Video conferencing and other alternative forms of face-to-face meetings

In touch but not in transit

It’s no easy task to arrive at the ideal formula that can increase employee productivity and reduce occupancy costs. Innovations expert Dr Marie Puybaraud examines the core elements of using the workplace as the apparatus for change and enhancement

by Kevin Stanley

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently announced international scheduled traffic results that highlighted a deepening, year-on-year, slump in demand. Environmental concerns have clearly played a part in many businesses reducing their use of air travel but more recently, as the recession has forced everyone to think more carefully about their expenditure, cost has become one of the driving issues.

A recent survey commissioned by independent electricity supplier Opus Energy, polled over 500 small business owners and managers to discover where they would be cutting back during the current economic downturn. The survey, performed by YouGov, highlighted the fact that 37 per cent of Britain’s small businesses are planning to cut their budgets for business travel in order to weather the recession.

Travelling by air has a greater climate impact per passenger kilometre, even over longer distances, than any other form of transport. So in an industry that is truly global, how can facilities management providers and their clients either reduce their air miles, or justify them?

“In many cases telephone and video-conferencing can reduce the need to travel. Telephone and video-conferencing is often used extensively by businesses that operate globally, however it’s important to invest in suitable hardware as limited investment into less capable equipment can make the whole experience quite stressful at times,” says Roger McConnell, development director of FM provider Facilient. “The advances in technology have been really impressive, and providing that people abide by certain protocols such as speaking in turn, then the awkwardness of telephone and video-conferencing can be easily managed. However even if your company is willing to make an investment in high-end technology sometimes this investment can not be justified as, in my opinion, the quality of the conference also depends largely on the equipment at the other end.”

FM coach Liz Kentish suggests some slightly less high-tech ideas for ways to communicate that focus more on the person than the technology. “As well as telephone and video-conferencing, try using simple methods of communicating that will make people feel as though they are in the same building as you such as instant messaging, webinars, intranet sites, or shared systems like SharePoint or Meeting Place,” says Kentish. “If you’re working with an international team it is also useful to have interpreters on hand and to be aware of cultural differences.”

Technology compatibility issues aside, there will always be people unable, or unwilling, to use telephone or video-conferencing. However Gordon Ludlow, director of Ludlow Facilities Management, and chair of the BIFM’s Sustainability special interest group says that people should be willing to make the effort. “After initial reticence, the fear of new technology soon goes. Video-conferencing equipment is now very easy to use just like a telephone,” says Ludlow, before reinforcing the point made by others that some face-to-face sales meetings simply can’t be replaced by technology.

“Organisations should not look to do away with face-to-face meetings altogether but instead look to replace a percentage of regular long distance management meetings with video calls. After all, there is no point having senior managers travelling around the world for preliminary interviews,” he says. So for some companies, video and tele-conferencing are an option for simple meetings, but are there psychological issues surrounding people meeting face-to-face, especially for more important meetings? Some companies believe that when meeting in person, a deal is more likely to be sealed, and that a closer relationship is formed and maybe in a time of recession this is of vital importance. “It depends on the people involved, and the culture of the organisation with which we are negotiating. There is no ‘one size fits all’ way of clinching a deal — different situations require different solutions,” says McConnell. “However, given that facilities management is all about service, then relationships with people are vital and, as such, face-to-face meetings will create a bond faster that phone or email, or even video-conferencing.”

One of the most high-tech, and interesting, options in remote conferencing is holographic conferencing, such as that provided by Musion’s Eyeliner — a high definition holographic video projection system that allows three-dimensional moving images to appear within a live stage setting. Although its use currently appears to be effectively limited to giving presentations or speeches FM World asked Musion if its technology is the next logical step in remote conferencing and was it ready for use by businesses? “Yes, we believe that Musion Telepresence is the next step in video-conferencing, in fact it is rather a quantum leap,” says Ian O’Connell, director of Musion. “The applications for Eyeliner technology are manifold, even without the integration of live-streaming holograms,” he explains.

Effective and affordable two-way communication for average business users still seems a little out of reach, although it certainly looks as though it will be available in the near future. “In November 2008, Musion launched its Telepresence event between London and Berlin, including Q&A with stage presenter and audience using 3D-video and sound delivered via high-speed line from London to Berlin,” says O’Connell. “At the moment, line and codec costs are still high but we believe that the technology will be available to a wide customer range including households within the next two to three years,” he says.

Business thrives on face-to-face meetings and sometimes companies feel that it is unavoidable that they must be allowed to travel freely to meet clients. But if an organisation has no other choice than to cut air miles what will it mean for their in-house FM team or outsourced provider? “It is not facilities management companies, but the organisations that they serve where the biggest impacts will be,” says Ludlow. “Facilities managers are increasingly asked to manage organisations’ environmental programmes and report where air travel features highly,” he says.

As we have seen, there are certainly alternatives to travelling, but for most people they remain secondary to real personal contact. “Overall it’s about remembering that sustainability applies to people too; if we get too hung up on what is environmentally sound, and forget about people’s innate need to connect, we could be giving a message to our people that they come second,” says Kentish. “One way to cut travel is to still meet face to face occasionally, but have key communicators in place on every site that you can rely on to pass clear messages on, both ways, face to face.”

Kevin Stanley is a freelance journalist