Technology has increasingly
been forging a role to make business communications easier. More and more businesses are using email,
video conferencing, live chat and social media networks to communicate and
build working relationships, all from the comfort of their own desks and, even,
homes.
As liberating as this is,
there remains, perhaps more than ever, a need for face-to-face meetings to help
cement these virtual links and also to provide something more.
Mary Beth McEuen, @marybethmcuen vice
president and executive director of the Maritz Institute, published as part of
recent Cornell University research, her observations on how successful leading companies
are choosing to use both virtual meetings and face to face ones (as well as a
hybrid of the two) in combination to
create effective business outcomes.
Whilst it must be
acknowledged that face-to-face meetings require more financial and time
investment (and naturally with that, hold the most expectations), they can work
better strategically to achieve three key things:
- Capture attention – particularly when a business
wants to initiate something new or different.
- Inspire a positive climate – helping to catalyse
collaboration, innovation and performance
- Build human networks and relationships –
information can easily be shared virtually, but it is people relationships
that are the most valuable
They also offer people the
opportunity to share and respond to body language and facial expressions,
providing more social interaction and bonding, which virtual channels can only
go so far to do. In my view, it is these
social, psychological and emotional benefits to real personal proximity that no
amount of remote communication can replace.
A shared meal or drink, walk in the grounds or after dinner, ‘hair down’
discussions add texture and trust to relationships that can really transform a
team or working relationship.
Also, in an age when
multi-tasking is a common part of all working practice and held in such high
regard, face-to-face meetings actually serve to challenge the productivity of
doing many things at once. Face-to-face
meetings encourage individuals to down-tools and focus their attention on one
task or point. McEuen argues that real
meetings enable people to switch off autopilot and open their minds up to new
experiences and situations. This helps generate fresh creativity and blue-sky
thinking.
With the benefits of
face-to-face meetings clearly outlined, there still remains the difficult
question of cost. Face-to-face meetings no doubt cost money to arrange, to
travel to and also impact the environment. Furthermore, MPI research
predicts that large face-to-face meetings will become more complex in their
nature, and involve strategic alliances of organisations or consist of multiple
formats happening within one location. Therefore
meeting planners will have a harder task on their hands as they work to achieve
return on investment. A focus on
strategy, with clear business outcomes has never been more important to ensure
their efficiency and effectiveness.
Organisations often give
great weight to venue charges when choosing the location for their meetings,
sometimes overlooking the overall benefit.
I have no doubt that the comparatively small premium attached to using
the right venue to deliver the more subtle benefits of face-to-face meetings is
well worth the investment.
At Sundial SOS, we help
meeting planners find the right meeting venues for their business needs and
budget. A free service; our venue finding team has first-hand knowledge of
hundreds of venues across the UK
