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Right alongside profit projections and a marketing plan, communication should also be a cornerstone of your business model. While many employers still opt for in-person meetings, video conferencing is potentially one of the most useful tools out there for today’s businesses. Not only does it eliminate travel costs and other expenses, but it opens up new doors for finding fresh talent and enhanced collaboration. Video conferencing continues to grow in popularity. Here are a few reasons why now is the time to invest in this cutting-edge technology.
1. Managing a Staff That Telecommutes
It’s a proven fact that telecommuting can increase productivity and employee morale. Allowing people to work at their own pace and come up with ideas in their own time is a great approach to originality within your company, as long as you know you’re working with trustworthy people. However, even the most diligent employees can lose steam. That’s why video conferencing is a great way to check in. It promotes more accountability, since face to face communication with a person who’s speaking makes it much harder to dismiss a task than ignoring an e-mail. A popular provider like BlueJeans Video Conferencing can offer helpful business solutions that you may not have encountered before. BlueJeans is a leader in the industry, and there are lots of perks they offer when it comes to staff management.
To use video conferencing the right way for off-site staff, Business 2 Community suggests emphasizing results, since you never know what your remote employees’ working patterns are. One of the benefits of telecommuting is the ability to work at an individually preferred pace, whether it’s getting up bright and early or doing work in the evening. Even if you have a conference call with your off-site employee during normal business hours, it’s up to them when they get the work done. This is why leading them toward a result and setting deadlines is important. Interacting face to face is a great way to make sure you’re both on the same page with expectations and needs, but to really drive the point of a video conference call home, you need to communicate exactly what you want as an end result.
2. Why Virtual Offices Pay Off
Taking your office into the virtual realm may seem unorthodox, but in today’s business climate, it’s not actually that unusual. In fact, making your office more virtual can yield benefits you may not even expect.
Inc. points out that video conferencing creates a virtual office which saves money on recruiting, retention of employees who relocate, and office space which is always expensive to rent.
If you spend a lot of time worrying about how much rent you’re going to have to pay for your office space while weighing it against profits, there’s another way to do things. Video conferencing is especially useful if you decide to take your office digital, because it maintains that face to face contact that’s so essential when it comes to human communication.
Although e-mail and collaborative tools like apps that allow colleagues to share more detailed information are increasingly popular, nothing can take the place of body language and facial expressions. That’s why it’s absolutely essential to invest in some kind of video conferencing solution if you’re interested in moving in the direct of the virtual office. The fact of the matter is that if you can get this approach to function, it can save you an immense amount of money. Providing results for clients is as simple as having clear communication and dedicated employees. Video conferencing helps to achieve those ends, and is more interoperable than ever in today’s market. If your off-site employees prefer to connect using only a mobile device, for example, it’s completely possible with the current technology available.
3. When Responses Lag
Communication styles vary, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t certain pitfalls that can drag even the most seasoned and well-intentioned manager down. For example, using e-mail when you’re expecting an urgent or important response can come to haunt you later. Mashable highlights the fact that e-mails will likely be ignored if they’re too long or unclear. This is why using a face to face system like video conferencing can be far more effective in the long run when you have important information to exchange, or need an immediate answer to an urgent question.
It’s essential to maintain a high standard of business communication in this day and age, especially since most technology focuses on delivering information at a fast and highly efficient rate. Whether it’s social media or a quick e-mail fired off about a project, no one is willing to accommodate lags in data. Investing in a service like video conferencing is a great way to not only show your clients that you’re serious about communication, but also to facilitate the most effective tools available.