Many organisations have invested heavily in virtual technologies in order to reap the rewards and savings of less domestic and international travel.

AND I’m wondering are they yet really reaping the reward of those savings.

The three reasons we are using virtual technologies are:

• • Money
  • Convenience
  • Expediency

In other words, it’s cheap, easy and quick. BUT… not many of us are talking about Quality when it comes to this medium. By quality I mean:

• • Did it achieve the outcome? There are three reasons we meet. Sharing information, discussing a topic, making a decision. It’s important that we understand the purpose of the meeting, and ensure it is designed effectively to achieve our outcome.

• • Did all participants get value for their precious time? Why are we invited to a meeting?  Are we leading it,  providing a contribution,  or receiving information? Did all the participants who came to the meeting understand why they were there, and did they get what they came for?

• • Did the technology support the interaction? Technology should support, enable and create. Simply having it work isn’t enough. It must support us to connect the right people, enable the outcome of the meeting, and it should be creative in nature. So often a meeting takes something away from us rather than creates something. For example, energy. How often do you walk away from meetings with less energy than when you walked in? How is the technology helping us to create something better than if we just received the presentation via email to look at in our own time.

Let’s face it. If we are saving truck loads of money, but creating inefficient, ineffective and disengaged meetings, then what’s the point? It becomes a false economy. Decisions take twice as long, people are twice as frustrated and and this ultimately costs us money.

Are you getting the return on your savings?