Back to Basics: Phones and conference calls

We’ve all experienced the technical difficulties when trying to put together a video conference call with more than one other party. Of course, the preferred alternative would be face-to-face meetings, but with ongoing globalization and employees sometimes being thousands of kilometers away from each other, making cross-country or cross-continent meetings can be a hassle. 

Instead, we’ve moved to doing almost everything through email. But we all know the struggles of having important conversations through email chains. Reply? Reply All? Who should I CC:? Or should I use BCC:?

With the almost invasive presence of email in the business sphere, we tend to forget that, sometimes, the better (perhaps even best) option is to have a good, old fashioned conference call.

Closing (international) spaces

Globalization means that many of us have colleagues and/or clients in different cities, and some on different continents. While it is occasionally possible to get together for business meetings with the right amount of notice, it’s not always the case. 

Think about emergencies which need to be dealt with ASAP – sometimes quicker than the time it takes to fly from one end of the country to the other, let alone overseas! 

Our geo- and toll-free numbers can help you make fast meetings happens. Using our numbers to make conference calls will take the stress away from cross-country and cross-continental emergencies.

Fussing over language barriers

Some issues that can come about when having contact with colleagues and/or clients in different countries are based on language. In an email with someone who doesn’t share your native language, certain turns of phrases can be miscommunicated and taken the wrong way. This can result in emails coming off as rude or condescending when they are not meant to be. Bringing the humanity back to business conversation through real-time conversation helps to eliminate this barrier. It also gives all parties the opportunity to ask questions and clarify anything that may feel unclear.

There are even technologies that are becoming more and more readily available for the real-time translation of conversations! This means that all parties in international meetings could come to the tele-meeting and speak in their own language.

Setting up local numbers for your international colleagues and clients will help you make better use of teleconferencing since everyone can come to the meeting without worrying about hiring translators, for example.

Business travel can come at many costs 

One unbelievable cost of travel is the damage done to the planet regularly. In case you missed our Series on Sustainability, we went into detail about how business travel damages our environment and contributes to global warming.

Obviously, travel also comes with a number of financial costs. Think about all of the expenses put into business travel: flights, meals, hotels. The costs saved avoiding small, unnecessary trips can be monumental for small to medium sized businesses.

While it doesn’t happen too often, any number of issues – from bad weather to mechanical issues, sometimes even a pilot being unfit to fly – can cause an airline to cancel a flight.

Likewise, it’s important to think about the physical costs of travel on those who are going back and forth for meetings. Just look at the results found in a study about people who travel often for work. Studies have found that extensive business travel can lead to obesity, alcohol dependence, and depression, among other health issues.

It is obvious that going back to the basics of simply using our voices and talking to each other over the phone and have a conference call, rather than having to deal with everything that could go wrong through text or in transit, is a serious option for many small to medium sized businesses. 

We can help you with that. Get in touch for a quote for local numbers for your employees near and far!