Would you rather meet Face to Face or use Tele-Presence?
With such high demand on businesses to reduce carbon emissions, reduce costs and increase productivity, is Tele-Presence the way forward or will it lose that 'Personal' touch?
Good Answers (1)
Karen D.
Software Brand Manager at Advanced Digital Dynamics
Best Answers in: Green Business (1), Telecommunications (1)
Personally I think a Face to Face meeting is priceless. There is no substitute for the warmth and depth of a relationship that can be developed in a personal meeting, as well as the asides which often precede and come after any meeting. Teleconferencing certainly has its uses after the initial meeting - the cost savings of a decent system are tremendous - but one is always in 'business mode' when on a tele-conference and the meetings tend to end abruptly denying the attendees the social opportunities which often cement embyonic relationships
More Answers (14)
Brian M.
CEO at ComposeTheFuture
Best Answers in: Telecommunications (13), Wireless (4), Computer Networking (2), Planning (1), Equity Markets (1), Hedge Funds (1), Green Business (1), Software Development (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
My personal preference is face to face, but for the reasons you mention above then yes, TelePresence is often the most sensible option.
Do you use Microsoft OCS ? We find now that as well as using it internally within Interoute we can also federate with customers and suppliers, so it is very useful tool indeed.
We find that whatever is lost in the "personal touch" is quickly surpassed by the "instantaneous availability" - and of course we still like to visit our customers too ;-)
Neil R.
strategy consultant at zen strategy
Best Answers in: Computers and Software (9), Planning (8), Web Development (4), E-Commerce (2), Enterprise Software (2), Software Development (2), Mentoring (1), Budgeting (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1), Internet Marketing (1), Customer Relationship Management (1), Search Marketing (1), Career Management (1), Professional Networking (1), Incorporation (1), Small Business (1), Energy and Development (1), Blogging (1), Computer Networking (1), Databases (1), Information Security (1)
I doubt you'll find anyone who prefers a virtual meeting to a face-to-face, Richard.
Although I agree there are times when "being there" just isn't practical. But this has to be fully evaluated. The carbon issue is a political smoke screen (no pun intended) as if you do eventually do business, you have to physically get the product or service to your customer ultimately, virtual won't work to bring in revenue!
Remember most - and I mean around 90% - of the real telling signs of a how well a meeting goes are through body language and intonation - what is known as meeting dynamics - which are lost in a virtual context.
I've got a white paper on this under the heading "Successful Project Meetings" on my download page on my website...
The link is shown below...
Links:
David M.
Industrial Engineer and Strategy Consultant
Best Answers in: Quality Management and Standards (5), Supply Chain Management (4), Business Development (3), Inventory Management (2), Energy and Development (2), Business Analytics (1), Organizational Development (1), Futures Markets (1), Manufacturing (1), Distribution (1), Positioning (1), Starting Up (1), Green Business (1), Biotech (1)
It's amazing how many new solutions to this issue are developed every 6 to 12 months. The points above are valid, there is a certain connection that cannot be duplicated virtually. Face-to-face meetings will never be eliminated (unless live 3D imaging finally becomes a reality). With that said, too many people still underestimate the power of the tele-presence and virtual meetings.
I think the real change will come once tele-presence has begun to replace phone calls. Skype, Vonage, instant messengers are beginning to cause this. There will need to be a cultural shift away from the standard email then phone then face-to-face mentality that so many people have. What I envision occurring is that the shift will move businesses to a instant messenger then tele-presence then face-to face over the next three years which will then give way to fewer face-to-face over the next ten.
Technologies evolve toward allowance of greater context (IM has more context than email, tele-presence has more context than phone calls). Eventually technology will come around to adding enough context that it will rival face-to-face meetings. Businesses are always slow to adopt new tech in general but the shift will happen....especially as Gen Y becomes more ingrained in the day to day operations.
Joe M.
Call Center Design
Best Answers in: Customer Service (1), Mentoring (1), Customer Relationship Management (1), Ethics (1), Computers and Software (1), Software Development (1)
Actually, I prefer conf. calls instead of Face to Face... (imho) in round table discussions and many business meetings, half the folks bring laptops which kills the personal touch. Video is starting to actually be better since you see the person and not the back of their laptop.
Ramachandran I.
Sr. Product Manager, UC Apps (Lead PM -APAC)
Best Answers in: Offshoring and Outsourcing (1), Business Development (1), Project Management (1), Career Management (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
In my view its not a question would you do One versus the Other (face-2-face Vs Telepresence). Its more of when you would do what, & the option of another mode of high-quality, high-ease interaction with reduced cost.
So in short for some meetings/discussions you cannot avoid but do face-2-face. But, if there was a business need to do 10 such meetings by traveling long distance, then Telepresence helps you cut that down to may be 2 or 3, depending on the kind of interaction and business need.
For folks who have experienced Telepresence, thats something which would WoW you big time. Innovation is helping us graduate to a higher level of advanced communication by way of such innovative and high grade collaborative tools.
Rama
I think Telepresence will replace Faces-to-Faces and not Face-to-Face.
As I've written in a recent post (see link below), I think that although the technology has gone very far, offering high quality of experience, the face-to-face experience is hard to acheive. The level of intimacy, the need to personally communicate, requires a physical touch.
However, when it comes to faces-to-faces, meetings like design meetings, brainstroming, proudct release meeting, company briefings, etc., I think holding these over video confernecing infrastructure, Telepresence or other, will not only replace the need for physical meetings but will enable a better experience.
Links:
I would prefer tele-presence to a face to face meeting.
Gregory L.
Technology Strategist, System Integrator, Consultant
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (2), Small Business (2), Starting Up (2), Education and Schools (1), Business Development (1), Public Relations (1), Green Business (1)
Telepresence will never replace the real thing. However, once properly set up it can be used to increase communication between working groups and clients. Therefore, think of it as not replacing face-to-face meetings, but augmenting them.
They are an excellent way to engage others quickly and cost-effectively who would otherwise collaborate less as they don't have the time/money to jump in a plane/taxi.
Good question, I personally think that both have their own benfits.
I would like to meet face to face (if we are geographically close enough) to start with (also some initiatives demand face to face contact) and then may be we can have Tele-conferences.
Tele conference is definitely a contributor towards a greener future specially when IT is contributing 2% of the total CO2 emission.
In our Green computing strategy I have identified Tele-conferencing as one of the initiatives that will support the greener future of our company & Australia.
Jeff Y.
BSS/OSS/VAS Solution Architect and Telco Consultant
Best Answers in: Telecommunications (4), Enterprise Software (1)
There is a saying back in the mid-90's, "You can't fax a handshake", that still holds true today. In addition, when dealing with a vendor, you want to observe the body language and you can't do that with tele-presence. Tele-presence has its use but not for every situation.
Marc-Alexandre V.
► Producer, Designer, Project Manager
Best Answers in: Business Development (2), Using LinkedIn (2), Commercial Real Estate (1), Offshoring and Outsourcing (1), Internet Marketing (1), Interface Design (1), Product Design (1), Computers and Software (1), Software Development (1)
A face to face meeting is preferable, but isn't always possible. I'm glad we know have alternatives -- for example, we use Skype a lot to videoconference with our clients in the USA and Europe.
Tsahi L.
Director, Business Solutions at Amdocs
Best Answers in: Market Research and Definition (2), Product Design (1)
I don't see this as a preference issue at all - it's a matter of the specific use case at hand.
You have today a full range of communication capabilities - from a simple email, through IM, voice calls, video calls, telepresence to f2f meeting.
I am using all in different scenarios depending on the need.
I'd rather meet someone in person for the personal touch, but that might not actually be what I want at a given scenario.
John S. R.
Hallym University
Best Answers in: Starting Up (13), Green Business (11), Job Search (10), Venture Capital and Private Equity (8), Business Plans (8), Business Development (5), Career Management (5), Green Products (4), Staffing and Recruiting (3), Certification and Licenses (2), Mentoring (2), Resume Writing (2), Internationalization and Localization (2), Tax Law (2), Organizational Development (2), Franchising (2), Commercial Real Estate (1), Purchasing (1), Education and Schools (1), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Event Marketing and Promotions (1), Accounting (1), Foreign Investment (1), Corporate Taxes (1), Government Policy (1), Personnel Policies (1), Offshoring and Outsourcing (1), Antitrust Law (1), Advertising (1), Events Marketing (1), Internet Marketing (1), Public Relations (1), Writing and Editing (1), Corporate Governance (1), Nonprofit Management (1), Manufacturing (1), Quality Management and Standards (1), Supply Chain Management (1), Product Design (1), Positioning (1), Professional Networking (1), Incorporation (1), Blogging (1), Enterprise Software (1), Web Development (1), Wireless (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
Good day Richard,
They both serve a purpose: face-to-face is the first choice for establishing an initial rapport, etc. A tele / video-conference is a good substitute when travel is not practical / prohibitive, etc.
Regards,
John S. Rajeski
