Telecommuting Up Again
At a recent hearing, Office of Personnel Management Chief, Linda Springer said that although the government has made considerable strides in recent years in promoting telework, more needs to be done. A recent survey found the percentage of workers telecommuting has increased from 19 percent to 41 this year, according to the 500 employees surveyed. Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) has recently criticized the federal government for lagging behind the private sector in promoting telecommuting options for skilled workers.
A recent article in Fortune magazine commented on "connected workspace" and "workforce mobility" - new phrases for the concepts that are more attractive to workers and employers. Hewlett-Packard expects to reduce real estate "occupancy" expenses by $230 million dollars using virtual collaboration via broadband, wireless and telephone to stay connected across distances. Additional benefits of telecommuting include reduced air pollution and traffic, and increased productivity.
Webinars, Can You Afford NOT TO?
The evolution of the Internet is changing how we interact. A web presence is essential for any business, even most teenagers have a personalized html and/or blog for sharing ideas. Cell phone companies advertise the ease of texting, "pix-ing" and instant conferencing. Direct mail and spam blasts are screened so tightly that their predictable low return has been slivered into even smaller return percentages.
Web Conferencing is Hot! Webinars, web demos, web collaboration?all are distinct names for ways of using web sharing for B-to-B and consumer education. The travel industry, investment companies and churches have long realized the value of peer pressure and group enthusiasm to influence human beings. Web conference is an evolving media: Everyone is doing it.
That can be both a positive and negative. Competition for your time and attention goes up. But it also becomes more essential to use this tool to keep up with your competitors. Contact Forum Communications at 972-680-0700 to schedule a webinar demonstration.
Best Practices for Collaboration
Integrating corporate cultures, total cost of operation, convenience and productivity are major concerns when upgrading your legacy hardware or technology paradigm, or when undergoing a merger.
These are the same key points identified when selecting an automated voice conference system. Not limited to voice alone, the latest collaboration tools include web conferencing. Demand for web and voice conferencing continue to grow, as web conferencing continues to absorb dedicated video conferencing market share.
A recent article in Communications News magazine identified how difficult it is to identify true corporate costs for all types of conferencing because departments buy conferencing as they need it, decentralizing the buying power and service quality. Purchasing a centralized, on-premise conference browser or server that can support both voice and web conferencing makes conferencing a "birthright" service, like voice mail and internet access - something that is accessible by EVERYONE in your organization.
The cost-limitations imposed by per minute conference calls limit the availability to the executive caste or elite departments, only. On-premise conferencing makes conferencing a universal resource that increases the productivity and improves communication for all areas or operations, customer support and leadership. The most competitive corporations know that bringing conferencing in-house is a "no-brainer," with immediate savings in both efficiency and replacing existing conference subscriptions.
What resources does your organization provide today?
Web conferencing uses the internet to share documents and white boards to enhance team effort into a powerful, collaborative solution. Subscriptions are charged per person, whether the resource is utilized or not. You can select a hosted service (which will be monitored and saved, jeopardizing the integrity of your meeting and ideas) or an on-premise browser-based system (for best value and total control).
Video conferencing allows people to talk face to face with the help of special equipment. They are expensive and require participants to go to specially equipped video conference locations. From a technical standpoint, the audio quality is not good and requires back-up audio channels. Because video is so expensive to update, companies with video conferencing may have technology with outdated standards, and compatibility issues often create problems and delays.
Audio conferencing is simple, inexpensive and
gets the job done at no extra frills. This is a valuable asset whether
companies are starting out or already spend thousands of dollars
monthly for conference calls. Participants require only a telephone,
be it a mobile phone, a soft (VoIP) phone or landline. On-premise
conference technology do not include monthly or annual subscription
fees, and systems are available in enterprise and SMBS sizes, including
web conferencing and web administration, and with dial-out/blast
dial functions, robust user/admin functions or simple "meet-me"
conferencing options.
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