"Sorry, I was in the middle of a sandwich"
More than 45 percent of Business Professionals in Hong Kong Risk Embarrassing Moments
HONG KONG, August 3 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- In a world that demands more to be done during the working day, a new survey from meeting experts Premiere Global (PGi), has found that more than 50 percent of professionals in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong multi-task during conference calls or web meetings.
Not surprisingly, more than 35 percent admitted that they had experienced an awkward episode as a result of doing too much at one time, like saying something embarrassing about another person or sharing a joke on their screen when they shouldn't.
The survey(1) that was commissioned by PGi in June 2010 asked a total of 1,000 full-time workers in these three markets about their meeting habits during conference calls.
In Hong Kong, nearly 55 percent of business professionals are working on another task or, go through their emails, or even chat with co-workers offline on an entirely unrelated topic, whilst conferencing. Interestingly, respondents also admitted to watching TV (23 percent), reading the news and checking social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter (31 percent). Meanwhile, 34 percent of Hong Kongers are happy to eat their way through a conference call and about 6 percent have no qualms about doing their nails either!
Some of the most embarrassing conferencing moments for Hong Kong included:
-- "Accidentally hanging up the phone"
-- "Having a conversation with another person whilst the phone was not
muted."
Joanne Rigby, marketing director at PGi said, "Although the person on the other end of the line -- or screen -- cannot see you, it's important to participate and be engaged in the meeting as if it is a face-to-face interaction, especially when more and more of us are regularly conducting meetings remotely. Simple things such as muting your phone and minimising your email and instant messaging pop-ups will help you to have a more professional meeting, and hopefully one that's blooper-free too."
Conference calls on the go
The research also revealed some pretty interesting places that Hong Kongers have taken work-related conference calls, including at the supermarket, at a pub, in the car or even on a public phone!
"Whilst calls have taken place in some rather interesting locations, it's clear that Hong Kongers are also using collaboration tools to work more flexibly, with 61 percent having used web or audio conferencing for work purposes whilst at home. It shows that businesses and employees are really embracing technology to allow them more freedom in their work," adds Joanne.
However, for those who are working from home, it can sometimes be difficult to switch off or create clear boundaries for work and rest. "Try to create a defining moment -- such as reading your favourite book or watching a movie -- to signal the formal end of your working day," continues Joanne.
Joanne also offers some additional tips on conferencing etiquette for both participants and meeting organisers, enabling more productive meetings both online and over the phone:
-- Stay engaged: To ensure people are focused throughout a call,
keeping them on their toes will decrease the amount of time they
spend multitasking. If you're presenting, ask lots of questions and
make calls as interactive as possible.
-- Be organised: Send through a meeting agenda in advance, and ask
attendees to come prepared with information they want to discuss in
the meeting too. Not only will this help more people get involved,
but it will also help the meeting stay on track and not go off at
tangents.
-- Cut out the noise: You wouldn't expect interruptions in a
face-to-face meeting, so for those that are frequently on the move
and have to take conference calls on the run, make sure conference
details are included in the email invitation, along with
instructions to mute/un-mute their line to block out background
noise.
-- Seeing is believing: With technology opening up more doors than ever
before, the ability to use web conferencing in conjunction with the
telephone means that it's possible to see people on webcams
throughout the meeting too. Having some face-to-face time makes
things far more personal.
About Premiere Global Services, Inc. (PGi)
The world collaborates with PGi. Our advanced meeting, conferencing and collaboration solutions energise people and organisations to connect more meaningfully and work together more productively. Our customers include more than 50,000 companies and nearly 90% of the Fortune 500. Every month, 12 million people around the world use PGi's advanced solutions and next-generation platform to meet, work and collaborate. PGi is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with operations in 24 countries worldwide. You can learn more at http://www.pgi.com .
Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management's current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. A variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in Premiere Global Services, Inc.'s forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following factors: competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; technological changes; the development of alternatives to our services; general domestic and international economic, business or political conditions; risks associated with challenging global economic conditions or a prolonged recession, including customer consolidations, restructuring, bankruptcies or payment defaults; market acceptance of our new services and enhancements; our ability to complete acquisitions and successfully integrate acquired operations; concerns regarding the security of sending information over the Internet and public networks; our ability to upgrade our equipment or increase our network capacity; service interruptions; continued weakness in our legacy broadcast fax business; our dependence on telecommunications supply agreements; increased financial leverage; our dependence on our subsidiaries for cash flow; future write-downs of goodwill or other intangible assets; assessments of income, sales and other taxes for which we have not accrued; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; our ability to protect our proprietary technology and intellectual property rights; possible adverse results of pending or future litigation or infringement claims; federal, state or international legislative or regulatory changes, including further government regulations applicable to traditional telecommunications service providers; risks associated with international operations and fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes in and the successful execution of restructuring and cost reduction initiatives and the market reaction thereto and other factors described from time to time in our press releases, reports and other filings with the SEC, including but not limited to the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or a person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
(1) PGi's research was conducted by GMI and included qualitative and
quantitative findings. All interviews were conducted in June 2010
and were sourced from an online research panel. The survey polled
400 Singaporeans, 400 Hong Kongers and 200 Malaysians to represent
correct demographics of age, gender and state.
For further information, please contact:
Sandy Yu
PGi
Tel: +852-2299-9018
Email: sandy.yu.pgi.com
