Conference call services, like many other business technologies, are convenient but highly subject to Murphy’s Law: what can go wrong will and usually wrong enough to sink an important project. An article in AOL (News - Alert) Jobs has outlined some simple ways to avoid conference calling disasters.
One of the major problems with conference calling is the conference call itself. Whether on a traditional phone line or on a VoIP call or a Web-based conference call, mishaps happen. People accidentally hang up, get busy signals or can’t figure out how to turn the speakerphone on. One of the easiest ways to avoid this, according to article author Peter Davidson, is to make sure all the participants are familiar with the conference calling equipment in advance.
“Make certain everything on your end looks good and, if possible, ask someone at the other location or locations to test their equipment, too,” he wrote. “Test out every different feature-mute, unmute, mute one location, etc. You want to make sure that everything works as it should, even if you're not planning on using that function.”
Another way to avoid problems is to use the most reliable equipment possible. One possible solution is AT Conference, which ReviewAuthority.com named it the top conference calling vendor according to its independent reviews earlier this year. The company offers conference calls without reservations, as well as Web conferences. Review Authority rated it according to call quality, platform dependence, connection speed and customer service, among other criteria.
Another big problem with conference calling is time management. Meetings can be delayed because people are unfamiliar with the conference calling equipment. Again, the solution is to make sure people are trained on all the software and hardware in advance.
Another source of disaster is poor planning, such as failing to account for time differences. Scheduling a meeting early in the morning on the East Coast is inconvenient enough for people on the West Coast, but in a globalized business world poor timing is even more of a problem. It’s also a good idea to minimize background noise.
Even with the best technology and planning, things still go wrong.
“Technology fails. People get confused with the time zones. Conversations can go off on tangents,” Davidson wrote. Fortunately, for conference calls, the best tools and planning outweigh the occasional mishap.
Edited by Maurice Nagle