This week’s United Nations conference on climate change in Copenhagen is certainly going to have global implications for many developed countries. While the debate on the validity of climate change continues, the trend for Greener IT is headed in only one direction, UP. What does this mean for Global IT departments? It means more emphasis on laptops, Virtual machines, cleaner power supplies, and increased remote access.

What type of reports and recommendations can IT departments expect from Copenhagen? Probably something similar to a report released by Denmark with recommendations to IT departments in the private sector: titled “Action Plan for Green IT in Denmark” In this report it outlines 2 Focus Areas and 8 Main initiatives:

1. Focus Area 1: Greener IT use
   1. Corporate IT use must become greener
   2. Green IT information Campaign
   3. Guidelines for Green IT for public authorities
   4. Knowledge base for energy and CO2 calculation
2. Focus Area 2: IT solutions for a sustainable Future
   1. Green IT research funding
   2. Export of Green IT know-how and technology
   3. International conference on Green IT
   4. Green IT in the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation

Throughout the report there is a good amount of discussion on remote access and Telework. This supports current trends in IT for increased mobility and secure Remote Access.

Employees are already demanding increased remote access as the proliferation of Blackberry’s and enterprise IPhone’s continues. In addition, more and more organizations are turning to Telecommuting and Remote Work to cut down on office space and CO2 emissions. This remote access further helps employee’s from having to come into the office to retrieve documents, make calls, and connect with their teams. Remote access increases efficiency and productivity by giving employees quicker access to the information they and their customers need.

As Remote Access grows, the perception of needing people in a building to complete work, changes. Organizations begin to see how having a Remote Workforce makes them more productive, efficient, Green, and prepared. For more information on how you can help your organization move toward increased Remote Access, please feel free to contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
President/ SuiteCommute
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com

One question/issue that I am constantly asked is ,”How to handle the conference call BEAST.” Now I say BEAST for a reason, because it truly is a beast…. Let me explain. When holding a conference, you are generally involving 3+ participants, however only 1 person can ever be truly heard. So how do you get input from multiple people, achieve a certain level of information sharing, keep participants engaged, come out with ACTIONABLE items, and end the call without requiring a new one??? For most people, you don’t. Time is spent asking, “Who just joined?” and when questions are asked, common responses of, “I’m sorry, could you repeat that,” or my absolute favorite, “Oops I had you on mute let me start over!”

With the proliferation of Remote Workers and Telecommuters, conference calls are becoming a constant part of our daily routine. Annoying-yes, productive-sometimes, and Improvable- YES continue reading.

1. Name an Organizer or Leader: Organizer/Leader hops on call 5 min early.
2. Email Goals: Organizer should send out notes for meeting at least 60min in advance with Specific METRIC goals. I can’t tell you how often people I talk to don’t know the goal of the call they are on. Even weekly update calls could get an email such as, “30 min Update call: Discuss New Business Activity of prior week- Each participant 5 min; Discuss upcoming projects- Each Participant 3 min.”
3. Keep a Tally: I always recommend that the leader of a conference call keep a pen and paper handy to write down all the names of people on the call and keep a tally of
   1. How many times People Talk
   2. What Questions they have
   3. Action Items for each person
4. Use people’s names First when asking questions or verifying information: By putting someone’s name first, you give them a heads up to pay attention to what you are saying. This helps speed up the response to the question or statement, keeps them engaged, and generally prevents you from having to repeat the statement.
5. Short After-action Email: A short email listed everyone’s names and action items should be sent to all participants to verify they understood what is required of them and others.

For more tips, tricks, or best practices on how to hold a great conference call. Please contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com
1-888-878-4832