Remote Working Archives

Should you hold conference calls or a video calls?

Admin 12th March 2021

A lot of us often wonder about whether to choose conference calls or video calls. There are big benefits on both sides, and some shared across the two. After all, there’s no doubt that advancements in call technology have paved the way for new communication methods at work. They allow us to host keynote presentations from across the world, offering inclusivity to those with accessibility needs. Any type of group phone call also provides a sense of connection when teammates are working apart – something particularly valuable through COVID-related lockdowns and social distancing.

But while jumping on a video call has become a knee-jerk reaction for many, it’s not without its drawbacks. Video brings some complications that traditional conference calls simply don’t have. If you’re wondering whether to organise a conference call or video call, don’t forget that sometimes just picking up the phone is the better option.

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How to encourage conference call participation

Admin 2nd March 2021

With telecommuting become part and parcel of daily life, the need to encourage conference call participation is on all our radars. Whether you are a developer, manager, director or client, you will probably understand the challenges that conference call participation can pose. Meeting dynamics often solidify rather quickly, as extraverted participants take centre stage and readily express their opinions. Bolder characters may be excellent for producing new ideas. Unfortunately, though, it can cause participants who are more reserved to fade into the background. If you want to enhance your team’s productivity and unity, implementing some of the following solutions can work wonders. After all, we all want to learn how to have more effective conference calls.

Both the call’s leader and its participants can make a huge difference in encouraging conference call participation. Read on to discover some tips and tactics to improve your team’s conference call participation.

Business Conference Calls, Business Tips and Advice, Conference Call Tips, Remote Working

How do you make a conference call more fun?

Admin 11th February 2021

It’s Tuesday afternoon and you’re already four conference calls into the week. Of course, conference calls are important for so many businesses. But making conference calls more fun should be a bigger priority. Otherwise, they can become tedious and repetitive, and morale and productivity will drop.

Whether you’re working from home and need to catch up with colleagues, or you’re calling clients, these tips will help to make your next conference call more fun.

Conference Call Tips, Remote Working

10 ways to be more effective on conference calls

Admin 25th January 2021

Since last year, people are increasingly keen to learn how to hold effective conference calls. For those who lead team meetings, reflection is commonplace when it comes to making sure the valuable time spent together is as productive as possible. You might try different meeting structures or various frequencies of conference calls – you may even ask yourself ‘are conference calls effective at all?’. Balancing productivity with team engagement is the real challenge for meeting leaders. To find out how to achieve effective conference calls, read on to discover our top ten tips.

Business Conference Calls, Conference Call Tips, Remote Working

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The importance of audio quality on your conference call

Admin 14th January 2021

Maximising the quality of your conference call is a top priority for many. After all, the importance of audio conferencing cannot be understated. Being one of the most popular means of business communication, teleconferencing and high quality conference calls ensure that a business meeting is more productive at virtually no loss to the company. It’s a solution to previous practices that have now proven unsustainable. For example, the prohibitive travel costs of a business meeting meant that a chunk of your company’s money was spent on logistics alone.

Business Conference Calls, Conference Call Tips, Remote Working

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Has 2020 built more trust among teams?

Admin 10th January 2021

One of the big debates of 2020 was whether we should trust employees who work from home. We all had to adjust to new ways of living in 2020, especially those of us who switched to remote work. Our old routines have given way to new ones. We’ve forged new means of communication that, even post-pandemic, we’ll still use.

Thinking about traditional modes of working, perhaps the single biggest change is in the dynamic between colleagues. More specifically: how is your team dynamic affected when the members of that team are working remotely? A Forbes article published on 27th May goes some way in arguing that employers don’t trust people to work from home.

What does this mean for the future? Is there a fundamental distrust at the heart of WFH culture? Or has 2020 built more trust among teams and between the business owner and employee?

Read our article to find out…

Remote Working

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Is remote working the future? These businesses are making the switch

Admin 5th January 2021

In late March, when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the UK, many businesses had to adapt to a remote working environment. From creative agencies to corporate lawyers, working from home soon became the norm.

Remote working certainly isn’t for everyone, and some businesses have embraced the change more than others. However, in a world of time-consuming commutes and expensive office spaces, this new way of working has been a breath of fresh air for some businesses.

As a result, these firms have recently switched to remote working permanently – here’s why.

Remote Working

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Five trends shaping the future of work

Admin 4th January 2021

With the unpredictability that hit us in 2020, it’s no surprise you’re interested in knowing five trends shaping the future of work. The workplace as we know it has changed dramatically. Since the COVID-19 crisis, our working days are vastly different to what we’re used to and there are potentially more changes to come.

Most rapid was our newfound working from home situations, of course – that’s a biggie. However, over the last decade or so there have been many trends shaping the future of remote work, some of which look set to shape the future of work entirely.

Remote Working

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The ultimate guide to effective note-taking on a conference call

Admin 10th December 2020

Conference calls are an excellent way to work and collaborate with others remotely, whether you are two businesses collaborating on opposite sides of the world or one fully remote team looking to stay connected. There’s no doubt conference calls are a must-have tool for many businesses today, but the key to any great conference call is effective note-taking.

Learn how to take notes during a phone call (or a video conference) with our guide.

Business Tips and Advice, Conference Call Tips, Remote Working

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10 ways to avoid working from home distractions

Admin 27th October 2020

Many people are currently combating working from home distractions. Of course, working from home can be a godsend for parents looking to spend more time with the family, those with extremely long commutes or even people who simply work better in their own space. Gone are the times when people believed it essential to be in an office setting to get work done.

However, worker productivity when at home is still under scrutiny, and not all employers are convinced that it’s a positive thing. One contributing factor may be those pesky working from home distractions which affect the best of us. Instead of pushing through in a chaotic work environment, read on to learn a few tips and tricks on how to create a feng shui zone for your distraction-free home office.

Remote Working