Almost everyone I know talks about time pressures and about finding ways to get
things done more quickly. In fact, I’ve noticed how many more people ‘rate’ the companies they do business with based on the availability of online tools. A few years ago I wouldn’t have pictured myself as do-it-yourselfer who views the Internet as a lifeline. But I’m there now. Can’t imagine life without the convenience of online banking, shopping and Googling.
Then there’s the ‘how to work more productively’ category of life. Thanks to online conferencing tools from
ACT Conferencing, you can save time related to business meetings. Now this is time well saved! Tools from ACT allow you to order and manage
reservationless audio conferencing and
web collaboration services online; use web-based tools to manage conferences real time; and schedule virtual meetings with the help of a time zone conversion tool. Check out the details at http://www.actconferencing.com/aboutus/press/conferencing-online-tools.aspx.
You will like the choices. For example, you can select unlimited monthly or per minute conferencing subscription plans. And pay and manage bills online. The
Conference Director tool lets hosts monitor participants, control Q&A sessions and chat online with the operator.
ReadyConnect® audio and web conferencing customers can use the
iPortal to create and manage reservationless audio accounts. If you’re like me, you want to save time AND money, which is where toll-free conferencing comes in. ACT offers toll-free access numbers in more than 60 countries. So talk amongst yourselves or with those clients, partners and associates in other countries. Meetings are better with online conferencing tools.
What are the chances that the new channel partner of ACT Conferencing in Mexico is called Grupo ACT (Asesoría y Consultoría Tecnologíca)? Seems like synchronicity, although I suppose that Jung did not have business relationships in mind when he developed the concept. Jung sometimes described synchronicity as “meaningful coincidence,” and I like to think there is much more of this in our lives than we know. I’d say this bodes well for the partnership.
Welcome Grupo ACT as the newest conferencing channel partner of ACT Conferencing!
I always find the Channel Partner show to be exciting. A good chance to see existing customers and meet with potential new partners. Also, the break out sessions are always an opportunity to increase my knowledge of the industry.
Conferencing should get a lot of interest at the show, based on the growth of industry. According to Wainhouse Research, Attended Audio Conferencing minutes grew by 11.9% in 2009 and Unattended Audio Conferencing by 18.9%. Video Conferencing revenue grew by 4.9% and Web Conferencing revenue growth was 29.9% over the previous year. Companies are cutting back their travel budget and many meetings can be handled using our bailiwick of services. Audio, Web and Video conferencing have become a necessity in doing business.
Can't wait to see everyone at the show! Stop by and see us at Booth 1628.
Susan Leach, Channel Manager North America
sleach@acttel.com
Nietzsche, the philosopher, is credited with saying, "Without music, life would be an error". Of course, this was before hold music. But now I can say he’s right. ACT Conferencing’s new hold music is way above average, and this may be the first 15 minutes of fame for the ACT employee, Seth Dunkin, who wrote and produced the tunes. High marks, or should I say big score, for this and a few other conferencing service enhancements that have recently been added. Guest mute override lets the host begin reservationless conference calls in mute mode. If participants want to speak, they can unmute themselves and say what they need to say. Don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to meetings with less traffic noise, restaurant chatter, etc. And these days, who doesn’t want to save a buck? Get a discount if you sign up for an annual web conferencing subscription.
Check out Seth's new hold music at http://www.actconferencing.com/multimedia/hold-music-sample.mp3. And find out about audiocasting, a new PIN option, and what Cayman Islands, India, Philippines, Ukraine and Vietnam have in common at http://www.actconferencing.com/aboutus/press/conferencing-service-enhancements.aspx
Unplanned—and planned absenteeism is everywhere. Companies are realizing that they need to set in place a plan for coping with folks being out due to the H1N1 virus, seasonal influenza, snow storms, baptisms, you name it. The loss of one or several employees for a single day or multiple days can greatly impact productivity, revenue and profitability. In the recently published article "Using Technology to Combat Unplanned Absenteeism in the Work Place," Frost and Sullivan recommends developing a contingency plan that takes a three-pronged approach:
Setting a strong Environment empowers companies improve morale during tough times. It also increases employee retention and thus decreases costs associated with rehiring and retraining staff. Seems like common sense, but it's a tough gig for a lot of companies out there.
Providing Resources or tools is critical for employees who need to work outside of the office. Key tools for employees include easily-accessed ways to keep them connected. Access to web conferencing and audio conferencing services allows meetings to happen anytime—and and more importantly anywhere. Lost time is lost money.
An Action Plan or continuity plan decreases the overall impact on daily operations and productivity.
The most important thing a company can do when an employee is laid up with the flu is to be supportive. But, if he/she feels like logging in, make it possible, and better yet, simple to do.
I'm very much a DIY kind of person. In fact, if I can't order online, I tend to procrastinate and may not even order at all. Perhaps I'm a little anti-social, perhaps I just really want to do it myself, but I think it is more likely that I'm not very good at saying "no" to sales people. I can't tell you how many unnecessary extras I've ended up with by the time I hang up the phone.
But, even I can appreciate that there are some things that you really need an expert for. A reservationless audio, video, and web conference can get you through most of your day-to-day meeting requirements. Team meetings, project meetings, updates, meetings with clients, meetings with vendors, most of the time you don't need a meeting expert to get your message across.
Sometimes, however, how you present your message and the impression you make as the message is being delivered is so important that you don't want to leave it to chance. E.g. will someone be rustling paper in the background? Will someone have problems using the web conference? And how do I even dial out using a video conferencing system? (see my earlier post http://blog.actconferencing.com/post/2009/03/26/Ite28099s-all-about-the-meetinge280a6.aspx)
Don't know if you've noticed, but all the big boys are now very interested in conferencing services. They don't call it conferencing; the new term is "Unified Communications". Regardless of what you call it, ACT is in the business of enterprise communication and collaboration - and that's a space that is being eyed by Microsoft, Cisco, HP, Citrix, and IBM (among others). How will we survive this clash with the titans? Make no mistake; we intend to not only survive, but to thrive in this new world of Unified Communications. My thoughts on the subject - we must accommodate, innovate, and integrate.
ACT has always been a "high-touch" provider of conferencing services. Our employees are more akin to those in the hospitality industry than those in the telecommunications industry. We need to maintain this intense focus on customer service. This extends beyond delivery of the phone conference or video conferencing service to every aspect of customer experience. That means billing our customers as they want to be billed, not as our systems want to bill them. It means changing pricing structures so that they are more rational and predictable; and it means allowing customers self-service options for account management. Count on all of this from ACT.
In addition to maintaining and improving our high-touch approach, ACT must bring new innovative products to market. Technology has created the opportunity for significant improvements in the way we all communicate and collaborate with our colleagues and customers. The economy has recently forced companies to focus heavily on cost savings; traditionally travel is one of the first expenses that the Fortune 500 cut back on. Powerful mobile devices such as the Blackberry and iPhone are ubiquitous. All of these factors are creating the perfect storm for innovation in communication and collaboration. We are starting to see some amazing new products released such as HP's Halo Telepresence service. Over the next 5-10 years we'll see even more exciting innovations. Products which will make us all more productive and believe it or not - even more plugged-in than we are currently. ACT plans on being in the thick of this innovative environment. Currently, we're retooling so that we can innovate rapidly and deliver exciting new solutions to market in 2010.
Finally, ACT must seamlessly integrate into existing enterprise infrastructures. The desktop battles may be over or they may be starting anew, that's not our concern. What is certain is that one productivity application is enough for anyone. If you use MS Office, you want your communication & collaboration functions integrated into Outlook. If you use Lotus, you want those functions there. If you use a Mac or Linux, you want these connectivity features plugged in to your productivity tool of choice. No one wants to learn how to use another tool. ACT doesn't have a horse in the desktop race - we don't care what productivity suite you use - plan on us integrating with them all.
What makes ACT different from the new goliath vendors in the conferencing space is that we are agile and we enjoy close relationships with our Fortune 500 customers. These differences are our core strengths - enabling us to deliver customized conferencing solutions for the needs of our enterprise customers. So what do you want to see from ACT? What problems do you face when communicating and collaborating today? What problems can ACT solve for you? Send me an email at nbobbin@acttel.com.
In today's world, flexibility is so important. I don't mean touching-your-toes-flexibility. I mean flexibility in business. Competition forces us to be more flexible and creative with customers. After all, if you won’t do what someone is asking for, chances are, someone else will. The challenge for companies is that if you are too flexible, you end up creating a lot of one-off or bespoke solutions that are not scalable or supportable long term.
If you look at our case studies, http://www.actconferencing.com/downloads/ACT-Amro.pdf or http://www.actconferencing.com/downloads/ACT-Makovsky.pdf, you will notice that our customers are talking a lot about flexibility and customization.
So, how does a conferencing company offer flexibility to customers?
- By providing a different types of services for different types of meetings – Reservationless conferencing is not the perfect solution for every meeting. Fortunately, there are choices: Elite conference calls, Streaming, Web Casts, Video Conferencing, etc. Although more and more people like DIY conferencing, larger calls and higher profile events require a different level of service. Why not let us manage the call and make you look good?
- By giving users the ability to meet at a moment’s notice - Reservationless audio and web conferencing make arranging a meeting a snap. Didn’t plan on web conferencing, but realize half way through that your team really needs to see the application you are talking about? No problem. Just fire up a web conference. (I will add that I totally agree with a post from Jeff a few weeks ago, http://blog.actconferencing.com/post/2009/04/02/other-web-conferencing-services.aspx. If you don’t have a web conferencing service that starts up quickly and easily for all participants, jumping on a web call is more like watching the Six-Million-Dollar Man jumping in slow motion.. .ch..ch..ch..ch..)
- By giving its employees permission to be creative and fostering an environment focused on customer service – many of our employees have been working for ACT for a long time. We know our systems and products inside and out, and because we are working with them all the time, we can often find a creative solution that meets our customer expectations but isn’t unscalable. And most of us love a challenge!
Regardless of what
conferencing solution you use or the conferencing company you choose, hopefully you find that conferencing allows you and your company to be more flexible with and responsive to your customers. So, limber up your business muscles and create some happy customers!!
By means of a quick Google search, you can find many good resources with tips on preparing and delivering great PowerPoint presentations. A good example is this site, where Garr Reynolds discusses slide tips and presentation basics. Delivering presentations through online media is an easy and effective way to get your message out to a broad audience. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when preparing for your next web conference or webcast event.
Know Your Medium
Presenting a PowerPoint presentation through a web event is quite different from hooking your laptop up to a large presentation screen directly. In general, your uploaded slides are reduced in size to fit within the application window, and are often converted to static image files, like JPEG. This will result in:
1) Smaller slides, which may be difficult to read if not prepared with care; and
2) The elimination of customized builds or animations embedded in the slides
You can take following steps to maximize the legibility of your presentation and communicate more effectively:
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Be sure your presentation has a 4:3 aspect ratio (the default is 10" x7.5")
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Use larger type than you normally would
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Use simpler design elements and solid color blocks than you normally would
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Break out animations into separate slides (animations must be expressed as individual slides in a sequence)
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View your slides in PowerPoint at 40-60%. This will simulate your viewers' experience.
Things to Avoid
As a general rule of thumb, it is best to avoid the following when preparing slides for an online event:
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Small type (17 point font and smaller is too small)
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Embellished type (shadows, bevels or special effects)
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Textured or gradient backgrounds
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Sounds, music or voice narration
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Animations & slide transitions
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Embedded Excel files, audio, video or flash
For truly successful online presentations, keep your slides simple, consistent and clean, use stardard fonts (Sans-Serif fonts recommended), and select colors that are bold and that reflect your corporate identity. And remember that with any presentation, your slides should embellish your speech. By limiting the amount of information on each slide, the audience will be able to focus more on what you're saying than trying to read what's on that slide. Happy presenting!
Irene Psimenatos is the Web Collaboration Product Manager at ACT Conferencing (irene.psimenatos@canada.acttel.com)
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Most people know that conferencing does wonders in terms of improving time management and efficiency. Instead of one or more days of travel for a single meeting, have many in just a few hours. I’ve seen coworkers on two conference calls at once! Now that’s making the most of your time… or is it?
As you conference more and more, you would think you would just be getting more and more efficient. The trap - multi-tasking! It starts innocently enough. You call in to an audio conference call, and while you are attentively listening to the discussion or presentation, someone instant messages you. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to respond? After all, no one can see you and your phone is muted… It’s a slippery slope from there. Before you know it, conference calls are more like background noise while you are trying to get your work done (“can’t those people be quiet?… I can’t concentrate on my email”). Everyone multi-tasks sometimes, and sometimes it is very necessary. In today’s economy, there’s always more to do and fewer people to do it.
So, the question is, if you are the meeting organizer, how do you ensure that your meeting is the one that people “really” pay attention to?A few suggestions:
1. If your conference is an interactive session, solicit feedback from your conference participants at random points during the call. (“What do you think, Sue?”) No one wants to be the person who has to say “could you repeat the question?” because they clearly haven’t been listening. Harsh? Maybe, but you’ll only have to do it a few times…
2. If you don’t like calling people out, set and distribute an agenda before your meeting. If possible, assign portions of your agenda to individuals on your conference or indicate where you will be looking for specific contributions from individuals.
3. A web conference can keep your listeners more engaged - a few graphs, maybe share your desktop. Just make sure you aren’t reading your slides verbatim into the conference call! Nothing loses an audience faster.
4. People are less likely to multi-task when people can see them, so set up a video conference.
And if you are a multi-tasker trying to reform? A few tips: Email and instant message are huge temptations. If you are on an audio conference, try turning your chair to face away from your computer –OR- If more than one person from your office is on the conference, suggest using a speakerphone together (added benefit, if you or someone from your company is hosting the conference call, you’ll be saving your company money!) – OR - Volunteer to be the minute taker for the meeting -OR- Finally, try blocking time out on your calendar each week to “work” uninterruptedly.
Conference calls are all about giving us back time and allowing people to communicate more easily. And let’s not forget the environmental impact we have by reducing travel. Yes, conferencing is good. The goal is to keep the balance between efficiency and overload!