Teleconferencing Doesn't Mean Sacrificing Productivity for Mobility

Barbara Mannino discusses telecommuting and teleconferencing in a new article up at FOX Business. Not surprisingly, working from home is a double-edged sword:

“On the surface, mobility may sound like a win for productivity, but experts say there’s a dark side. Distraction.”

For example, Mannino references an Intercall study that investigated the various things people do when calling into a meeting:

“According to the study, 65% of employees do other work, 55% eat or make food, and ‘a shocking 47% go to the restroom.’ The beach, the closet of a friend’s house during a party, or behind a church during a wedding rehearsal also made the list.

What’s more, almost one-third of participants say they’ve fallen asleep during a conference call and 5% of respondents admit to asking a colleague, ‘Can you sit on that call and go as me?’”

I’m sure many of us could admit to things like the stuff above. Without visual reinforcement, there’s too much of an opportunity to multi-task during conference calls. This means missing out on important information (okay: more like sometimes important) and essential action items necessary for solving larger problems.

Distractions can end up being problematic for companies ill-equipped to promote productive mobility. If you want to make sure your employees are invested in teleconferencing, you should look into mandating video meetings. If that’s not feasible, you need to at least employ the best possible strategies for running mobile meetings. Mannino’s list of tips includes: schedule well, prepare agendas, set expectations, and take notes. Read her article (linked below) for more advice on how to maximize output in a teleconferencing world.