Posts Tagged ‘Job’

Conference Calls for Small Businesses

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

According to a lot of the pundits out there, including President Obama, there is a surge in the number of new businesses that are getting started.  This is because people have been laid off from their existing jobs and are starting out on their own instead of trying to find a job which is difficult at best right now.  And with the start of all these businesses a lot of entrepreneurs are trying to figure out how to promote their businesses and stretch their precious capital.  This is just another reason why conference calls continue to grow, because they are a great way to reduce expenses but still get the job done.

New small businesses need to get their ideas to new customers, investors and prospects without breaking the bank.  One of the ways to do this is with a conference call instead of the expense of traveling.  It has been well documented in this blog how companies are saving thousands of dollars by choosing to conduct a conference call or a web conference instead of travelling to an in-person meeting.  Nowhere is it more important to save money than in a new small business.  Most small businesses just don’t have the money to be travelling around the country.  But with a conference call and a web conference a small business owner can present their product or service to potential customers around the country without leaving their office.  And the cost of doing a conference call or web conference these days is very affordable to even the small business owner.  In fact, with the advent of the Internet which has allowed small businesses to sell their products and services globally, the need to present to customers in remote locations has increased even more.  The ability to present to people from great distances using conference calls has expanded the marketplace for small businesses.  No longer are their goods and services limited to a local area.  The technology now available has literally helped some small businesses survive where they otherwise would not.  A conference call and web conferencing can also make a small business look bigger in the eyes of the customer by allowing them to present to anyone, anywhere.  And their office is simply a PC and a telephone.

If you have a small business and you are not taking advantage of conference calls and web conferencing in your business I urge you to examine your processes and try using the technology available to help expand your business and reduce your costs.  It may just make the difference in the life or death of your business.

www.zipconferencing.com

Conference Calls help make Holidays happen

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Sitting here on Columbus Day and working, as I always have, has made me think about all the holidays I have had to work and how conference calls have helped make them happen.  It seems over the past ten years especially, the pressure to produce more with less in the American work place has made it normal to work on holidays.  And it seems there are fewer and fewer  holidays that we celebrate.  So how do you keep up with work expectations and still make time for family and friends on the holidays.  It isn’t the only answer certainly, but conference calls have save more than one holiday for me.

 

Here you are, it is Columbus Day and you have planned to take a personal day or floating holiday to spend with your family because the company you work for doesn’t recognize Columbus Day as a paid company holiday.  And just as you are heading out of the door on the Friday before the holiday you are asked to hold a meeting to discuss a very important topic that is time sensitive and must happen on Monday, your day off.  How can you manage to keep everyone happy and still keep your day off?  Why a conference call of course!  The beauty of technology world we live in is the ability to conduct business from just about anywhere.  As long as you can get a signal on your cell phone and an internet connection, most people can continue to do all of their job functions without missing a beat.  And a conference call allows you to put that technology to work and conduct a group meeting from a distance without sacrificing anything.  With a conference call you can meeting with your group just as you would in person and use a web conference to further enhance your meeting with pictures as well. 

So, enjoy your holidays.  Even when something comes up that requires you to meeting with a group of people you can still have your meeting without physically having the need to go to your office by using a conference call.

www.zipconferencing.com

Conference Calls for Human Resources

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Clearly, one of the main missions for Human Resources departments is to clearly and concisely communicate with the employees in a company.  And with the employees in a company becoming more and more spread out how does the Human Resources department continue to handle effective communications with these remote employees.  Why through conference calls of course!

Conference calls enable the Human Resources department to do their job effectively without the need for extensive travel to remote employee locations.  All of the necessary regulations can be satisfied by holding conference calls and providing information to the employees separately.  Or you can hold a web conference and go through the information live with the employees.  The need for signatures on any documents acknowledging receipt of the information can be accomplished through the mail.  And all while the Human Resources personnel sit at their desk.

What about a new employee, especially one who is working remote?  The Human Resources personnel can use conference calls to introduce multiple new employees to company policies and benefits.  By doing several new employees at the same time the Human Resources department saves time and makes sure that all employees are getting the same materials at the same time.  Questions that the new employees have can be shared which helps avoid answering the same question multiple times if handled on a separate phone call instead of a conference call.

And there is no more effective way to conduct training than using conference calls or a web conference.  Many companies do not have the room necessary to pull employees into a central location and train them even if the cost to do so is not a barrier.  Using conference calls for training allows you to share the same information across the employee base in a fast, efficient and affordable manner.  Using a web conference combined with conference calls allows you to not just share information with the participants, but you can also insert questions into the presentation to encourage participation and increase retention.  You can even upload files into the web conference that participants can download during the presentation if necessary.

Today with smaller numbers of staff in Human Resources shouldering an increasing responsibilty for disseminating information and training to  remote employees, conference calls have become an essential tool.

www.zipconferencing.com