Online meetings were once only in the thoughts of science fiction writers, but now they are an everyday occurrence.  No matter the industry, no matter the size of your company, and no matter the economic situation, online meetings can significantly impact your bottom line.  Nearly everyone is collaborating in one form or another, and now there is no need to worry about distance.  The Internet and online meetings have changed business forever, and you can use this to your benefit.

The advantages of online meetings are pretty clear.  They enable your company to become more efficient in a variety of ways.  Online meetings can help you reduce travel expenditures, keep your people near their everyday working locations as opposed to moving around a lot, and it keeps your employees all pushing the same way in their daily efforts for your business.

Using online meetings to save travel expenditures is pretty clear.  No matter the cost of the software used to do online meetings,  it is nothing in comparison to the cost of  hotel stays for even a small group of your employees.  Nearly all providers give you cost certainty by allowing for flat rate monthly fees, without regard for the amount of online meetings you host.  Online meetings not only save you money, but also help you budget with fixed costs as opposed to variable costs.

Online meetings also allow you to keep your people where they belong, near your customers or in their production facilities. This keeps them ready to work within minutes of the end of  online meetings, as opposed to hours and days later due to travel.  Not only that, but travel is physically and mentally exhausting, which makes your people less eager and less able to interact in their normal jobs for a few days after returning.

Finally, online meetings are an effective tool to keep all you employees pushing in the same direction to reach the goals you have for your company.  Previously, it was difficult to keep employees around the world up to date and focused.  Distance is no longer a barrier with online meetings.  It is hard enough to get your entire organization working toward the same goal.  Not using online meetings to help in this endeavor is simply missing out on opportunities.

Making the effort to do online meetings has become a necessity for companies of all sizes.  Unless you are a one office organization, you need to take advantage of what technology has done for you.  While there are many pros and cons of online training and meetings, the benefits far outweigh the costs.  From significant travel savings, to employee morale improvement by keeping them near home, to clarifying your company goals for your people, online meetings have become an invaluable tool in the constant effort to move your business to the next level.  Make the decision to improve your company, and take advantage of online meetings.