... and only 11.6% prefer virtual meetings.
Whenthey want to hold important meetings, 78.6% ofBelgians prefer to do so physically, either at an external meeting venue or on company premises. The majority also prefer not to organize brainstorms, team buildings, decision-making committees, project meetings and online training courses.These are the findings ofa survey* of 1,000 Belgians conducted by Comet Meetings via iVOX.
The government will certainly reinforce its teleworking recommendations at the nextComité de concertation. Although virtual meetings during lockdowns have certainly proved their worth, many employees still prefer physical meetings. This is what emerges from a study by Comet Meetings, a specialist in co-meeting and urban meeting venues in Europe. 78.6% of working Belgians prefer to meet physically before an important meeting. 60.8% of them prefer to do so internally, while almost one in five prefers to organize it externally in an appropriate meeting venue. Only 11.6% opt for online video meetings.
Preferences vary somewhat according to the type and purpose of the meeting. For brainstorming sessions, more than 2 out of 3 prefer a physical meeting, and for team building sessions, even more than 8 out of 10. When it comes to project meetings and training courses, 6 out of 10 people opt for a physical meeting. Around half also prefer decision-making committees to meet in person, while 30.6% have no clear preference in this respect.
When an informative meeting (e.g. internal communication, top-down information) or presentation (e.g. financial results or marketing plan) is on the agenda, opinions are divided. Around four out of ten people are happy to do it virtually, while an almost equal number prefer a physical meeting. "In some cases, virtual meetings turn out to be more effective," says Victor Carreau, CEO of Comet Meetings. "Face-to-facemeetings retain enormous added value. They allow us to exchange ideas in a way that can never be replicated online. What the crisis has taught us is that the more remote you are, the more you need face-to-face contact to maintain the link. A company's culture can survive and adapt to the fragmentation of the workplace, but to survive and remain solid, it needs to spend time together as a group, in a single place. It's worth noting that it's the most digitalized companies that hold the most seminars. It seems there's a perfect correlation between a reduction in corporate office space and an increase in event spending. Onthe eve of new announcements from the Belgian government, it is essential that employees increase teleworking and only find themselves in situations where their safety is assured in order to continue to meet in the interest. "
Physical meetings enable us to better understand and find solutions. For three quarters of Belgian employees, the interaction between colleagues and the exchange of ideas and opinions is one of the most enjoyable aspects of meetings. Reaching a decision is also one of the priorities of such a meeting for almost 55%. This is also the case for Sylvie Digard, Events Manager at Proximus: "For us, COMET Brussels is a new way of organizing meetings in an atypical and original venue, with the rooftop as the icing on the cake! A variety of rooms and a theme on each floor offer interesting diversity. Proximus organizes most of its events in a hybrid way, and we've been experimenting with this format at COMET. The equipment is state-of-the-art, and the staff very pleasant and attentive. Sales support is meticulously efficient."
*The iVOX research agency conducted this study on behalf of Comet Meetings. In August 2021, 1,000 working Belgians (representative in terms of language, gender, age and qualifications) were asked a number of questions about meetings, both physical and online. The maximum margin of error in this case is 3.02%.
