Forbes Study: Executives Prefer Face-to-Face Meetings

A recent Forbes Insights study, "Business Meetings: The Case for Face-to-Face," found that business executives prefer face-to-face meetings and conferences over virtual meetings, and overwhelmingly agree that they are necessary for building more profitable bonds with clients and business partners and for maintaining productive relationships with co-workers.

"Face-to-face meetings and business travel are critical to business success and important drivers of our economy, so while travel is often the first budget item to suffer cuts in a recession, it can't be the last to be restored if the economy is to grow," said Kevin Gentzel, president and group publisher, Forbes Media. "This research shows that senior business decision makers overwhelmingly point to face-to-face interaction-- traveling to meet clients, convening teams and the motivation born of live exchange--as a crucial element to their success."

Highlights of the study:

-- 58% of respondents said they were travelling for business less today than they were at the beginning of the recession in January 2008, with more than a third (34%) indicating they were travelling much less frequently.

-- 59% of executives saying their use of technology-driven meetings (teleconferences, videoconferences and Web conferences) had increased during the recession.

-- Executives still expressed an overwhelming preference for face-to-face meetings, with more than eight out of ten (84%) saying they prefer in-person contact to virtual.

-- Those that prefer face-to-face meetings believe they facilitate: Building stronger, more meaningful relationships (85%); The ability to "read" another person (77%); Greater social interaction (75%)

-- Those who favored virtual meetings took more of a bottom-line approach, saying they saved them time (92%) and money (88%), or offered greater location flexibility (76%).

-- Attention is an issue of key concern among executives as well. Many executives expressed concern that attendees did not give their full attention to virtual meetings. -- 58% admitted that they "frequently" surf the Web, check their e-mail, read unrelated materials and handle other ancillary work during digital meetings.

-- 87% agree that there are tangible business benefits to in-person, face-to-face meetings that outweigh the cost savings of alternative, technology-based meeting methods such as webconferencing or videoconferencing.

See more results here.