Not Joining online calls! Unprofessional or not used to them?

Not Joining online scheduled calls! Unprofessional or not used to it?

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Although I am a fun or written communication, I often come across people who prefer verbal communication. Although all required information has been emailed in detail, many people in businesses still feel that speaking with someone has a different weight and value before reaching to an agreement. Technology of our days has made it easy, not only speaking with people but also meeting face to face virtually. Zoom, Teams and other applications have made it fast, easy and inexpensive connecting with people from different countries or continents. But what about when people request for online meetings but never join the call?

Some of the reasons are:

·??????? Something came up and they didn’t manage to postpone (accidents etc)

·??????? Not very familiar with new technologies

·??????? They are away of internet connection – yes, in many countries internet connection is still not widely available

·??????? They forgot – in our days there are various calendar and reminder systems to help with

·??????? They think your time is not equally valuable and that you will wait until they finish something more important to them

·??????? They simply don’t care

·??????? They are not aware of what professionalism means ?- different business mentality

·??????? They have changed their mind but still don’t bother to postpone

·??????? Other

No matter what the reason of not joining a scheduled online call is, it is always very inconvenient or frustrating for the other professional at the other side of the line because:

·??????? They have made time in their agenda for a call that didn’t happen, while they could use their time more efficiently ?

·??????? They feel ignored and/or offended

·??????? They have lost their own valuable time

·??????? They might need to report for the outcome of a call that didn’t happen without their intention

From my experience I can say that most people who don’t show up at all at online calls are the ones who are more persisting for an online call, maybe some of them see online calls as the old way of doing business but fail to follow the modern process. Furthermore, people who don’t join the calls mainly come from countries or not well-organized businesses where they have to get involved in several matters simultaneously or when a “boss” gives orders and changes their schedule against any scheduled obligation.

Will this professional inconsistency change as time goes on and virtual calls technology convinces people that it came to stay? Who knows! Time will tell.