March 2017

32 APAC / March 2017 , Andrea Goding of Express Virtual Meetings speaks in depth about the award-winning firm, its passion for improving corporate communication and what the future holds. Virtually Speaking Express Virtual Meetings is an award- winning Australian- owned and operated conferencing provider, offering a wide range of reliable and flexible audio, web, mobile and operator-assisted conferencing options to businesses in Australia and New Zealand and the wider Asia Pacific region. The firm has been servicing small to medium businesses and large-scale enterprises for more than 15 years. Andrea Goding, General Manager, talks in more depth about the services that the firm offers to clients, and its overall mission. “We help businesses improve the way they communicate and collaborate with teams of people, colleagues, clients and customers by removing the barrier of distance and offering smart and simple, time-saving ways to connect and work together. When our customers use our conferencing services to meet over the phone or online they improve their productivity and significantly reduce their meeting-related travel expenses. “Our mission is to simplify and improve the way people in business connect and collaborate with each other no matter their location. Our aim is to show them how they can reduce their operational expenditure in both time and money and also provide a way they can improve productivity and increase operational efficiencies.” Express Virtual Meetings owns and manages its own state-of-the-art, high capacity conferencing bridge infrastructure which means that quality and reliability of its technology is never compromised. This allows the firm to clearly differentiate itself from the competition, as Andrea explains further. “Unlike large telco providers, our customers are extremely important to us and our agility allows us to offer a bespoke range of products and services that can be specifically tailored to the needs of the customer which means they receive the best possible outcome. “Our holistic, collaborative approach ensures every aspect of our customer’s journey is easy and seamless, from setting up a conferencing account, using our services, enjoying on-demand, 24/7 Australia-based phone support right through to paying their account. “We take the time to make the life of our customers easier and we allay their fears or concerns if they are using conferencing for the first-time. We can change tact quickly for any of our customers. We offer on-demand, Australia- based phone support 24/7 and a range of flexible products and services that can be tailored to the specific needs of the customer. Whether they are running a small, in-house team meeting, a full schedule of print or broadcast media interviews around the world or a large-scale event call for company shareholders and investors with a coordinated question and answer session, we can accommodate any request and help our customers as much or as little as needed. If a customer requests something we don’t have, we build it for them.” Thanks to the increase in the acceptance of flexible working hours, working remotely and the exponential rise in the adoption of mobile devices (smartphone subscriptions) for business communication - with Asia Pacific leading the way - demand for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is set to experience substantial growth within the Asia-Pacific region in the next few years. In order to stay ahead of the game with regards to emerging trends in the industry, Andrea has a tried and tested strategy. “We monitor, listen and subscribe to leading industry- related content and business conversations globally and listen daily to our front-line staff who share invaluable insight into the needs and frustrations of customers and prospects and their barriers to success. We share and work with that information within our own dynamic, fast-paced environment on a regular basis allowing us to anticipate shifts in the way people consume products and services that help them communicate and work together.” The firm recognises internal talent by actively encouraging innovation and rewarding its people accordingly. “Our internal culture is one of collaboration, continuous improvement and learning,” explains Andrea. “We celebrate success and avidly promote a healthy work-life balance. We ensure that our team is happy and equipped for success by providing training and skills refreshers on a regular basis, opportunities to extend themselves and lead by example. We work hard to maintain a working environment with clear and visible leadership, a focus on efficiency, innovation and continuous improvement. Opportunities for growth, career development and continuous learning, collaborative working and sharing good practice and taking pride in the delivery of an exceptional customer experience are some of the ways we try to provide the best possible service to our customers.” With regards to the future, Andrea foretells the rise in demand for Unified Comms technology as businesses both large and small realise the potential benefits of packaging and streamlining the way they communicate and collaborate to increase operational efficiencies. “We currently offer simple, easy to use audio, web and mobile conferencing solutions. Our technological capability and agility however, allows us to adapt our offering to align and grow with the needs of our customers (whatever their budget) to improve the way they communicate and work together.” K Company: Express Virtual Meetings Name: Andrea Goding, General Manager Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.expressvirtualmeetings.com.au Address: 10 Mt Eliza Way, Mount Eliza, VIC 3930 Australia Telephone: + 61 1800 704 782 1702AP33