Half of 294 travel management and procurement professionals we surveyed were involved with managing virtual conferencing tools within their organizations, while 43 percent were not involved with that function and just 7 percent said their companies did not use such remote conference tools as audio- and videoconferencing or telepresence.
Considering the departments to which respondents reported, those in the executive offices tended to be more involved at 67 percent, compared with 51 percent for those in dedicated travel departments, 52 percent in procurement and just 36 percent in finance.
Three in five buyers who said they were involved with virtual conferencing indicated they had indirect involvement, which stands to reason as such technologies tend to be purchased by information technology departments. The 43 percent who were involved with procuring the solutions tended to be more involved with implementation, as 51 percent of those respondents said they internally marketed and communicated use of the tools, versus one-third who said they actually selected suppliers and 29 percent who said they managed contracts.
"I'm not surprised at the response, as the provision of collaborative tools has tended to be seen as part of IT's brief," said PricewaterhouseCoopers head of business services Mark Avery. "However, if you are going to make a difference in terms of reducing your carbon footprint from air travel, then it is essential that there is a holistic approach between the travel department, procurement, sustainability and IT. The technology is the enabler; embedding change needs a far broader approach."
Avery also was not surprised that one-quarter of the 126 buyers who were not involved with remote conferencing believed they should be. Just 9 percent of them expected to be.
"It could be higher," Avery suggested. "Sometimes there is a frustration. To some degree, there are two groups: Those who from a travel point of view want to be involved but cannot, and those who say they don't understand it and are not really interested. Certainly, some people I speak to say they 'have enough to do.' "
Siemens Corp.'s board this year directed its travel management department "to market desktop videoconferencing equipment, measure usage on a monthly basis" and devise a formula to estimate travel cost avoidance from use of such technology in lieu of travel for internal meetings, said mobility services director Steven Schoen. Siemens' information systems department continues to be responsible for the technology, but the travel team has devised some "very conservative measurements" to track travel cost avoidance with use of the technology, he said. Initially, Siemens diverted about half of its internal meetings travel to videoconferencing. "Now it's down to about 20 percent," Schoen said.
At no point, he added, did the company consider stopping all travel. "That would have certainly inhibited our ability to gain share. We are encouraging use of this for internal meetings, but even [then], sometimes face-to-face meetings still have value," he said. "Virtual meeting tools can prove to be a valuable addition to a company's meetings and event strategy," according to Maritz Travel vice president of marketing Chris Gaia.
"Meeting planners should increase their understanding of virtual meetings tools as these tools represent an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of their programs. When thinking of using virtual tools, start with the end in mind: What's the purpose of your meeting or event? Use the right tools based on that purpose. Understand that not all meetings work well with virtual tools. For example, in the corporate transient travel world, Web collaboration tools or telepresence suites in many instances eliminate the need for the one-day trip to present to or work with clients. For larger group meetings, we find that virtual tools tend to work best as add-ons to the face-to-face event."
Maritz officials have been emphasizing that while some face-to-face events can be replaced by virtual conferencing, a hybrid often is appropriate. General industry dialogue also appears to have moved past the defensive reaction that many travel professionals traditionally had with regard to remote conferencing alternatives and on to assessments of how the different options for collaboration can coexist and be managed effectively.