Stop Mixing Business With Pleasure, Start Mixing Virtual Conferences With Sense

By Sagee Ben-Zedeff

Categories: Video Conferencing

October 6th, 2009

In a recent post on “Talking Video” Tsahi discussed a recent Forbes Insights study, that stated that “Business Executives Prefer Face-to-Face Meetings over Virtual Contact“. While Tsahi discussed why video conferencing is a legitimate alternative, I took the time to read carefully the study and its results, specifically these:

• 58% of the respondents said they were travelling for business less today than before the recession (January 2008); 34% indicated they were travelling much less frequently.
• 59% of executives said their use of technology-driven meetings had increased.

If that is so, you may ask yourself why 84% of executives still expressed an “overwhelming preference” for face-to-face meetings. They said that it facilitates building stronger, more meaningful relationships and greater social interaction. The brave few who favored virtual meetings said it saves time, money and offers great flexibility.

Meetings That Work and Working In Meetings

I’ve written before about the types of meeting that work well with video conferencing. And while “information meetings” and “permission” meetings are a no-brainer (video conferencing it is!), regarding “discussion meetings” one can argue both ways. I can understand why “old-fashioned” executives would want to shake hands and drink a beer together; I can understand why Tsahi doesn’t want to waste his valuable time on an inter-continental meeting.

You may ask yourself, though, how many of the meetings held every day in a global organization truly require a “meaningful relationship”, a “great social interaction”. I argue that most do not, and the fact that people continue to fly for business meetings (less than before, I’m glad to see) is that people still regard video conferencing as an inferior experience, and this prejudice is keeping them from doing the right thing.

A really interesting point I found between the lines is that many executives expressed concern that attendees of virtual meetings do not pay full attention. 58%, in fact, admitted they “frequently” surf the web, check their e-mail, and handle other ancillary work during virtual meetings.

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Now this is very funny to me, not only because it reminds of the above Dilbert comic strip, but also because people actually believe that they behave differently in physical meetings. If it’s a face-to-face meeting, either physical or virtual, you don’t do anything but concentrate on the meeting. If it’s a group meeting, and you’re not involved/interested, you will find yourself “multi-tasking” whether you’re in a physical or virtual meeting room. Sad but true.

The Naughty Truth Exposed

So what’s the real issue here? It hides in the end of the survey. 64% of executives are more than happy to combine personal travel with business travel; 80% feel that the face-to-face interaction is necessary for effective team-work; 81% feel that the “down” time during meetings builds stronger bonds. Let me translate that for you: we LIKE to fly; we enjoy the time off; we get paid to have fun. That is, my friends, the naughty truth behind it all.

So while Rich Tehrani, like others, find in such a survey a sign that “face-to-face meetings are better than meetings in any other way“, I’d like to tell you it’s a matter of matter and maturity. When the economy is running “smoothly”, and no one is counting the bucks at the end of the day, executives, managers and employees are having fun on company’s expense. But as soon as the going gets tough, the tough gets going… to video conference rooms, where they gain almost the same value while spending a whole lot less.

And as we, as an industry, will mature, and realize spending is not such a good practice even in the highs, saving time, money and the environment will prevail over social bonding and meaningful relationships. Unless you want to do it in your free time and on your own expense.