Face-to-face meetings earn 25% more than online — Accor study

Companies expect to earn 25 per cent more in revenue when able to communicate with clients face-to-face again, according to research from hospitality group Accor.

“As many anxiously await decision on the easing of Covid regulations, research collected by Accor over the past year has revealed that professionals anticipate they will make an average of 25 per cent more deals a year when they are able to speak to their contacts face-to-face, rather than using only video or phone conferencing options. Those workers also think that one face-to-face meeting has the equivalent impact of roughly three video or conference calls, demonstrating the value of face-to-face,” the study showed.

The study was conducted by OnePoll among 2,000 employees working from home during the pandemic

One major reason for this trend, according to the study, is that almost a third of respondents said they found it difficult not being able to see another person’s body language and nonverbal cues. Additionally, a further 22 per cent said they find it harder to engage in small talk to form personal relationships when using video and conferencing options only.

What’s more, 47 per cent of those surveyed showed a longing for a return to regular business, and indeed social life and client entertaining. Nearly half of workers miss the social interaction of meeting people through work, the study noted.

Sophie Hulgard, Senior Vice President of Sales – Accor, Northern Europe. forecast four meeting trends for the future:

• Hybrid Meetings: Combining virtual and “physical” in-person participation across multiple locations. Earlier this year (April), Accor launched ALL CONNECT, a new hybrid meeting concept powered by Microsoft Teams enabling in-room and on-screen connectivity.
• Closing Meetings: Face-to-face closing meetings will surge in the second half of 2021 as foundations built digitally come to fruition in closing deals.
• Culture Meetings: Accor expect the notion of “culture meetings” to transcend into normal business as we emerge from the pandemic. After a year or more of separation, people will come back together to build teams and culture.
• Leadership Meetings: Small meetings will be big over the short term – boards getting back together, leadership teams meeting up. The need to connect will be strong and businesses will gravitate towards each other to reconnect in person.

“Digital solutions in business are here to stay but there will always be a need to meet face-to-face to get the deal done. Technology is a powerful tool but it will never replace the importance of the human touch in business. The results of our research, in the digital age we live in, underline the hybrid trend that we expect to be an enduring legacy of the pandemic – digital is powerful, face-to-face is valuable,” Hulgard pointed out.