing into a screen is draining and can be uncomfortable. Below are a few tips to help get you through:
- Ask if you can skip the scheduled call or catch up via email. Inquire if the meeting can be shifted to a phone call.
- Schedule breaks between video calls. Step away from your desk, take a walk, or allow your brain and eyes to rest.
- Try not to multitask during meetings. It’s essential to stay present to avoid missing action items or overtaxing your brain by multitasking. In other words, you cannot remember everything while trying to master it all at the same time.
- Implement an on/off camera protocol. If you are the meeting host, give your team the option to be on or off-camera. Giving them that option will pressure off you and everyone who may want a break from the computer cameras.
- Lastly, have a little bit of fun with knowing your colleagues are exhausted while on camera. Let everyone know that you would like to take a quick end of the meeting screenshot to capture their true feelings at that moment. You may see a few with half grins, eyes slight shut, and heads resting on hands to stay focused. Capturing moments like this may be torture for everyone at the time, but a great memory once we are all able to convene together in the same room.
Contact Megan at:
330-953-7392
INSIGHTS FROM TPMA
Advancing Equitable Evaluation Through Thoughtful Practice
By Maureen Hoffmann, Ph.D. – Project Consultant
Thomas P. Miller & Associates values of ethics, community impact and collaboration commit us to incorporate more equitable practices into our evaluation work. We advance toward equitable evaluation through principles outlined by the Equitable Evaluation Initiative, which is a global collaboration of practitioners of equitable evaluation dedicated to using evaluation as a tool for advancing progress toward equity.
How does this work out in the real world? We partner with clients to ensure all parties are able to participate and that our work is culturally valid. We engage community stakeholders and those most affected by programs to make sure their voices are heard, which in turn helps us understand how programs impact different populations.
When conducting community-based research, we first check with people in the community to make sure surveys, focus group protocols and other data collection tools are accessible and culturally appropriate.
We also examine the broader context of the data we gather because we understand that there’s more to the story than the outcomes. This allows us to learn about the lives and experiences of those involved in the programs we are evaluating, and how systems within education, nonprofits, government and other clients may affect programs.
TPMA is working diligently to expand our equitable evaluation practices and understanding. We are in continual discussions about how to fine tune our work to better serve our clients and community.
Contact Maureen at:
812-345-0831
WHAT’S NEW AT TPMA
TPMA Guides Manufacturers Through COVID-19
By Grace Heffernan – Workforce Development Senior Project Manager
Manufacturing leaders across the United States are putting strategies in place for the next phase of response to COVID-19. It is more important now than ever that manufacturers, manufacturing associations, and manufacturing sector partnerships are equipped with resources and strategies that allow continued business growth.
Working with groups, including the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, TPMA has several approaches to helping the sector navigate the “new normal.”
Strategic Planning and Executive Staffing
Manufacturers in the Mahoning Valley region of Ohio came together in 2011 to address mutual workforce and training issues. As with manufacturers across the country, members of the MVMC were unable to find the skilled talent to fuel expansion.
TPMA organized discussions to identify issues and common challenges and opportunities, share ideas, and collectively champion solutions to the priority needs of the industry, particularly a skilled workforce.
Workforce Services and Capacity Building
With TPMA supplying staff to the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, industry sector partnerships are delivering industry-driven solutions to workforce training and supply challenges. The solutions are helping Ohio build a more robust and sustainable talent pipeline for the manufacturing sector.
Policy Development and Industry Champion Mobilization
Again working with Ohio Manufacturers’ Association staff and membership, TPMA identified and developed industry champions across the state to serve on OMA’s Workforce Leadership Committee. Founders and officers of regional industry sector partnerships were organized as well. TPMA provides the champions with information, best practices, and technical assistance to implement workforce development solutions and identify policy needs.
NEXT STEPS?
To learn more about what we might be able to do for your organization, please contact Senior Consultant, Megan Wagner-Ingram. mingram@tpma-inc.com || 330.953.7392
Contact Grace at:
330-801-1182