Favorite Things: Online Meeting Planning Tools

October 26th, 2010 by Jill Sciulli (@jillsciulli) Posted in Collaboration, Favorite Things, Meeting Tips, Tips and Tricks

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Scheduling a meeting with coworkers is easy. You access your internal calendar and scheduling system, find a convenient time for all participants and send the meeting request. Your coworkers can respond easily to your invitation, and at a glance, you know precisely who will attend the meeting.

But what if you have to schedule a meeting with people outside your company? Especially if there are more than two people involved, it can be a nightmarish exchange of emails and phone calls to determine an amenable date and time for everyone. What is a busy person to do?

Enter online meeting planning tools. They can be easily accessed online, and most are free for the basic version. You simply enter the meeting participants’ email addresses, and an email is sent to them about your meeting. Attendees can respond with their availability, and you can choose an appropriate time for everyone without the hassle of multiple email exchanges.

There are many online meeting planning tools, and here are a few of the more popular ones:
         SetAMeeting.com (SAM) http://www.setameeting.com/
         Needtomeet http://www.needtomeet.com/
         Doodle http://doodle.com/
         TimeToMeet http://www.timetomeet.info/
         When is Good http://whenisgood.net/

So the next time you need to organize a meeting, try one of these tools. And even if you don’t need them for business purposes, you might find these tools convenient for arranging a personal event, like a night out with friends. I know I plan to use one to schedule my next book club gathering. Happy meeting!

meeting planning, meeting planning tool, meetings, small business tools, Work from anywhere

PGi in the HBR: Who Should be Your Chief Collaboration Officer?

October 15th, 2010 by Sara Pilling Posted in Collaboration, Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Web Conferencing

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At PGi, we take meetings seriously and understand the complexities of managing an organization’s collaboration needs. Check out this Harvard Business Review blog co-authored by PGi’s own Scott Tapp and Berkley professor Morten Hansen: link.

To Go Green, the U.S. Government Will Expand Use of Web Conferencing

October 5th, 2010 by Michael Buckham-White Posted in Audio Conferencing, Collaboration, Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Web Conferencing

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In a July 26^th article about teleworking on FederalTimes.com, it was noted that the U.S. government was pledging to cut green house gas emission caused by their workers by 13% before the end of 2020. A couple methods they plan to use is encouraging workers to telework more and taking advantage of online meeting technologies. Tim Kauffman states that “to curb those emissions, agencies will need to expand the use of Web-based video conferences,” along with other tactics.

Not that the federal government always gets it right, I believe this is an opportunity for them to gain efficiencies similar to the way businesses are achieving efficiencies now. With the right meeting software, they could minimize greenhouse gas emissions and improve productivity of workers. When I work from home, I save almost an hour in the car and a ½ hour in personal preparation time. That time is usually used to work longer and get a jump start on my day’s activities.

Imagine how much more effective our government could be with the use of online meetings. No, seriously. Think about it. They can help save the planet and taxpayer dollars with increased productivity and efficiency. Some of you may say I am dreaming, but I can hope, can’t I? Either way, online meetings likely figure prominently in the equation for cutting greenhouse emissions. Maybe some other advantages will come along with it as well.

conferencing, green, online meetings, PGi, video conferencing, virtual meetings, web conferencing