Businesses of all makes and models have discovered the benefits of conference calls. They’re convenient, lift geographical restrictions, and in many cases allow everyone to use their device of choice. But for all the perks, conference calls still have their issues. There are technical difficulties such as dropped calls and feedback, and oftentimes a lack of consensus on conference call etiquette can turn a simple call into a circus.
A couple of weeks ago, comedy duo Tripp and Tyler posted a skit about conference calls, poking fun at all of the ways they can go wrong. If you’ve ever been on a conference call, it’s easy to relate to just about everything in the video. But laughs aside, how can people prevent these issues from plaguing their group calls? How do they wade through the problems to achieve the best conference call experience?
Right off the bat, the video addresses some basic rules of etiquette that are often ignored, such as introducing yourself the moment you enter the conference bridge, and waiting to begin the meeting until everyone you expect on the call is present. As the video continues, you see people accidentally speaking over each other, having trouble figuring out who’s talking, and pretty clearly straying from work while on the call—because no one is technically watching.
To ensure that a conference call goes smoothly, it’s important to set some guidelines for employees ahead of time, and set standard procedures for the calls so that everyone knows what to expect. Another important rule to keep in mind is this: if you wouldn’t do it in person during a meeting, you probably want to avoid doing it on a conference call.
On the technical side, conference calls have their host of setbacks. People are sometimes dropped from the call, there can be all kinds of strange sound distortions, and without unified communications, sharing files during a call can be unnecessarily challenging. As this video playfully points out, having the right conferencing technology is crucial.
BroadConnect Telecom offers a wide range of conference calling services that can be tailored to each business, including the use of a single platform (eliminating the need for third-party solutions and incompatibility issues), simplified controls to make joining and recording calls a snap, on-demand instant conferencing that can be initiated without the need for bridge numbers or PIN codes, and large-scale conferencing for bigger meetings.
Conference calls, like any form of business, will always involve the human factor, but the right technology can make the whole process a lot easier.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson