Teleconference Becomes Favored in Viet Nam

Presentations, market reports, coming business plans, all can be presented easily in an online meeting among international participants thanks to Teleconference (telecon), a modern means of telecommunications which is growing in the Vietnamese business community.

Le Quoc Viet, Head of Marketing Department of Castrol Vietnam, said almost every day he meets with other foreign counterparts in a telecon to present short-term reports on the giant’s operation like profit and loss analysis, monthly plan, or even updated information of rival companies.

Besides, online meetings with regional leaders to discuss issues regarding a packaging changing campaign or to solve potential problems daily were also held, he added.

Unlike in other countries, telecon in Viet Nam seldom takes place at midnight because there are few staff members being equipped with Internet connection at home. "Thus, in order to attend our company’s telecon, we must be at our office very early, sometimes at 4AM," said a trade development officer of the company in Viet Nam.

"I was sometimes informed in the morning that a telecon would be hosted in the afternoon. Then, it was a push for me to gather and prepare the necessary information for the meeting," Mr. Viet added, saying that once he joined an online meeting on the way back to his office via cellphone.

Another giant company, P&G Vietnam, also holds its monthly telecons with the participation of many global supermarket-chain managers in China, Thailand and Viet Nam.

With the help of telecon, participants can share their experiences, at the same time building an effective team-work spirit, aiming at creating a close-knit cooperation among distant members. It is said that the higher position a member has, the more telecons he must join in.

Required skills for working at telecon

Mr. Tran Van Toi, Sale and Marketing Director of the Mekong Auto Corporation, still remembered how puzzled he was at his first multinational telecon.

He said all his senses had been working under pressure, even though his English was good. However, after only two weeks, he managed to preside over a telecon with other foreign counterparts, Mr. Toi added.

Command of foreign languages is certainly a key factor to participants of a telecon, in which they must communicate via telephone and discuss many issues with a very high level of negotiating strategies and persuasiveness.

Among the four skills in using foreign languages, listening was considered the most important to telecon members. Some people hinted that paticipants should focus on the whole messages delivered at the meeting instead of listening word by word.

To some others, timing also plays a very important role. Former director of a supermarket chain in Viet Nam V.P, who is now at another branch of the chain in Germany, said telecon participants are required to be exact in time, especially when their work schedule was quite full.

Not only joining telecons as member, some Vietnamese presided them. Mr. Tran Van Toi, for instance, explained his preparation work when chairing the online meeting, which included drawing up an agenda, convening the meeting, collecting feedback and contributive ideas of members, etc.

According to Mr. Toi, the host of a telecon must be able to tackle arising problems, creating strong attachment among members and maintaining the time schedule.

In telecommunications, teleconference, or telecon is the live exchange of information among persons and machines far from each another but linked by a telecommunications system.

The telecommunications system may support the teleconference by providing audio, video, and data services by one or more means, such as telephone, telegraph, teletype, radio, and television.

Currently, some companies in Viet Nam have adopted the new method in their business operation. Although being expanded in a rather small scale, telecon in Viet Nam proved beneficial.

"Although telecon is merely one modern means of telecommunications, which can increase the capacity of a company to penetrate the local as well as international markets, Vietnamese youth should prepare themselves necessary expertise and professional working skills to fall in line with an international working environment," concluded V.P.