Certainly all meetings can’t be virtual. Sometimes you just have to get face to face with your customer, prospect or employee. A conference call does offer, however, a compelling alternative under any circumstances. It is easy to see where you can save money and increase your productivity using a conference call or web conference instead of travelling to the location and having a meeting. But now more than ever the conference call versus travelling argument is getting even stronger.
With the recent attempted terrorist attack on the flight landing in Detroit, the security at the airports has gotten tighter and the experience during the flight more uncomfortable. Now you have to arrive at the airport three or four hours before your flight because the line at security will be that much worse. And once you get on the plane the new regulations require you to remain in your seat in the final hour of the flight and even some of the entertainment options on the flights have been curtailed. You have to REALLY need to get where you are going and be ready to put up with the added inconveniences the new regulations will bring. And again, for some meetings there is no choice. You just have to be there in person no matter what. But I think this latest round of travel inconveniences will make more and more people look into alternatives like the conference call or a web conference because it is not just about the money anymore.
A conference call and a web conference can provide you all the tools you would have in a regular conference room setting without having to travel to the location. You can freely speak together on the conference call and share any documents, presentations and even a video feed with the people at the other end. All for a fraction of the cost of getting there in person and without any of the hassle. So the next time you are requested to attend a meeting in another city or country think of the alternatives and ask yourself if it is REALLY necessary to be there in person or will a conference call do the same thing.