Meeting Costs = Your Opportunity
Do you ever wonder how much that 2 hour meeting you just sat through while spacing out and trying to decide what you wanted to grab for lunch cost your company? A lot, and its going to start costing more. Krista Cowan at the The Salary Reporter wonders.
“according to a new report by American Express, which says global spending on meetings in 2008 is expected to rise between 8 and 10 percent. Increasing hotel room rates are a key driver behind the uptick, according to the report: “hotel guestrooms now represent nearly half of all meeting spending … the average guestroom rate has also increased 10% year-over-year between 2006 and 2007, from $213 to $234.”
That can be some crazy unnecessary expenses! What I see is an opportunity. One of the best ways to impress managers is to show them you are thinking for the company. Why not next time your already in a meeting, most likely discussing your next meeting, bring up a cheaper solution. Conference calls tend to be Generation Xers favorite alternative, but that is because they are often too busy to discover or learn about new methods: video chats, web casts, etc… If your company does not already have a resource to turn to on the internet, Webex and Marketingpilot are two well reviewed programs. Try suggesting to your manager to try a cheaper and just as efficient method. Go even further and offer to organize and lead the meeting, setting up slide decks, working through programs, and sending out invites. What a great way to show you are conscious of the bottom line. And if you are a client based industry like accounting, your clients would appreciate your diligence in saving them money.
UPDATE: Web Worker Daily has some great tools for meetings as well.
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November 6th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
We use Webex, wish it didn’t require a password but, other than that it’s pretty good. The new leopard operating system from Apple also includes screen sharing capabilities in iChat.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:28 am
First of all, you are right on the money. Travel money = wasted money. However, the problem won’t be solved until our younger generation of leaders is in charge. Older managers still prefer face-to-face, they like to shake hands and get to know their salesperson. For example, I am on the sales side of IT now and I know for a fact that most companies won’t buy enterprise software if all they’ve seen is a webex demo. They want to meet everyone and yadda-yadda. So, as the vendor … we must travel. We have to meet that expectation. Once that expectation is gone, then companies will really save money.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:56 am
[...] communicate with each other via teleconference or video conference, they can be an opportunity to save a significant amount money. With many companies allowing Flexible Work Arrangements, virtual meetings are a business norm. As [...]