An increasing number of corporate companies are adopting a
strategic approach to managing their meetings and associated spend
whether these are carried out internally or externally. There are
several electronic management tools now available in the marketplace
geared towards helping companies introduce a strategy process to meeting
management, as well as reduce their outgoings. Some of these tools can
offer great benefits but it’s important for companies to recognise there
can be some disadvantages too.
One popular concept is
electronic meeting management tools, a solution designed to create
paperless meetings. As long as everyone involved has online capability,
these tools allow for up to 25 people or so to come together worldwide.
They can accommodate presentations and training, provide organisers with
a system to distribute invitations and agendas easily and enable
individuals to collaborate on documents in real time. The benefits they
present are simple; they save time and money.
Although these
tools used to be expensive, in the last couple of years a selection have
become available in the marketplace at very competitive rates. However,
some consider the loss of holding a ‘face to face’ meeting a
disadvantage as working in an online environment does not always suit
everyone. All participants need to be trained to use the software on
implementation and if one or two individuals take control or monopolise
the meeting, it may be difficult to judge if all participants are
‘keeping up’ with the flow of the meeting.
Virtual meetings can
work well for small groups but they can be difficult to manage with
larger gatherings. This is where face to face meetings play a vital role
in holding attention, enabling greater social interaction and providing
the opportunity to break into smaller groups to employ alternative
interactive discussion techniques. Ideally they should be used as an
additional communication tool which reduce the frequency in which
companies have to gather employees from far and wide, rather than negate
the need to meet altogether.
Another solution for companies to
consider in relation to meetings is an internal meeting room software
booking tool. This can provide easy access to meeting room stock and up
to the minute availability helping to manage the process of booking
meeting rooms, amending or cancelling meetings, booking catering
facilities and/or equipment online, all of which save the company time
and money. However, one downside to this can be when individuals block
book meeting rooms in advance and forget to cancel them when they are no
longer required.
– Simon Thompson,
Director and Co-Founder of ConferencesGroup, the umbrella brand for the
UKs top venue finding services Conferences-Uk.org.uk,
ConferenceVenues.com and CorporateDesk. Any comments? Email conferencenews@mashmedia.net
