Vote for an NFP to win $10,000+

Greetings Everyone,

Chorus Call Australia’s #10for10 voting for NFPs celebration has been going for a entire week! We are very excited by people’s passion to support Not-For-Profit organisations’ charity work. NFPs have received more than 1000 votes so far! It is becoming a really close contest and Every Vote makes a difference.

These NFP organisations up for the $10,000+ Prize Pack are:

• Create Foundation
• Meals On Wheels – Qld
• PCYC (Queensland Police-Citizens Youth Club)
• Spinal Cure Australia

We need everyone’s help to spread the word and keep the votes coming in! Here are some simple tips to help these NFPs WIN:

• Use Social Media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc…
• Add our vote page LINK to your company’s website (an images link or a webpage would be better)
• Forward our 10 for 10 email to your friends, colleagues, even your bosses
• Add our vote page LINK to your email signatures so every time you send out your email, you will have another chance for a vote
• Tell your sister organisations throughout Australia & the world! Every vote counts, regardless of location.
• Remember, every one can vote twice on Saturdays and twice on Sundays! Thats up to 4 votes per person on the weekends; which can really change the game!

The winning prize pack is $5,000 cash, $5,000 free teleconferencing, 1 LifeSize Unity 50 Video System ($4,000), and 2 ClearSea licenses for 12 months. ($2,000). Every of your vote makes difference! Spread the work and show you care!

Premium Investor Relations Services

Many people are not aware that August is one of the two times a year most Australian listed companies report earnings.  Typically this is done using conferencing service suppliers like Chorus Call Australia. 

Chorus Call both directly, and through partnerships with event managers and investor relations professionals, will hold over 100 investor and media briefings by ASX listed companies this August.  Getting these calls right is no simple task. Companies rely on us to ensure that the analysts or media covering their company can get access to their key management and ask their questions or receive the desired message.  The technology has to be right , the systems have to be tried and tested and most importantly the operators managing the call have to have extensive experience controlling the call to ensure an appropriate flow.

Chorus Call Australia and all of the global offices have focused on this business for years.  Last year the Chorus Call group handled over 2300 media and investor calls globally.  On any given day our Australian based operators can be helping on calls in Germany, Canada, Switzerland or the US, amongst just a few or our global network.  This network allows us to call on these trained staff, of the Chorus Call group of companies, when we have our peak periods in August and February every year.  Some of the other expertise we bring to the investor relations field are the proprietary systems and technology we have developed over the years to give our clients the best possible result.  Some of these include a system to view, control and adjust participant states directly from the CEO’s boardroom.  Others include a web interface that allows participants to preregister participation and questions and custom messaging to all participants.  When IR professionals are looking to put this key task into the hands of a conferencing company they should be looking directly at what experience they have in delivering these calls, because if it goes wrong it can be damaging to the company brand.

Related articles

• Australia's ASX H2 profit falls 9.3 pct; 2013 off to slow start (uk.reuters.com)
• Maximising Your Video Conferencing Experience (choruscallaustralia.wordpress.com)
• Australian stock market rigged: top insider speaks out!! (hangthebankers.com)

HD Video Conferencing Experience

As businesses continue to find better ways to conduct their meetings and make business processes more efficient, technology continues to rise to the occasion and serves as a reliable partner in not only expediting processes and providing unparalleled convenience, but also steadily increasing return of investments and company savings. One of these advantageous technological advancements getting more widely used throughout an extensive range of businesses is video conferencing.

In today’s modern corporate setting where businesses are more often going global and linking with other businesses to form lucrative new ventures, video conferencing has become an indispensable communication medium. Through video conferencing, companies from opposite sides of the world can conduct their business efficiently in the comfort of their own offices, and the millions usually spent by companies for travel expenses are saved.

With such innovative and beneficial business and conferencing solutions at our fingertips, we must ensure that it is used to in the right manner to produce all the benefits it can offer. Not all members of a business may be comfortable with such innovative conferencing solutions and would prefer the old but costly methods of conducting a meeting. To make sure the experience is pleasant for everyone and consequently, easily adopted as part of a company’s standard procedures, certain steps must be followed. Below are some of these steps businesses can follow in order to ensure all members have a
positive first impression and make the most of their video conferencing service.

Before Video Conferencing
· Ensure that all members involved are familiar and comfortable with using video conferencing. This may involve self-guided education, trainings and promotional programs for easy and effective adoption to the system.
· Schedule video conferences and inform all involved people and parties ahead of time.
· Create an agenda to make sure the video conference goes smoothly and tackles all necessary topics. Share this agenda in advance so all those involved will know what to expect and think ahead of what other points they may want to discuss.
· Choose or have a facilitator who can effectively manage the flow of the meeting.
· Have all needed items ready (products, charts, etc.).
· Check that all the hardware (microphones, speakers, camera, lighting) are functioning properly and are suitable for the meeting. The camera should be positioned straight at the people involved showing their upper torso up to their head, and lights should be above the camera, not beside or in front of it.
· Dress appropriately for the meeting. Because a video conference displays all users in one screen, it can be very easy to spot differences or distracting details, like brightly coloured outfits or dangling jewellery.
· Put off or in silent mode all electronic gadgets that may disrupt the meeting.
· Recording meetings is one great advantage of video conferencing and can be very useful for any company. Before you start recording though, you must ask permission from those involved as not everyone may feel comfortable with being recorded.
· If speaking with users from another country and culture, make sure to familiarise yourself with their basic speaking etiquette.

During Video Conferencing
· Speak clearly and slowly, and properly introduce those in attendance.
· Follow the flow of the agenda and pay attention to the proceedings.
· Be polite. Do not interrupt those speaking or make distracting movements or noises. Eating would not be recommended during the meeting as this can cause a lot of noise and be very distracting.
· Try to engage everyone involved. Make them feel their importance in the meeting. Much of the success of your very first video conference and the many to follow will depend upon the users’ initial reactions, so make them feel that it is a success with their participation.
· Do not disclose private or highly classified information during the meeting, such as passwords and sensitive company information.

When you need specialists to provide your business with exceptional conferencing systems, in Australia you can call on Chorus Call. Chorus Call is the preferred supplier for many companies and organisations seeking quality, value and accommodating customer service. They provide state of the art conferencing services including video conferencing, telephone conferencing, web streaming and IR communications.

Chorus Call Australia will make sure that all your video conferencing experiences will produce nothing but positive feedback and great results.

Working from Home.

 

Congratulations to Minister for Broadband and Communications, Stephen Conroy for recently spruiking the idea of more Australians working from home.

 Monday to Friday millions of us file like so many ants from our suburban homes into the concrete jungle of the CBD, almost every car on the road containing one lonely individual accompanied only by the inane dribbling’s of the breakfast radio presenters.

As scooter riders, my wife and I like to think that we are making a small contribution to reducing our impact on the planet; imagine if 10,000 Brisbanites were no longer compelled to drive to the CBD for even 1 day of the working week, surely that would be a good thing.

As with every change there are winners and losers, the losers in this scenario would be the coffee shops and lunch bars, petrol companies and transport companies amongst others. The winners would be the environment and the people who get to work from home, and of course people in the communications industry.

Technology today makes working from home a breeze, internet, the cloud, video conferencing from desktops or mobile devices and telephone conferencing all available at the drop of a hat to make sure that there is no lack of communication. There is no reason to expect a drop in productivity when working from home but it will require a massive change in mindset from company managers who still have a “bums on seats” mentality.

There are of course things to be aware of, such as OH & S measures and insurance liabilities, the employer still has a duty to provide a safe working environment even when the place of work is at home, is the cost of this going to deter employers or is it just another cost of doing business. Employees also have a responsibility to make sure that the environment they are working in at home is appropriate.

On the whole a great idea with many benefits to workers, employers and the environment and don’t forget if you are working from home and need to have a telephone conference…………….call Chorus Call Australia.

Everyone’s a Winner

Well dear readers and other interested parties Chorus Call’s – ‘win an IPad for your best travel story’ has delivered overwhelming responses and It has taken our judges much deliberation until finally they agreed on the best story.

It is with pleasure that I announce the winner – Ruth Patching from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Next week we will publish the story and provide pictures of the happy winner (and she is extremely happy) along with a recorded interview to share Ruth’s thoughts and feelings.

As that old 70’s band, Hot Chocolate sang – ‘everyone’s a winner babe, that’s the truth’ and Ruth certainly is as we believe our customers are too! The last line in the song is ‘you never fail to satisfy (satisfy)’ and that is what is dynamic about Chorus Call as an organisation and its people.

We always endeavour to deliver superior customer service with our product offerings and strive very hard to solve any problems that may surface and this comes at competitive pricing, innovation and promptness. We do not sell and run, we back up and believe in this as a successful recipe for success ensuring indeed that everyone is a winner.

NEWSFLASH
Chorus Call will be launching an new service unique to teleconferencing in Australia, stay tuned as the launch will be next week on our website. That’s all I am going to say at the moment but we are certain this service is a winner and will become integral in many of our clients business’

…stay tuned…

Ash and disaster readiness

What do you do with the airlines grounded and it looking like it will affect travel for days, if not weeks? Companies need to assess their readiness for no travel.

Do you have emergency audio conferencing accounts ready? 
Do you have access to video rooms for high profile events? 
What happens if a key employee is stranded?

During the Asian flu crisis there were conferencing companies charging huge premiums to companies that were unprepared and needed last minute assistance. Video rooms in Sydney were being charged out at 3 and 4 times the usual rate.

Chorus Call Australia will activate accounts in minutes. Ash or no ash business needs to continue and video, data and voice conferencing can be the answer!

www.choruscall.com.au

Sun Tzu

My last blog touched upon leadership in the modern world and as we know that new technology challenges many of us; people have remained similar, emotionally, for eons.

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
Sun Tzu

And therein lies the secret of true leadership and yet many supposed leaders rely on rhetoric, spin, fear and bullying.

The market place can be likened sometimes to a battleground and fiscally the global environment is struggling, perhaps parts of Europe on the brink of hemorrhaging much more than before.
Two paced economy in Australia masks the true position as the mining industry continues to boom and other industry struggles as the delivery costs for goods and services continue to rise.

Interesting the cost of teleconferencing has proved to be in the reverse as competition has driven the price down over the last few years, sometimes at the cost of reduced or no service.
Chorus Call still offers competitive pricing aligned to true account management where we provide solutions to our clients needs thereby offering a true-value service.

That surely must be the value proposition we all seek. The next quote from Sun Tzu can be re-interpreted as corporate leadership and translated into seeking new boundaries, higher performance by delivering on the above-mentioned value proposition.

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.
Sun Tzu

‘the times they are a changin’

“Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’”

Courtesy of Bob Dylan’s timeless classic

iPad, iPhone, iPod -  iwots next! 

Soon the phone and the pad will replace the laptop or notebook computer – surely not? Has its lifecycle shot thru like lightning in the sky? It seems like yesterday when they were introduced and have become cumbersome and somewhat clunky in a flash! (The good news is that one of our customers won an iPad at the recent conference in Adelaide and more on this next week.)

 The National Broadband Network is being implemented promising ever faster internet speeds for all and this will no doubt help deliver more innovation and these innovations will need to be understood and delivered to business and community with speed, precision and effect.

Australians seem to embrace change relatively well and are very early adopters of new technology and we at Chorus Call are continuously looking at ways to improve our business and provide better more efficient service to our clientele. Soon we will have more telephonic capacity than all our competitors thereby delivering an Australian solution to Australians in Australia!

Many organisations are also doing the same as we continue to shine a light over the world in terms of economy, safety and efficiency. Leadership is important and perhaps its best summed up by another verse from the same song….

“Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’
It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’’

Continuing Education Technology

This past weekend I spent 2 or 3 hours with a client of ours, ESSA, at one of their annual conventions. ESSA is Exercise and Sports Science Australia. The vision promoted by ESSA is that they will “enhance the health and performance of all Australians through the support of exercise and sports science professionals”. A very noble vision. The group I spent time with was the continuing education group that had representatives from each state and territory in Australia. Even in the brief time I spent with this group the focus I saw on providing better outcomes to their constituents was really great. Most impressive was the great demographics they had. Almost 90% of their growing membership was under 40 years old. To my mind this bodes well for the growth of their profession and organisation. More importantly, I think it bodes well for the adoption of technology to deliver continuing education programs to their members.

ESSA is focused on many of the problems that many similar organisations face. How often do we run events? How can we provide better value to all out members? How do we reach out to our regional and remote members more effectively? I spent about an hour running through some options for using Chorus Call’s services to better reach their constituents. Chorus Call supports many organisations in the delivery of continuing education. The improved penetration of broadband, coupled with the decreasing cost of technology has allowed many of our customers to deliver high quality video tutorials, with slides, live and archived on demand. The ability to control content delivery and access across geographic divides and allowing the end user to participate at a time convenient to them, is a game changer in the CE industry. As video becomes more and more cost effective we will begin to see organisations of all sizes using this high impact medium to provide value to their clients. Other mediums that have been used for years are the voice conferencing and more recently data sharing or web conferencing.

My belief has always been that you need to mix the delivery between the use of technology and face to face. Video does not replace the need for live tutorials, it supplements it. Having a 45 minute voice conference at lunch once a week does not mean that you don’t need the full day workshop once a quarter. These communication tools allows your clients to learn at their pace and take advantage of the medium(s) that are best for their personal situation and learning style.

Teleconferencing’s Unique Diversity

At the RACS Conference in Adelaide

Recently I returned from a week long stint in Adelaide where I attended the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) annual conference.

How does a teleconference specialist find herself at a medical convention in Adelaide you ask?

Well, they happen to be a wonderful customer of ours and we wanted to take time out to visit with them and show our support for what they do.

I mention this trip because I still find it amazing the variety of clients we work with here at Chorus Call Australia. One minute I might be connecting Fortune 500 companies from Sydney, and the next farmers from Fremantle. In my time connecting teleconferences and managed events from our headquarters in Brisbane; I have had the opportunity to speak to people from over 50 countries with professional backgrounds too numerous to estimate.

At Chorus Call Australia we believe that conferencing is not only Green, but an extraordinarily beneficial tool. Our services are available 24/7, 365 days a year and are very easy to use.  All you need is a phone for audio conferencing and/or a computer with internet access to use our state of the art DataShare ®. Whether a global corporation, national government entity or a small business, immediate increased productivity can be achieved by saving travel time and maximizing resources.

I’d like to thank the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons for an engaging 80^th conference and look forward to seeing you again next year.

Do you have a Business Travel Horror story?

As part of our new marketing campaign, Chorus Call Australia has been soliciting Business Travel Horror Stories.  In exchange for taking our quick 5 photo survey and submitting a story, takers are entered into our drawing for the New iPad 2 .

If you have a travel story you’d like to share, or would like to enter our random iPad 2 drawing, please visit: http://bit.ly/winiPad2 – Hurry, contest ends 12 April!

We have been receiving some excellent stories so far, below is one of our favourites.

Submitted Story:

"I had to travel from Melbourne to facilitate a training program in Wollongong on one day and another in Sydney the following day. Thank goodness I decided to catch a flight from Melbourne early on the day before. What should have been a four hour trip, at most, turned into a seven hour saga of traffic jams, delayed flights, missed transport connections at the other end and the loss of my car booking because I hadn’t been able to contact the car hire company while I was in transit to advise of the delays.

The following evening I had to drive from Wollongong to Sydney. Most of the trip was fine, until I got to within four kms of my destination. That final stretch took almost two hours as the traffic was at a standstill, for no apparent reason! On line training and conference calls will always be my first preference from now on!"

Qld Premier’s Disaster Relief Fund

Chorus Call donates to the Premier's Disaster Relief Fund

Chorus Call is proudly based in Queensland.

Today Chorus Call Australia Managing Director Morley Foster and National Sales Manager Tanith Gordon met with Labor State Member for Brisbane Central, Grace Grace to make a donation to the Premiers Disaster Relief Fund. Ms Grace (middle) complimented Chorus Call on its generosity and talked about the areas of her electorate that had been affected by the floods. Ms Grace is an active member with strong links to local schools, businesses and the community.

Managing Director Morley Foster said that 10 years of being headquartered in Queensland had led to deep roots within Queensland businesses and government. “This donation is seen as the least we could do to support our city and state.”

Chorus Call Australia and Lifesize HD Video Conferencing

We have just finished helping a customer implement videoconferencing in their business. They came to us looking to utilise videoconferencing for a project they were working on with their partners in another country.

As they were working on a bid, and not certain of getting the business, they were looking for a cost effective solution, that would allow them to meet face to face and present plans and documents across the conference connection on a regular and ad hoc basis. Most importantly, they wanted the solution in place within 2 weeks. We immediately met with them at their premises and surveyed their facilities. Discussions on the strengths and weaknesses of their particular setup and the best possible solutions were open and honest. It was decided that hiring a Full High Definition Lifesize Videoconference unit for a long term, was suitable to their business financial model.

We quickly agreed on the suitable system and price and were able to source and install the unit within 2 business days. Testing onsite with the customer, they were very happy with the High Definition Videoconference link using their existing business grade internet connection to multiple test sites, as well as to their partner organisation overseas. A surge in interest in Videoconferencing is leading to a large uptake of the technology. We look forward to helping other clients embrace videoconferencing as a time and cost effective way of doing business.

www.choruscall.com.au

iPad 2 Give Away

Chorus Call Australia is beginning a new marketing campaign and we are requesting your help. 

It will only take 30 sec. of your time.
 
As thanks, you'll have a chance to win the new iPad 2!

Please assist us by filling out our short survey 
---> http://bit.ly/winiPad2
 

or Scan with your Smart Phone