As more and more businesses give employees the chance to work from home – over half (59%) of UK businesses now give employees the opportunity to work from home, while almost all (96%) offer at least one form of flexible working – so getting everyone together for a meeting is becoming more and more of a headache.
And if your company has offices across a couple of locations, getting everyone to meet up to discuss business matters can not only be a headache but can also turn out to be very costly as you have to foot the bill for everyone’s travel expenses and even maybe overnight accommodation.
Which is why many businesses now use conference calling as a way for staff to keep in touch…
Choosing a conference call provider
There are a numerous ways to make a conference call and a number of providers that offer conference call facilities, from online video conferencing to voice call conferencing. So the first thing you need to decide is what sort of conference you’d like to hold.
If you decide on a video conference, then you will need a device with a camera (a computer with a webcam will suffice for smaller conferences) and then choose a host for the video conference – if you’re holding a conference of less than 10 then you could use Google hangouts and everyone can join the conference from their own computer.
If you decide on a phone conference then there are a number of providers who offer the service for free and you should also be able to find a conference call provider that will facilitate your call without the need to sign up so you don’t have to hand over any details.
Getting everyone to the conference
Once you have decided on the type of conference to hold then you need to invite the participants and this can usually be done via your chosen provider who will supply an email template with the call time, dial in number and conference code that you can copy and paste into an email and send to each participant.
It may also be a good idea to set up an email or an SMS reminder to remind all participants shortly before the conference is due to start to make sure no one misses out.
Holding the conference
Once you have everyone on the line, you should then hold the conference call as you would a normal meeting, sticking to the agenda, making notes and getting all speakers involved. However, because not everyone is face-to-face as in a normal meeting, the conversation can get a little stilted so it’s up to the chair to keep things moving.
There are certain aspects of conference call etiquette that should be adhered to, such as being on time, being prepared and not shouting over one another that everyone should be aware of beforehand to make sure the conference doesn’t go round in circles for hours on end without actually getting anything resolved.
How can conference calls save time and money?
In addition to saving on travelling costs and travelling time – a double whammy even when people can work remotely on the train – conference calling can also cut down on your company’s phone bills as the rates charged by conference call providers are often cheaper than normal landline business rates; and these little savings can add up to big savings over time.
If you have employees working remotely from home this may also save on electricity bills and having them catch up via a conference call rather than coming into the office means that you don’t have to disrupt their working day, which means increased productivity.
And conference calling means that you can easily hold meetings with clients across the country, and even all over the world, so you could find that it’s a cost effective and convenient way to expand your customer base.