FRANKSTON & MORNINGTON PENINSULA
EXCELLENCEINBUSINESSAWARDS2012
Expressing the right balance BY MELISSA WALSH hen Simon Ross and his wife Robyn-Jane Ross decided they wanted a better worklife balance, Express Virtual Meetings was conceived. Their thriving business has now won the service category in the Excellence in Business Awards two years in a row. Since the innovative company opened about a decade ago, it has evolved into a business that uses communication technology to enable audio conferencing, web conferencing, and video conferencing. The core business operations occur in the Mt Eliza office, which houses 20 staff. Managers Kirsten Peters, Nicole Martin and Sharyn Welsh say while the business has expanded, the philosophy remains the same. ‘‘Born and raised in Mt Eliza, Simon started the business down here. Basically, that philosophy has continued even though the business has grown so much. We still maintain an excellent work-life balance and provide a forum where people can work from home to gain the same balance,’’ Ms Peters said. ‘‘Even now one of our other managers, Andrea Goding, is on extended leave travelling around Australia.’’ Express Virtual Meetings’ expertise in teleconferencing and web conferencing is called on by a variety of clients including life coaches, notfor-profit organisations, banks, finance and medical businesses, hospitals and mining and government sectors. ‘‘We have the same quality conferencing platform as our big telecommunications competitors, and have a 24- hour, seven-day-aweek helpline. Queries are answered directly by a live peninsula-based operator, unlike other teleconferencing companies that are becoming more automated and impersonal,’’ Ms Peters said.
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Express yourself: Express Virtual Meetings managers (from left) Kirsten Peters, Nicole Martin and Sharyn Welsh with their staff. ‘‘We now have more than 5000 active customers so Simon has brought a lot of professional business procedures into the company that are very advanced for a small business environment.’’ Express Virtual Meetings’ services are supported by an expert team of sales and conferencing consultants who help determine which solutions will work for each business and are available 24/7 to support, train and facilitate virtual meetings.
Picture: Daryl Gordon
Service Award Presented by Weber Business Accountants THE FINALISTS After-Care Australasia Pty Ltd Nepean Industry Edge Training Express Virtual Meetings
THE WINNER Express Virtual Meetings
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