More than 50% percent of the people surveyed in a recent study conducted by Russell Research found that meetings are worth neither the preparation nor the travel they demand.

"A survey sponsored by Raindance Communications, Inc., a premier provider of integrated web and audio conferencing services, indicates that 90 percent of audio conferencers multitask by doing things other than paying full attention to meeting content."

Photo credit: Strangnas

Here is some interesting data:

"Nine out of 10 employees admit to multitasking during an audio conference call. Many of the extra tasks cited in the survey are business-related: 70 percent of the respondents said they work on other projects; 51 percent read e-mail.

Many respondents, however, see the conference call as an opportunity to take care of other important business:"

"38 percent of the respondents said they ate during a call;
36 percent mute the meeting to make or take another phone call, while
9 percent admitted to answering nature's call."

No surprise then that 13 percent of them cited as the oddest place from which they've participated in a conference call:

They were all in the restroom!

But there is more interesting stuff:

"Twelve percent did so from a car. Some other off-the-beaten-business-path locations: the bedroom (2 percent), in or by a pool, in a basement, at a gas station and in a kitchen (1 percent each)."

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Another major issue that connects to the low level of attention of participants in online meetings is the difficulty with which sometimes one needs to be confronted when searching for support information to what is being presented.

"One statistic points to the disorganized nature of most conference calls: 69 percent said they spend time during the call looking for the materials under discussion."

What's your experience?

Can you share some useful insights?

P.S.: The survey was conducted among 385 respondents who said they participate in a conference call at least once every two to three months.
Raindance commissioned the survey with Russell Research based off of 385 respondents and a margin of error of +/- 5.1 percentage points.

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Original article by Rob O'Regan - CMO entitled:
Hangin' on the Telephone
(c) Copyright © 2005 CXO Media Inc. All rights reserved.