Much of the high level of waste revealed in retail tycoon Sir Philip Green’s recent spending review of government departments, could be drastically reduced by using videoconferencing equipment to attend meetings, rather than travelling to attend, claims Avanta Managed Offices.
“It’s time that the government adopted the 21st century technology that has proven popular in the private sector,” comments David Alberto, Avanta’s managing director. “Sir Philip’s report reveals that government staff spend £38 million a year on overnight accommodation in London hotels to attend meetings and this could be substantially reduced if they use videoconferencing for meetings instead.
Surveys have shown, time and time again, that a physical meeting between several people can incur substantial travel, accommodation and catering costs running into thousands of pounds, without taking into account the real cost in delegate time out of the office. Whilst face-to-face meetings are clearly important to establish and maintain business relationships, this can still be achieved in a much more cost-effective manner by using videoconferencing.
Video conferencing equipment is available to hire at all of Avanta’s 19 business centres. In their four main meeting room locations (Victoria, Hammersmith, the West End and the City) all offer in house video conferencing facilities with prices starting from £25 per hour on top of the cost of room hire.
