Businesses have been expanding the role technology plays in commerce for years. However, in a post-pandemic economic landscape, video conferencing and telecommuting have gone from being a popular part of office technology to a cornerstone of the entire economy. As telecommuting and remote work have become the new norm, so too has video conferencing technology.
What Are the Benefits of Face to Face Meetings?
While most companies have transitioned their operations to be completely remote, this is not a permanent end of face to face meetings. They are not without some unique benefits. In-person meetings tend to eliminate unnecessary distractions and encourage undivided attention. No one is as distracted by the notifications of incoming emails and messages when having a face to face meeting. And these distraction-free in-person meetings easily foster strong interpersonal relationships with clients.
Though in-person meetings are undoubtedly on the horizon, video calls are now the new norm. Since video conferencing technology has become such a giant in nearly every industry, it’s critical to understand its benefits and capitalize on them as much as possible.
What Are the Benefits of Video Conferencing?
1. Increases the health and safety of your employees
In a post-COVID-19 world, the health and safety of employees are the top priority for companies. Video conferencing allows coworkers and clients to communicate easily throughout the workday without the risk of infection. From a company standpoint, video conferencing alleviates the burden of adapting offices to observe social distancing guidelines and prevents its employees from getting sick.
2. Helps employees look and feel their best while telecommuting
Video conferencing beats phone calls by a landslide when it comes to remote work. It retains the most compelling parts of face-to-face interactions while still letting people work remotely. Better yet, as technology improves, it helps people look and feel their best throughout the workday.
Mute your microphone when your dog starts barking, give yourself a touchup by turning on a setting, and put a background on your Zoom screen to hide cluttered and unprofessional home office setups. There are plenty of great Zoom virtual backgrounds out there that can make you look and feel polished and professional. Using a clean, professional background helps you look and feel like you’re putting your best foot forward, which is critical to maintaining and improving client relationships and company reputation while telecommuting.
3. Cuts the costs of travel
The cost of employee travel is significant for companies, so embracing video conferencing technology holds the potential to save thousands of dollars annually. Business travel is one of the hardest expenses to track, and it has to cover the cost of food, transportation, and accommodating for anyone partaking in a professional trip. Relying on video conferencing instead of travel helps the company keep more cash in-house, saves employees time and money, and still facilitates vital and effective communication.
4. Saves time and increases productivity
Whether it’s an internal meeting down the hall or a meeting halfway around the world with a massive client, facetoface meetings waste significant time and energy. Utilizing video conferencing technology gives employees time back in their day to be more productive and get more done. You won’t have to worry about leaving early to make a meeting on time, lingering in the conference room after a presentation ends to make awkward small talk, or taking planes, trains, and cars back home after a meeting on the road.
5. Connects global team members and clients
In a global and digitally-driven marketplace, companies with all of their employees in one location are nearly unheard of. Video conferencing makes it much more seamless for employees in different places and time zones to communicate effectively. Having video calls ends the stress and hassle of finding time within the 9-5 office hours to speak. It allows people who are hundreds or thousands of miles away to enjoy the benefits of in-person meetings: seeing visual cues and body language, making eye contact, and putting faces to names. Video conferencing is an essential part of international business and helps connect people who have not and will not meet in-person.
How To Get The Most Out Of Video Conferencing:
The longstanding debate between video conferencing and facetoface meetings has radically transformed since the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s no longer a question of which method of meeting is more conducive to company growth and culture. Instead, it’s now about leveraging video conferencing technology to maintain a company’s position in the marketplace and adapt to current social conditions.
To get the most out of Zoom and other video conferencing platforms, do a little research. Understanding how to use the technology will help you do your job effectively. Anything you learn will be in your best interest because technology in the workplace is only becoming more popular. While nothing will ever completely replace face-to-face meetings, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams – all of these platforms are now pillars of the 21st-century office.
