Kanban, Scrum, the Lean framework: There are several agile methods that rely on daily meetings to keep everyone on the same page.
And as common as these meetings are, there are also a lot of complaints about them. They can run on too long. They can be repetitive. They can feel pointless. They can feel like micromanaging. 😵💫
We’ve all been there — or at least, we’ve heard the horror stories on Reddit.
But you know what? There are ways to prevent these kinds of problems in your daily meetings, especially if you’re using a virtual conferencing tool like Zoom or Google Meet. In a way, virtual meetings have an advantage over in-person meetings, because there are tools and integrations available to help you turn your daily standup around! 😀
Let’s look at some of these for Google Meet. We’ll show you the features that should be on your must-have list, plus a few of the best apps and extensions out there. Scroll down to get started.
Why Google Meet integrations are essential for daily standup
The whole idea behind daily standup is to keep them fast and productive. No drifting off topic, no monologues about every single task you completed the day before. Everything should follow whatever structure you've put in place for your standup. And everyone should know what that structure is.
The most common daily standup questions are:
- What did accomplish since the last standup?
- What do you plan to finish before the next standup?
- What blockers or potential issues are in your way?
If you’re using Google Meet to hold your standup, integrations or helpful Chrome extensions can really help! These tools let you collaborate on a single screen rather than having multiple tabs open, and can even eliminate the need to screen share at all. Some will also give you helpful templates, frameworks and timers, so you can stay on track and keep the pace flowing. 👏
Features to look for in Google Meet integrations
So, what kinds of features does your team need? It depends on your team. But here are a few things to think about before adding an extension for Google Meet.
Does it integrate across your tools and platforms?
It's important to make sure your meeting tools integrate with the rest of your tools. Make sure anything you add to Google Meet integrates with other tools you use daily like Jira or Slack. Also, make sure that any Google Meet extensions you pick is compatible with desktop and mobile, as many team mates join meetings on the go.
Does it automate repetitive meeting functions?
If you've ever live a day-in-the-life of a product manager or engineering lead, you know one thing is true:
You have enough to do already.
Rather than spending time transcribing meeting notes, generating reports, and summarizing meetings, find an integration tool that can do it for you. These days, there are lots of meeting-oriented apps that use AI to automatically produce transcripts so you don't have to.
Do the features promote collaboration and productivity?
The tools on our list all come with a variety of cool features to help you meet more efficiently. Timers, for example, keep discussions brief and productive, while apps that rotate through speakers eliminate pauses while you figure out who goes next.
Whiteboarding features and similar collaborative tools will help remote teams work together to brainstorm new ideas or resolutions to blockers.
Does it creates less work and clutter? Or more?
Ultimately, streamlining workflows is one of the biggest things that an integrations should do for you. If a Google Meet integration creates more work, then it's probably not worth the effort.
If the app creates files, recordings or notes then it should make those files easy to access when and where you need them. Any automation that helps you create and schedule meetings is a nice touch, too.
Will it keep the team more engaged in the meeting?
Team camaraderie is super important: When everyone’s enjoying themselves, they work better together, get more done, and pay more attention in meetings.
A good daily standup integration for Google Meet will not only help your team surface blockers but it will also include features that can help you build engagement and camaraderie — like icebreakers or other fun in-meeting interactions you can use as a quick way to get good vibes flowing.
Is it secure and meet compliance standards?
Security is a huge concern nowadays. In fact, Cisco’s recent Security Outcomes Report, Volume 3 finds that 62% of organizations have experienced major security incidents.
With that, lots of organizations operate under rules and regulations that make compliance a top priority. Whatever integrations you choose, they shouldn’t introduce security vulnerabilities to your digital workspace, and they will need to be compliant with security regulations.
1) Spinach for Google Meet
Spinach is a great choice to enhance daily standup meetings. 🥇 It’s the only tool that is purpose built for standup and allows teams to flex between live and async standup.
How it works
With Spinach, team members receive reminders to prepare for standup asynchronously. Then launch the Spinach extension directly within the Google Meet window to pull up a sidebar that includes an automated agenda with everyone’s updates.
This eliminates the need to jump back and forth between screens — everyone on the team can see each other and follow along with each update in same window. Prevent derailing discussions by adding them to the Parking Lot and Spinach will pull those up at the end to keep your standup on track.
You can even add Jira tickets directly to your check-in, which keeps the standup focused on your sprint goals without opening up the board.
Meeting free day? You can skip standup and just post the updates in Slack or a Google Doc.
Spinach works outside of meetings, too, so that you can make changes to your check-in on the fly without going through Google Meet.
It's super simple to setup: just add it to your browser as a Chrome extension. When you open Google Meet, you'll see a Spinach icon in the lower right corner. From there, it facilitates the standup for you directly in the Google Meet window.
Standout features
- Share the same view with one click
- Speaking order is clear so no time is wasted deciding who will go next
- Pull in Jira tickets and add context
- Use timers to create awareness of how long each team member speaks
- Facilitate standups automatically to keep them short and productive
- Set up reminders to alert your team of upcoming meetings
- Use baked-in icebreaker prompts to create a fun, engaging experience
Pricing options
- Free 30-day trial for teams of any size, no credit card needed
- Free: For up to five users
- Business: $6 per user per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
2) Fellow
Fellow is another app that you can add to Google Meet via a Chrome extension. It lets team members collaborate on meeting notes, agendas, and action items within Google Meet, helping cut down on clutter in the form of extra tabs open for everyone.
For standup use cases, this means you can create a meeting agenda in Fellow to add to your meeting. On top of that, when people bring up topics for later discussion, you can easily jot them down in-meeting to save for later.
But, while Fellow offers several meeting-enhancing features, there are no standup-specific features that help keep things quick and efficient. It also doesn't allow you roll over updates from the previous standup, surface blockers, or pull in Jira tickets.
Standout features
- Sync meeting agendas as an overlay in Google Meet.
- Collaborate on meeting notes in real time.
- Keep track of items to follow up on at future meetings.
- Join Meet calls directly from the Fellow agenda.
Pricing options
- Free: For up to 10 people
- Pro: $6 per user per month
- Business: Custom pricing
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
3) GoLinks
GoLinks offers a Chrome extension that lets you do a variety of things directly from your browser bar; all you need to do is use slash commands.
For example, you can use the command “go/meet” to join or start a meeting in Google Meet, or use “go/standup” to start a standup meeting. It’s a quick and easy way to get standups started right from your browser, however, it doesn't facilitate meetings or provide meeting summaries or historical notes.
Standout features
- Use slash commands to start or join meetings.
- Search go links from your address bar.
- Create your own go links to access Jira tickets.
- Share go links via voice or images.
Pricing options
- Free: For unlimited go links
- Starter: $1.99 per user per month
- Pro: $3.99 per user per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
4) Miro
Miro is an app that adds a lot of functionality to Google Meet. Use it to create a Miro board and from there, team members can share ideas, post documents, pin post it notes, map out schedules, and more.
Miro brings engaging visuals to your meetings, plus you’ll get the benefit of easy teamwork and a few fun things like emojis and icebreakers. 🧊🔨 That said, much of Miro’s functionality is manual — like building the standup template and sharing notes after the fact. You also don’t have easy access to notes from previous standups, which can make follow up a little cumbersome. 😵💫
Standout features
- Collaborate in real time on content shared by team members.
- Use templates for scrum meetings, brainstorming, retrospectives, and more.
- Use management tools like timers and voting to keep meetings on track.
- Set the tone with emojis, icebreakers, and other engaging elements.
Pricing options
- Free: For unlimited members
- Starter: $8 per user per month
- Business: $16 per user per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
5) Hypercontext
With Hypercontext, you can create agendas directly in Google calendar and collaborate on them with other team members. You can also take notes in your calendar or use calendars to host asynchronous meetings for team members in different time zones.
However, Hypercontext is not purpose built for standup and doesn’t facilitate your standup for you. Nor does it have any timer functionality to ensure that team members keep things concise. ⏰
Standout features
- Create and collaborate on shared agendas within Google Calendar.
- Automate meeting agendas across all calendar events.
- Take notes or hold async meetings within your calendar.
- Track and assign tasks with project management tools added to Google Calendar.
Pricing options
- Basic: Free for unlimited members
- Pro: $5.60 per user per month
- Business: $8.80 per user per month
- Small team starter plan: $5 per month for up to five people
Enhance your team productivity in standups with Spinach
Ready to make the most of your standups? With Spinach, you can! ✅
We give your standups structure, plus all the tools you need to rotate through speakers, keep meetings moving fast, and keep everyone engaged. You can also use it to create icebreakers, instant meeting summaries, and more.
If you’d like to give Spinach a try, add the Chrome Extension here.
try spinach for free