Videoconferencing Benefits and Tips
The e365 Team
- 3 Min Read
Benefits of Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing has transformed over the years and it has now become a need for numerous companies. With the disruption of the pandemic this multiplied the demand for videoconferencing equipment. Currently, there are a large number of employees who still choose to work from home or take part in hybrid work.
The challenge lies in how modern businesses are going to take advantage of this opportunity and support their employees who are based in different locations.
Throughout this article we will cover the essentials in improving your online meeting experience and provide some tips to implement with your team in the next meeting.
Table of Contents
Overview
Videoconferencing has been around for over 30 plus years and in its infancy videoconferencing systems would cost as much as $250,000 for a room setup. The investment in equipment was rationalised in the same way it is today. Whilst the more obvious benefits of reducing travel, connecting teams and improving collaboration is still pertinent to todays workforce, there are so many more added benefits for a fraction of the price.
This includes providing employees with flexibility, increasing personal productivity and enhancing collaboration. However, there have been only a few articles outlining how to use this technology and maximise the value of your investment in a videoconferencing system.
How to Improve Your Experience
It’s evident that taking part in a Zoom or Teams meeting can’t be compared to a face-to-face meeting. The environment is completely different with the online environment being more restrictive. However, there are advantages to online meetings that are absent in face to face meetings. According to a recent study teams meeting online are more likely to make definitive decisions and meetings are less likely to sway off in tangents.
This saves time, money and resources as the agenda is followed closely. A drawback from an online meeting is the lack of daydreaming or disconnect opportunities. This is important for inspiring imagination and creating new ideas. Online meetings require focus on the speakers, whilst in person meetings participants feel connected within the same physical environment and feel free to let their mind wander.
The good news is that there are lots of alternatives to get your team back to brainstorming. These include sharing content on screen with apps like miro, allowing each participant to share their content in real time to the chat and many other options. Research has indicated that this will significantly increase memory to what was discussed in the meeting as well as, increasing morale as each participants feels valued.
Best Practice for eMeetings
Maintaining continual attention in normal meetings can be a challenge and in video meetings this can be even harder. Luckily there are a few habits you can start doing to improve your recall and your relationships with your work colleagues.
According to recent research, a key difference between participants with a healthy workplace relationships throughout the pandemic and those that didn’t have this experience, was their focus. By focusing on non verbal cues and body language these participants were able to receive messages much more clearly and truly understand their colleagues.
So it’s important to encourage your team to turn on their cameras and focus on your teams body language and non verbal cues. Although, this can be particularly difficult if the video quality is not clear or the connection to the internet is slow. If you do experience bad internet quality, you can avoid this by attaching your Ethernet cable directly into your router. Another integral part of the online experience is the ability to share information.
So it is recommended that companies and individuals who are working from home or partaking in hybrid work invest in great quality equipment.
Is Videoconferencing Important?
Offering hybrid work or work from home options to employees can improve morale and actually enhance productivity. When employees are allowed to work from home they can be more flexible in organising their time and prioritising work. Employee’s that are offered these options also report higher job satisfaction and are less likely to switch job roles.
With increased flexibility employees gain an increase in focus and they are able to prioritise work tasks more easily. It also provides the opportunity to collaborate with individuals across the world and build key relationships. With reduced travel costs and an increase in time productivity significantly increases which accelerates business growth.
It’s clear that communicating online can be challenge and communicating effectively does not come naturally. It takes a conscious effort from all parties to create a great environment that will foster creativity and improve business performance.
Setting Up Your Space
A large part of the user experience comes from preparation and setting up your environment. It is important that you set up right by having appropriate lighting through using natural sunlight or a standard desk lamp to start off with before investing in professional lighting equipment.
Alongside this is investing in a professional quality video camera. The camera on your lap-top or mobile won’t provide you with the clarity that you need. This makes a difference in instant communication. If you can read a colleagues body language more clearly or hear the tone of their voice it transforms how a message is received. So make sure you invest in a professional set up.
Ensure your desk has enough space to place a notebook you can write on, as the more contact points users engage in the more points of memory the brain has to recall information from. So don’t forget about writting physical bullet points in every meeting.
Summary
That’s a wrap on all the different tools and techniques you can use to improve your experience online from established industry brands and scholarly researchers. Our aim to to improve the videoconferencing experience for companies worldwide and educate users on how to use this technology to gain the most value from your investment.
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e365 Team
The e365 Industry Blog covers all of the latest trends and developments within the video conferencing Industry. With the industry increasing its technological capabilities, it can be difficult to ascertain the core benefits to users in both the long and short term. Our blog allows users to know in an instant, how this technology will add value to their business and their online relationships. Sign up to our email list below, to be notified when we post our next blog and newsletter.
