Operator-assisted conferencing
To schedule an operator-assisted/event reservation, call 866-238-4325 (activated customers only). Or, call 866-257-1425, option 1 to talk to an associate and create an account.
Operator-assisted conferencing provides the comprehensive support needed for important corporate phone calls like investor relations calls or upper level management meetings.
With this reservation-required service, an operator is on hand to place calls to participants and to help manage the conference call, from the beginning roll call to wrap-up reporting. While this can be overkill for small conference calls, when a call has dozens or even thousands of participants, having someone help manage the call logistics while you are speaking can be incredibly helpful.
The only drawbacks to operator-assisted conferencing are the higher cost and the need to make reservations up to a day in advance. For calls where advanced features or operator assistance is important, however, neither drawback is serious enough to avoid using this type of service.
Business conferencing features
Conducting a meeting over the phone creates specific difficulties, primarily because participants are not face to face. Most services offer a set of features to address some of the problems of business conferencing.
Web conferencing is the newest, and probably most widely adopted, conferencing feature available through many conferencing providers. Web conferencing allows you to deliver presentations online, adding a visual element to complement the conference call. This can involve showing a simple set of Microsoft PowerPoint slides, navigating through a web site, or demonstrating how a software programs works. From a presenter's perspective, one of the tool's primary advantages is that you can control what your meeting participants see and when they see it.
Conference management
In a meeting room, it is relatively easy to control the tempo and flow of conversation. However, control is more difficult to establish in a teleconference. The following features give conference organizers the flexibility to manage a teleconference in much the same way they would face to face:
- Call monitoring ensures that an operator is available at all times for the conference. This allows participants to be added in the middle of the discussion, or for other features to be accessed.
- Roll call lets everyone know who is connected into the conference. An operator conducts roll call, asking each participant for his or her name.
- Subconferencing allows designated participants to communicate privately within the call. Subconference attendees can later return to the main conference. In most cases, many subconferences can be established within any one call.
Additional features include call recording and playback. These services typically carry additional per-call costs.
Large conferences
Many business conferencing services can handle conferences of more than 100 people. However, the demands of large conferences require additional features to allow for orderly discussion. In many cases, these features are used for large meetings where only a few designated people are expected to speak.
- Lectoring mutes the majority of the participants and only allows designated Moderators to speak to the rest. This relieves conferences of the inevitable background noises coming from many participants.
- Question and answer creates an orderly exchange of information by allowing participants to signal via phone when they have questions. The operator then calls on specific participants for their input.
- Polling allows participants to vote on particular issues. By pushing a touch-tone button, participants can accept or reject proposals in the conference. The operator tallies votes in real time for the chairperson and can provide a printed summary if required.
Choosing a conference calling service
Choosing a conference calling service if you plan to hold reservationless conferencing is a fairly straightforward affair: just make sure the service offers conferencing with the features you want at a fair price.
If you anticipate using operator-assisted service for critical event calls, take the time to learn about the conference calling company beyond its pricing. How long has the company been around? What experience has it had in managing event calls? What training do operators have? Are operators based in-house?
Speak with references about the conference calling service's ability to patch in participants efficiently and effectively. Also, ask about how helpful the operator was in helping manage the various calling features you intend to use. It is important to make sure the analyst call runs smoothly so your company's image is not negatively affected.