News and Features
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Bill Lawson (right) of Ametek demonstrates video conferencing equipment with colleague George Murphy.
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Virtual or Personal:
How companies weigh the costs and benefits of face-to-face contact
By Pam George
Topaz Pharmaceuticals scheduled its board meeting on a Wednesday in January. As it turned out, it was the same day a blizzard came to town. “Flying in from Boston, New York and northern New Jersey and getting into central Philadelphia was physically impossible,” says Nick Spring, President and CEO of the Horsham-based company, which is developing a pediatric cream to control head lice.
Spring and Topaz’s CFO managed to make it to the office. The other 11 participants attended virtually. “It was a very effective board meeting,” Spring says. “Broadly speaking, people were much more decisive and direct; it shows you how effective” a virtual meeting can be. The company is now entertaining the idea of alternating in-person board meetings with virtual meetings.
Virtual communication is not new, but it is growing in popularity. Part of the reason is that the tools have become so easy to use. Virtual meeting platforms are now web-based, accessible from any computer with Internet access. Most laptops come equipped with cameras and microphones, and many companies, including Topaz, provide such laptops to their employees. Oracle employees each get their own conference call account.
Easy virtual options have come at a good time. In this economy, companies are looking to cut travel costs. Employees are looking to reduce travel-related stress. “They’re fed up with getting on a plane unless it will make a big difference,” says Mitch Codkind, Vice President of Business Operations for Primavera in Bala Cynwd, Pa., a global business unit that is part of the Oracle Corporation.
Determining in any situation whether to take the virtual approach or meet face-to-face depends on the industry, the meeting’s purpose and personal preferences. As Codkind says, “There are pros and cons to everything.”
A matter of time and place
Virtual communication has distinct advantages. Paoli, Pa.-based Ametek, a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices, uses knowledge systems, group collaboration sites and internal blogs to keep stakeholders up to date.
On investment banking transactions, the use of virtual technology has minimized the need to requisition, search and review documents in person during the due diligence process. “Historically this process required the bankers, attorneys and accountants involved in a transaction to travel to the client’s site and physically conduct due diligence for several days,” says Brandon Eck, Director, Investment Banking at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. Now they can use a virtual data room, a document repository that facilitates the compliant and auditable exchange of information.
The increasing number of remote workers has added to the popularity of virtual meetings. Topaz has six employees, some of whom live in Boston and northern New Jersey. Last year, those six employees managed 92 contractors and consultants virtually, says Spring. Topaz often uses GoToMeeting, which gives companies unlimited online meetings and webinars for a flat fee.
Virtual meetings are particularly useful when participants are overseas. Codkind’s team, for instance, includes three people in London. They hold weekly staff meetings at 9 a.m. Team members participate in person or at home, depending on their location. “We’ve gotten used to the fact that half the people are in the room and half are on the phone,” he says.
It is not unusual for Bill Lawson, Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Ametek, to hold a meeting with Ametek’s London office at 5 a.m. “I’m inclined to take that call at home,” he says. “I put on my slippers, go down to my office and take the call. Then I have a bit of breakfast and go to the office.” At 10 p.m., he might hold a meeting from home with a site in China.
Lawson is flexible when it comes to the technology. “I’m willing to use Skype, Gmail or AOL or whatever the person prefers,” he says. (Gmail’s chat box has an option that lets users add video and voice.)
Ametek also has conducted training over the Web using WebEx, an online tool by Cisco. Twenty people in two separate locations can participate together in a training session.
Lawson prefers using virtual technology only if he has previously met the person on the other end face-to-face. “So I’m not doing a virtual introduction,” he says. An exception is a first interview with a prospective employee. It doesn’t make sense to fly to India for that when video conferencing is available, he notes.
When it comes to raising capital, Spring might use virtual technology for an initial presentation, especially if the venture capital firm or angel investor is across the country. But “when you’re doing deals, you must be face-to-face, looking each other in the eye,” he says.
When only face-to-face will do
Despite the convenience and low cost of virtual communication, in-person meetings remain the communication method of choice in some instances. Usually, the deciding factor is the nature of the interaction.
Topaz always conducts training for clinical trials in person to ensure that the product is consistently administered and the procedure is the same. While Topaz often communicates virtually with suppliers, company officials will typically meet packaging vendors in person. “People want to touch and see it,” Spring explains.
For Oracle, which sells a high-end product to large enterprises, meeting with decision-makers and users is an in-person affair, although the company might conduct virtual demonstrations.
Investment banking companies also reap benefits from pressing the flesh. “In the investment banking business, or most advisory driven businesses, it’s important to physically get in front of your existing and prospective clients,” Eck says. “Building relationships with clients requires face to face contact.”
For some companies, the duration of the planned encounter is a major factor in the virtual vs. personal decision.
Virtual training is particularly useful for short information sessions, Codkind says. For more extensive training, he prefers having the participants and the instructor in the same room to keep participants engaged.
He’s also a proponent of face-to-face board meetings if they last five to six hours. Holding long virtual meetings can make attention spans sputter, he said. Moreover, the company misses the benefit of the impromptu discussions that occur during breaks or meals. Some of the best ideas are the product of spontaneous interaction.
“You can interact, communicate and inform virtually but you can’t build relationships or that team esprit de corps over the phone or through a webinar,” Codkind says.
Good news vs. bad news can be another deciding factor. There’s general agreement that bad news should be delivered in person. Lawson explains that the bearer needs to be able to see the person’s reaction and respond appropriately.
“From my standpoint, virtual versus face-to-face is situational,” Lawson says. “I don’t think there’s a cheat sheet. It depends on the nature of the relationship, the person and the message.” His advice: “Use common sense.”
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Now you can go to a trade show
without going anywhere
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Mitch Codkind of Primavera
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You’ve probably attended a virtual meeting or webinar, but have you been to a virtual trade show? Primavera in Bala Cynwd, Pa., a global business unit within the Oracle Corporation, hosted a virtual trade show dedicated to its offerings.
More than 3,000 people registered for the virtual event. “It was very successful,” says Mitch Codkind, Vice President of Business Operations for Primavera. “The feedback was incredibly positive.”
Virtual trade shows may include virtual booths, to which companies upload company literature, videos, PowerPoint presentations, photos and other content. Customers can chat online with exhibitors via video, audio or text. They can also make purchases.
At the Primavera event, “attendees” were greeted with video and voice welcome messages, and they could enter subject and demonstration areas that interested them. Online chat rooms let them interact with each other and with the product experts. “In real time, we could answer questions, which continued 45 minutes after the show was over,” Codkind says. The content was recorded and it is accessible for the next 12 months.
Virtual trade shows now augment the large traditional trade shows that Oracle holds throughout the year.
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Photo of Ametek leaders by Paola Noguera.
