Conferencing Solutions for the Modern Business

Modern businesses have a lot more room for flexibility than in the past, particularly in regard to meetings. With the inception of conferencing solutions, organizations have access to more dynamic tools to make the most of their meetings. Determining the best one for you, though, is not easy. We’ll help you make that choice in the simplest terms possible.

Your Conferencing Considerations
Ask yourself the following questions to determine which conferencing option is the best for your business.

• How many participants does a solution support?: Any conferencing solution should be able to accommodate the maximum number of users at any given time. Furthermore, scalability is important, as that maximum could easily change in the future.
• How easy is it to use?: If the solution is overly complicated, it will get in the way of effective communication, especially if key users miss information. The mobile version should be equally as accessible.
• How compatible is it with your current solutions?: If the solution you want to implement doesn’t play well with your current infrastructure, there is little reason to invest in it, unless you’re considering a complete overhaul. Making it work and having it work immediately are two very different things.
• What kind of meetings will you be having?: Depending on the types of meetings you’ll hold, your solution will vary. Whether it’s company-wide forums, in-person lectures, or webinars, you will need a solution that can handle your specific needs.
• What else does it need to do?: If you can reuse your communications solution for multiple purposes, it will be more valuable. For example, recording and screen sharing webinars will help you reuse the resource as often as you want in the future.

How to Hold a Better Conference Call
Having the tools is one thing, but effectively using them is another entirely. Here are some pointers:

• Stick to the plan: Meetings are more effective when you go into them with a clear plan of action. With an agenda, you’ll be able to more effectively manage attendees and presenters.
• Resist discussing everything: Meetings should have a laser focus. Not everything needs to be discussed in the same meeting. Furthermore, asking questions that don’t need to be asked in the first place creates discussion that doesn’t need to happen, and it leads to a waste of time for all those involved. If a can of worms is opened, schedule another meeting for only those who need to discuss it.
• Don’t pack the meeting: That being said, not everyone needs to be in attendance; only those who are directly involved with the discussion should be there, as room constraints might become an issue. Plus, this will help to keep the conversation on task.

For all your conferencing solution needs, Directive can help. To learn more, reach out to us at 607.433.2200.