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10 Ways Web Conferencing Boosts Business Efficiency

Web ConferencingHigher efficiency equals higher profits. One goal of a business is to have fewer employees doing more work in less time. Efficiency rates have skyrocketed in recent years with the amount of technology developed, but perhaps no recent technology has influenced efficiency more than web conferencing. Effective use of web conferencing by a corporation will bring about a number of efficiency-raising and cost-saving benefits:

1. Save in Travel Costs

Most companies spend far too much on travel costs for their employees to travel to conferences, trainings, and meetings. With web conferencing, employees have the capability to do anything right from their desk that they previously would do on the other side of the world, and this new capability comes without any cost from the company.

2. Save Time

When employees travel, they are not only wasting money, but precious time as well. All of the time that they would spend in the airport, flying, driving, etc., can be spent working.

3. Bring Key Decision-Makers Together Simultaneously

When decisions have to be made by more than two individuals, it can take weeks to communicate back and forth with all of the people involved through phone, email and face-to-face meetings. However, with web conferencing, all of the key decision makers can discuss ideas, opinions and visual presentations simultaneously. Decisions can be made in a couple of hours instead of weeks.

4. Train More People in Less Time

When a corporation’s training department needs to train multiple people in different parts of the country or world, once again, time and money are often wasted on travel. The features of web conferencing allow the trainer to do everything online that they otherwise would have done in person. They can train employees on software, equipment, company policies or anything else.

With all the benefits of web conferencing, corporations should use this tool as much as possible. Corporations have already found a number of uses for web conferencing, but realistically the uses are limited only by the imagination of the user. The possibilities are endless, but here are some of the main corporate uses:

5. Meetings

This is perhaps the most common use of web conferencing today. As discussed earlier, it is the best way to get a group of people in the same place at once without having to travel. Even someone who is home sick can join the meeting. The software can be set to record the meeting as well, so decisions can be reviewed. This is especially useful for board and committee meetings where it is crucial that you have a sufficient number of people present.

Besides efficiently bringing people together, there are many features of web meetings that give the sense that all the participants are sitting at the conference table together. Participants have the ability to brainstorm and make notes on a shared virtual whiteboard. The software also allows the users to participate in polls and surveys, making decision-making clear and simple. Inside of the web conference, users can also text chat either with the entire group or with just one other person. Since not everyone can be heard all at once, this allows everyone’s “voices” to be heard. Oftentimes, discussions and decision making require participants to view documents whether they are text or graphic based. Web conferencing software allows participants to not only see each other’s documents, but to edit and make visual comments and marks on them.

6. Training

Many employees can be trained seamlessly from one location at one time. With screen sharing and application sharing capabilities, employees can be trained on any type of software or hardware. If training on the corporation web site or other websites is needed, the trainer can give web tours through which trainees can see exactly what the trainer is doing online as he explains the processes.

7. Presentations

As well as watching the presenter, participants can see the presentation as well as type comments or make corrections on the items presented if needed. The presenter also has the ability to stream video and multi-media files to enhance the presentation.

8. Interviews

Through web conferencing, the corporation will not be geographically limited in choosing new employees since interviewees can’t always travel to the interview site. Off site key interviewers can also participate in interviews. As outlined earlier, the interviewee has the capability to show any documents or presentations needed for the interview.

9. Sales and Marketing

Sales teams can reach more possible buyers quicker and easier through web conferencing. They have features available to give a full sales pitch from anywhere in the world to anyone in the world.

10. Customer Service

The more personal the customer service, the more positive the response from customers or clients, and you can’t get more personal than today’s web conferencing. The customer will also be able to show the customer service representative exactly what is wrong and share more information than they would be able to do via phone or email.

About the Author: Bryan Cochand is a freelance business writer.  He is experienced working with large corporations as well as small businesses.

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