Surprising ways virtual meetings can make the office more efficient

Think virtual meetings are just for those long distance relationships?  Think again. It’s true that companies big and small have started recognizing the value of web conferencing when it comes to slashing travel costs, but virtual meetings can also be used to bolster your own office’s efficiency.

In fact, according to an Entrepreneur.com article, some information systems experts argue that virtual meetings are better than the face-to-face variety, an idea that flies in the face of conventional corporate thinking. The reason?  Face to face can be intimidating for some people, and their creativity works best when they are not watching their look at her watch or furrow his eyebrows.  Virtual meetings can be organized so everyone participates, making it an ideal way to hold brainstorming sessions or discuss contentious situations.  And, who knows? You may find out that the office mouse, who never so much as squeaks during an in-person session, is comfortable enough to share an idea that will save the company tens of thousands of dollars every year.

In addition, web conferencing that includes links to outbound sites, like funny YouTube videos to break the ice (here’s a good one for those marketers out there who overuse certain buzzwords – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1o1WD_2×0A courtesy of BazaarVoice) are always well received.  Plus, when the moderator can control the message and the flow, it just makes for more productive workgroups.

All too often, great employees lack good written communication skills. Web conferencing can be an effective replacement for poorly-penned memos and messages—and emails unread because they get buried in a sea of spam. In addition,a web conference allows team members to read those oh-so-important important non-verbal clues missing from written correspondence.

Web conference systems also help human resource departments streamline the interview process and benefit calls. It becomes much easier for HR managers to schedule blocks of interviews with job candidates and record one single benefits call and replay later, rather than trying to coordinate meeting schedules with as many as a dozen interviewees or hundreds of employees.  Recording an interview can allow decision makers to review and compare applicants – an added benefit to the HR manager. And, as noted in this Inc. article, using web technology to conduct interviews definitely ups the “cool” factor when it comes to attracting rising young talent.

So if you’ve been relegating web conferences to cross-country meetings, it might be time to reevaluate the ways this tool can boost business. From granting a platform to team members who might not otherwise speak up to attracting and choosing the right talent for your firm, web conferencing is a solution worth considering.

To learn more about the ways web conferencing can make your work life more efficient, contact RollCall.