The value of face to face contact

While meeting with these project managers does provide a significant insight into their approach to project delivery, I am not referring to that on this occasion. Instead, I am referring to the value that project managers achieve from getting out from behind their desk to actually sit with and meet those awkward team members or challenging suppliers. Of course, Skype and conference calls have their place in today’s businesses but when I look back over the years or even recent weeks to some of the strongest project managers I’ve met with, all of them have spoken of the value of meeting face to face. I called some of them to discuss this blog and to ask why they make the time for meeting face to face even when it can be more expensive in terms of time, cost or just the inconvenience involved.  The reasons below were stated by all of the project managers I spoke with recently as to why they make time for face to face meetings when necessary:

• Helps to ensure engagement – Who knows what people are doing on conference calls when not speaking (you might not want to!!)
• Drives participation – When in the same room it encourages people to participate. You can’t turn your back which is what happens throughout conference calls
• More efficient – face to face there is greater pressure to get to the point
• Clarifies meaning – It can be much harder to raise your hand to ask for clarification on a matter than it is in person
• Body Language – We tend to forget that body language plays a major part in communication. This is lost on a phone call or email

How many of you value a face to face meeting and when was the last time you ran one? If the answer is not recently then I would challenge you to meet your toughest stakeholders and project team member to improve the relationship.