Research finds Kiwis will sit through nearly 4,000 conference calls in a career
With the rise in digital technology, it seems the number of meetings held digitally or via a call has increased but the quality hasn’t improved. With over 80% of kiwis struggling to hear the majority (if not all) of a conference call discussion.
On average each person will sit through 3,700 conference calls in their career, though three-quarters of us believe a face to face meeting would be more valuable.
Technology has brought Kiwi business to the world stage, helping companies expand like never before, says Nick Queale, General Manager at Flight Centre Corporate.
“There is obviously huge value in technology, but we mustn’t forget about the power of human connection. With more work than ever and the ever-evolving nature of processes and product - slowing down and evaluating how effective communication is at work, is a worthwhile task.
“Finding out that 32% of people put the conference call on mute, to have a conversation with the person beside them is reason enough to stop booking in calls for ease and invest in face to face time with colleagues,” says Queale.
Research of one thousand of the nation’s workers reveals:
- The average Kiwi will sit through 3,786 conference calls during their career
- Kiwis believe over 80% of the conference calls they attend are ‘pointless’ or don’t achieve any result
- Over 3/4 see more value in meeting face to face
- A staggering 87% of workers admit to struggling to hear the call most or all of the time
- 90% of all conference calls have technical difficulties
- Two-thirds aren’t even sure who’s speaking
So what are workers doing to pass the time?
- One third browse non-work sites or catch up on social media
- 43% admit to daydreaming, thinking about what else they could be doing
- 42% admit to checking emails or doing work that is unrelated to that meeting
- 32% have put the call on mute to have a conversation with someone else
- 7% are guilty of dropping out of a conference call early, hoping no one notices
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