A frustrating bugbear for many working mothers is having to attend meetings near and far that have cost implications as well as a knock-on effect on things like childcare and home life in genera. This is where telephone conferencing offers a variety of impressive business solutions.
Conference calls are a great way of staying in touch with a wide range of people all over the world without having to spend hours and potentially whole days at a time travelling to and from scheduled appointments with clients, suppliers or work colleagues.
This also means you can improve productivity and slash outgoings.
It’s not always easy to send little ones to friends or grandparents at short notice when you need to attend a last-minute meeting. Conference calls means you don’t have to miss out, because you can take the, wherever you are.
Conference calls are cheap
What’s more, telephone conferencing also incredibly cheap, with some companies even offering it as a free of charge service, so shop around before taking the plunge with one particular provider.
Check out the Conference Calls website for reviews of the major players and to see how they’ve all been ranked in terms of cost, call quality, customer service and ease of use. There are also a number of useful ‘how-to’ guides on the site as well that may come in handy and ensure you avoid any possible teething problems.
Conference calls are mobile, too
Advances in mobile technology mean that you can now pretty much be involved in a conference call whenever and wherever you like, so you don’t necessary have to sit in all day waiting by the landline. There are now apps available on smartphones that help you host or join calls in a matter of seconds.
Some conference calling ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’
These may be seem pretty straightforward, but never underestimate the importance of getting the basics right:
– Make sure you’re in a quiet room or place to reduce the possibility of disruption.
– Organise a call to coincide with when the kids will be having a morning/afternoon nap to keep disruption to a minimum.
– Make sure everybody involved in the call knows the agenda, start time and the relevant phone numbers and passwords well in advance, so you don’t have to sort that out while other callers are waiting to start.
– Don’t forget to introduce yourself before you speak for the first time.
Get more personal with web and video calls
A couple of possible variations that you could also be interested in using are the video conference call and web conferencing. A video conference call allows you to interact visually online, while a webinar allows participants to share files, develop and discuss ideas with the use of virtual whiteboard and talk to each other in real time. All you need is a computer and a decent internet connection and away you go.
