Linda Easton reviews her notes one more time as she makes the final preparations for the big day. In about ten minutes, she will be facilitating her company’s annual management seminar for marketing and sales directors from over ten different countries. It’s an important event, as this year management will be rolling out a new, company-wide sales strategy in all regions. Down the hall however, the conference room stands empty. There is no coffee being brewed in the office kitchen, no extra seating has been brought in. Not a single flight has been booked for any of the participants, no hotel rooms reserved, no taxis wait outside. To the outside observer, it seems difficult to imagine that Linda will be doing much of anything this afternoon.
At five minutes to start time, Linda glances at her watch, opens up her laptop and settles in behind her desk. At two minutes, she is pleased to see that the sales directors from Germany and Portugal have arrived, early as usual. Moments later, as she uploads her presentation and projects it onto the whiteboard, managers from France, Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands make their entrance. “Glad you all could make it!” Linda says as the newcomers appear one by one on her screen and begin uploading files to share with the rest of the group. After a quick audio and video test, Linda kicks off the training with a short video that soon has the whole group engaged in a lively debate. The training is not without its awkward moments; at one point Linda has to take control of the interactive whiteboard for a moment to keep an over-excited group exercise from devolving into chaos. And it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the live conversation and the ongoing chat on the session’s back channel. But once the group becomes familiar with some of the features, things go a little more smoothly. After concluding the final Q&A session, Linda can’t help but grin as she is treated to a round of applause from an audience halfway across the world.
These days, many organizations like Linda’s are looking for ways to streamline their operations and take important cost-saving measures. Too often, this means slashing or eliminating a large part of the company’s communication and training budget. The irony is that as workforces are called upon to do more with less, the need for effective internal knowledge sharing only grows. A web seminar, or webinar, may prove to be a unique solution to this problem. Compared to traditional workshops and training sessions, the webinar has some distinct advantages:
- It makes use of interactive features that create a unique environment for training and workshops.
- It eliminates transport, accommodation and other administrative costs associated with traditional seminars and workshops.
- It provides the means for shorter and more frequent communication sessions.
- It can be recorded and re-used for additional events or development purposes.
Many companies already have some kind of web conferencing system that can be adapted to host a webinar. In fact, web conferencing has been used for internal communications for some time now by large, geographically dispersed organizations. It is commonly used in much the same way as a conference call, as a way of quickly connecting and sharing information with colleagues in other parts of the world. However, few organizations have realized this technology’s full potential for knowledge sharing. By taking advantage of a host of interactive features like live video feeds, whiteboard displays, messaging, chat, and other multi-media applications, the webinar allows participants to give, receive, and discuss information much as they would in a traditional classroom setting, at a fraction of the cost. Take a closer look at your existing system and you may be surprised at some of the features available. Can you see how to use this tool in a more effective way?
If your organization is not already using a web conferencing system, you may be interested in one of the many free trials available on the web. There are a number of places to visit online if you are interested in learning more about this technology. Websites like Webex and Dim Dim offer useful overviews and free trial software. It’s a great way to explore the possibilities of this new technology.
Part of our mission as a Change Agency is to keep an eye on developments in the way learning and knowledge sharing are taking place in today’s organizations. We think webinars and other applications like it are part of what promises to be a revolution in the way large organizations operate. This kind of technology has the power to bridge knowledge gaps and distribute experience quickly and efficiently to where it is needed most. Managed properly, it constitutes a powerful tool in your efforts of realizing more cost efficient operations. Will it work for your organization? You are only a few clicks away from finding out.
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