Handling Difficult People & Employees | Six Ways Video & Web Conferencing Can Benefit Your Business

As a small business owner, you wear many "different hats" from strategic planner to bookkeeper. However one area may owners aren't prepared for is managing people. Although employees allow you to get more work done, they create a whole new series of problems from hiring issues to worker's compensation. And there is no way to tell if the people you hire today are going to be a good fit for your company. At a certain point, you might find you need a crash course in handling difficult people.

Many conflicts can arise between small business owners and their workers. These problems can range from salary disagreements to performance problems. A conflict with one of your employees, for example, can cost you a valuable client because he or she is misrepresenting you and your company. On the other hand, one of your workers may have attendance issues or may refuse to perform certain necessary tasks.

Whatever the issue, difficult employees all have one thing in common. They will negatively impact your business. So as a business owner, you must accept the realities of handling difficult people. Here are a few tips that will help you deal with such individuals.

Handling difficult employees? Here's what you must do before they destroy your business.

Are you really using the power of modern technology to make your business more profitable? Sure, you are using e-mail, you have a web page and you may be reaching your clients and customers with an electronic mailing list, but are you using web and video conferencing to hold virtual meetings with your employees, customers and clients in different geographical locations? Here are six ways how web and video conferencing can help you to increase the efficiency of your enterprise.

First however, it is important to know what web and video conferencing are. Web conferencing is when two or more people “meet” over the Internet to share information and ideas. Web conferencing systems typically provide tools that allow participants to perform “Online Collaboration” by working together over the Internet, sharing applications and documents.

Some web conferencing tools include the ability to share one’s desktop, allowing participants to “present” information, be it a PowerPoint Presentation, an Excel Spreadsheet or a Word Document with other attendees of their web conference. It is even possible for participants to remotely control other participants’ computers. Video conferencing allows participants to see and hear each other using head sets and web cams, and is usually included in good web conferencing system.

Now take a look at how some companies are already getting the benefits of this cutting- edge technology:

1. They are holding “web meetings” with prospects, customers, clients and fellow workers without having to incur any travel expenses. These face-to-face meetings are conducted using the click of a keyboard and the movement of a mouse.

2. They are demonstrating and supporting products and services without having to send people to far-flung destinations. Web conferencing can enable your staff to get behind the desk of your client and do the trouble shooting or give the training that you may be currently doing, without having to send your support staff out on expensive personal visits.

3. They are holding virtual training and classrooms for students, employees and clients. Schools and Universities in particular are using web and video conferencing to create “virtual classrooms,” while companies are training their employees at several locations using combined web and video conferences.

4. They are giving online web and video support to clients. Live chat boxes are great, I use them all the time, but the support you can offer when your technician can take over a client’s computer and really fix the problem is much more powerful. And, when your client can see who is helping him or her, it really adds a special “warm and fuzzy” touch.

5. They are saving thousands of dollars in travel costs by cutting down on commuting and travel and time spent out of the office. “As a result of this technology, our need to travel between offices has been greatly reduced, which has already saved us thousands of dollars,” says Saul Rothschild, Information Systems Manager at Steel Encounters, Inc.”

In times of rising fuel costs, web and video conferencing can really make a huge difference to a company’s bottom line. Companies using web conferencing are not only able to cut down on their travel expenses, but their sales representatives, trainers and support staff also get to spend more productive time in the office and do not lose valuable hours sitting in a car or on a plane.

6. They are thinking “outside the box” and devising new ways to work now that they are free of geographical limitations. The companies and organizations that have adopted web and video conferencing technology are marketing products and services, conducting training and giving support as if all their employees, prospects and clients were working together under one roof. Company meetings, sales meetings, employee training, and product launches are now being conducted with a new 21st Century flair.

So, consider your own business or activity and think of how web and video conferencing could help you to work more effectively with all your constituents without having to leave your office.

About the author:
Dan Richmond is CEO and Co-founder of MegaMeeting.com His company provides web conferencing and video conferencing services for individuals, businesses and educational institutions. For more information, or for a free live demonstration of Video & Web Conferencing technology, please visit

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