So how exactly can video conferencing be used in the workplace? What niches can it fill? When is it not indicated? Knowing the indications and contraindications for this collaborative tool will help you understand how video conferencing is being put to work in offices across the globe to connect people to their companies and much more.
Mobility
Owning a cell phone and keeping it with you, sometimes 24 hours a day, has become almost a prerequisite of being part of the corporate scene today. The emphasis more than ever has become having what you need at your fingertips, at all times. Consumers, partners, superiors and the masses all have different reasons for demanding NOW but the end result is that more people are looking for ways to be more connected.
Video conferencing is one tool that elevated the stereotype of the office meeting into a valuable collaborative effort for business to utilize. Because companies like Blue Jeans offering cloud hosting packages that allow collaborators to log on and work together no matter where they are in the world; companies are turning to these virtual board rooms more and more frequently. No longer is the quarterly business review the only time you can afford to see or be seen in your corporate environment when video conferencing takes the need for travel out of the equation.
Clarity
Video conferencing also fills a gap that telephone conferencing, email, fax and other forms of communication often leave empty. Body language is just as important as tone and word-choice when it comes to clearly communicating with others. When you enter a virtual conference room, you are providing a venue to more clearly communicate your ideas to others and to more clearly grasp the ideas that others are conveying to you. Hosting packages like those offered by Blue Jeans to deliver video conferencing options using existing hardware and convenient software options over a multitude of platforms make it easy to connect people across the street or continents away to ensure that there are fewer miscommunications and that all parties are on the same page about projects, problems and solutions.
Priorities
It’s not a secret that travel is expensive. Budgets have to be created to revolve around expensive travel plans and there are times when the next company deal can feel as though it hinges upon whether or not you are super-human enough to get from one side of the country to the other while maintaining a professional disposition and a wrinkle-free shirt.
Video conferencing removes the need to travel and it changes the priorities of the budget, the company and those people seeking to work with the company or already involved in those sorts of deliberations. When you remove the expensive cost of travel and provide options for communication that is not only clear, but personal and packed with additional features, you elevate the people that you interact with to a new level of importance. Clients, partners and even your employees will see more of you, more frequently. Lines of communication will open and this fosters more of an atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration, which are both things that businesses need to be invigorated.
Efficiency
With all the other added benefits, it’s clear that video conferencing in the workplace is used to accomplish something in a simple way that many businesses have to do back flips to accomplish in other situations. Operating efficiently is the goal of most offices, whether they’re large businesses in the corporate sector or small businesses out of someone’s home. They want to be able to accomplish all the work needing done with as little time wasted, frustration caused and delays suffered as humanly possible.
Video conferencing packages generally come with tools that increase the ease of digital file sharing, collaboration, tracking, recording and communication. More people in the office can access the work and information they need quickly and find that multitasking is not only easier, it makes a great deal more sense in day to day operations. Using digital tools packed into the communication software that your computer already possesses increases the efficiency of personnel in the office and helps to streamline your facilities.
Summary
So how is video conferencing useful and beneficial for the workplace? It’s used to expand the scope and capabilities of every individual in your business from secretaries and assistants to CEOs and traveling executives. It’s used to connect you to your work and share that with others that need to be connected with your ideas and it’s used to make collaboration quicker and less expensive to your company as a whole, so you and the company can afford to focus your budget on things that will move your goals forward at a faster pace, giving you a much needed edged in the business world.