Atlassians have been using Loom since 2016 — well before our companies joined forces last year. But as a 10,000+ person company, there’s always room to build new teamwork habits and reduce unnecessary meetings. In fact, our recent research found that 78% of Fortune 500 knowledge workers surveyed say it’s challenging to complete all of their work and attend all of their meetings.
I lead the Team Anywhere Lab at Atlassian — a dedicated group of behavioral scientists focused on creating data-driven best practices for teamwork. In March, we ran an Atlassian-wide challenge to unlock calendars from back-to-back meetings while maintaining connection and engagement.
The challenge: replace one meeting with a Loom
The challenge was simple: replace one meeting with a Loom video by the end of the month.
Our goal was to nudge Atlassians to rethink the default ways they collaborate, especially in a distributed work environment where teams work across multiple time zones.
We focused the challenge on Loom because we’re quickly seeing the benefits of video messaging as a way to efficiently share information without losing the rich context and non-verbal signals of live meetings. For instance, we found in previous Team Anywhere research that short Loom updates can help managers share priorities and build connection with their teams while saving calendars from back-to-back meetings.
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes kicked off the challenge for all Atlassians at a global town hall in March. He also announced that all challenge participants would be eligible to win $5,000 USD towards their dream home office.
The instructions: a simple “skip a meeting” toolkit
First we clarified the types of meetings that Looms are best suited to replace. We have found that meetings where one person talks the majority of the time are good candidates. These include presentations, status updates, knowledge sharing, demos, training, feedback and design reviews, and project kickoffs.
Next, we shared simple instructions for how to enter the challenge:
🗓️ Step 1: Cancel a meeting
📹 Step 2: Record your Loom & share it with collaborators
🏆 Step 3: Submit a follow up survey for a chance to win a home office makeover!
Employees were given written instructions that explained the challenge and provided helpful resources like simple copy/paste messages to communicate with colleagues about swapping a meeting with a video.
Message A: Share this if you are replacing a meeting with a Loom
Hi all,
I’m replacing this meeting with a Loom to help us all regain focus time. Please keep an eye out for my video and reserve time (on your own schedule!) to watch and provide feedback. You can learn more about Loom here.
Thanks!
Message B: Share this if you want attendees to send Looms instead of having a meeting
Hi all!
Let’s replace this meeting with Loom updates instead and free up everyone’s calendar. Here’s how it will work:
I’ll create a Slack thread in {channel} where everyone can share their videos.
Please create a quick Loom (2 minutes max) and post it there by {date}.
You can learn more about Loom and download the Chrome extension here.
We highlighted that a short, informal video update (and some back and forth in the comments) is often all you need to replace a 30 minute meeting. Participating in the challenge was designed to consume as little time as possible.
The results: Atlassian freed up 5,000 hours for focus work in just two weeks
The challenge lasted two weeks. In that time, 93% of Atlassians watched a Loom and 43% of Atlassians had a meeting replaced with a Loom. This freed up 5,000 hours for focused work — which is 2.5 years of working time saved from meetings.
Atlassian also had a 1.5X increase in average views per Loom video shared during the challenge period — plus a 63% increase in emoji reactions from viewers. This was an important finding as it indicated that people recording the Looms were effectively delivering their information and that viewers were engaging with the content. Live meetings aren’t the only way to keep your audience engaged!
Over the course of the challenge, we heard hundreds of stories about Loom helping people effectively share information while staying connected and in sync across time zones. Here are some of the real testimonials from participants:
“I've used Loom to replace live trainings and demos several times over the last few months to allow my peers flexibility in WHEN they receive their enablement. We're all too busy for another 30 minute meeting at 9AM!”
- Stephen, Loyalty Advocate
“My teammates have told me that they appreciate when I use Loom to present designs because they get the rationale behind decisions. It’s easy for them to thoughtfully respond and contribute insights on their time."
- Anya, Product Designer
“Using Loom disrupts the pattern of waiting until the 'next meeting' to talk through a topic, since the 'next meeting' can be delayed or canceled. Being able to record a Loom means I don't have to wait, and neither do my colleagues!”
- Marques, Communications Manager
“My team is across the globe, so Loom has been a really great way for us to all stay in sync, async. The ‘show, don’t tell’ nature leads to higher quality interactions.”
- Will, Sr. Product Manager
Please reach out if you’re interested in learning how you can run a “Loom challenge” at your own company. We would love to share these best practices with your teams.
