In times when companies of all sizes want to reduce both their travel budget and their carbon footprint, there is a growing demand for web-conferencing technology as a means of allowing people to host conferences from their own offices.
According to Premiere Global Services, web conferencing has come a long way over the last few years. What was once seen as a tool for the huge corporates to streamline their internal communications is now finding a new market in smaller companies.
"Small companies are now also experiencing the business benefits that web-conferencing offers, not internally but for their external communications," said Stephane Guiblin, Netspoke product manager.
"Offering a powerful audio and visual medium, web-conferencing
is being used to communicate more effectively with customers, prospects and
suppliers. The results are cost savings, greater productivity and a closer
relationship with customers."
Premiere Global Services offers the following tips to help drive adoption of web
conferencing in your company:
Introduce
You can't just expect your employees to start using an unfamiliar service. Technology
offers many benefits but people need to be willing to change the way they do
things and not everyone likes change. It is important to make sure that they
are introduced to the product and fully guided on its usage and the benefits
that it offers
Buy in
Ensure that the key internal sponsors are bought in to using web-conferencing. Getting
the business owner or senior managers to set up a web conference to communicate
to the rest of the company is perfect for showcasing how it works
Create a safe environment
It's easy for people to get frustrated and give up on a service that they
cannot use. Offering relevant training and knowledge tips to employees
will ensure that they are comfortable with using the new service. In addition,
getting them to first use it amongst themselves will ensure that the users are
comfortable with using the service and able to iron out any issues before using
it externally
IT support
One of the biggest issues with a new service is when it doesn't fit in with
the IT infrastructure. There is nothing more frustrating for users to try
and use a new service and find it blocked. It is important to make sure that
firewalls and email software allows the employee to easily schedule, attend and
manage web conferences
On-demand training
People are busy and haven't got time to attend long and lengthy training sessions. Holding
on-demand training sessions helps users learn at their own pace and when they
have the time. Alternatively, you can also send out recorded overviews on
how to schedule, use and record a web conferencing
Remain in contact
It is easy to forget how something works if you only use it once a month. A
small wallet card on your desk, internal awareness materials and regular top
tip emails will help employees remember the key details
Support
When a service doesn't work, it is simple to just give up and find another way.
Users need to know that they can quickly get help online during a
web-conference or via a phone call
Online resources
Online resources such as intranet pages are a great tool to create internal
awareness, facilitate sign up and encourage usage. Simply including a virtual
library with product material and reference guides will make it easier for users
to learn about new services. By using a branded intranet page users can quickly
contact their account manager, request demos and further training
Motivation
Incentives and vouchers are a good way of encouraging users to try a new service
or attend training. Once they have used a web conference, they are more likely
to use it again