The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has left the entire world in haywire. Humans have embraced the new normalcy of life that is primarily based upon the most frequently used terms of 2020; social distancing, quarantine, and work from home (WFH). Fortunately, video conferencing technology was invented in good time due to which we can, at least, connect and see each other virtually. While technology plays a pivotal role in every individual’s life, considering the current circumstances, it is critically essential in keeping the businesses operational.
Entrepreneurs and business leaders are necessarily looking for ways to keep their business up and running without putting their workforce at risk. To enable remote work ecosystems in various industries, video conferencing tools are required as an alternative to face-to-face meetings and discussions. Moreover, video conferencing is a more personalized approach that lets individuals explain, share, and express any kind of information with the effect of facial expressions, thus avoiding any kinds of delays or miscommunications. Having said that, many organizations rely on audio conferencing options, even for important business matters.
In this blog, we will explain how video conferencing is better than audio conferencing and why your company must embrace video conferencing technology for good.
How Is Video Conferencing Better Than Audio Conferencing?
Better Engagement
When interacting via video call, the level of participation from each person increases. The sense of distance is instantly removed and people are able to communicate effectively like they would in a real conference room. Unlike in audio conference calls, the participants are least likely to zone out or multitask while taking the call.
Video conferencing is essential to build trustworthy relationships with new clients. You can see how they are perceiving the information that you are sharing and you can set the expectations accordingly.
Improved Efficiency
Video conferencing allows dispersed teams working at clients’ sites to stay on top of the project while connecting with other team members working in different locations. Daily status calls, scrum meetings, etc. can be efficiently handled with video tools.
At times, organizations hold internal meetings that require some participants to visit the premises for a short while. In such cases, the specific participant can simply join the video conference and it is as good as attending the meeting in person. This increases the efficiency of the employees as they can avoid unnecessary delays.
Effective Communication
It is known that humans can process visual information more easily and quickly than text and audio. Effective communication is essential, particularly in the present times, to keep global employees as well as regular work from home employees connected and informed. Team meetings, client meetings, scrum meetings, etc. become more effective and interactive with the use of video conferencing which is not likely in case of audio conferencing.
Understanding Video Conferencing Challenges
Using video conferencing for connecting with friends and family is different from using it for businesses. Businesses cannot rely on bad quality video platforms or digital tools as it can affect the business processes critically. There can be miscommunication among the team members or the potential clients might lose interest in your company due to poor video conferencing experience. So, every business should understand all challenges of video conferencing and be prepared to overcome the same efficiently.
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Training Workshops For Employees
Training workshops can help the employees to learn about the capabilities of the video conferencing tool that your organization uses. Most of the employees use such platforms to meet the basic requirement of attending virtual conferences. However, they must be aware of the complete competency of the tool in order to use it for the best. For instance, many video conferencing tools offer virtual backgrounds that can help participants block other distractions in the background. But this feature is not used by many individuals because of ignorance.
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Quality Checks
Business meetings can take a while to begin. Before coming to the actual discussion topic, a lot of time is spent in setting up the call, ensuring if all the participants have joined, verifying if they can hear and see properly, and other important quality checks. To save that time, businesses should focus on learning more about troubleshooting such situations and find immediate resolutions.
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Internet Connectivity
A good internet connection is mandatory for a smooth video conference experience. Employees must be quick in reporting about bad internet connectivity to the management to get it resolved quickly. This is relatively easier to manage when the employees are working from the organization premises. For employees working from home, businesses can invest in offering good quality home internet. If you think that would be too much, just give a thought about poor quality calls with clients that will not give your business a professional face.
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Audio and Video Equipment
In-built webcams aren’t that good for video-conferencing. The contemporary world generates ample amounts of video content and the need for quality video content is increasing day by day. Businesses should consider investing in a good webcam and audio equipment if they are regularly connecting with international clients and need advanced features such as giving remote control to other participants, or zooming in or out, etc. Audio equipment must offer sound clarity along with noise cancellation capabilities so that people can focus on what’s important.
Why Your Business Should Adopt Video Conferencing, If It Hasn’t Already!
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More Personalized Meetings
Video conferencing is audio conferencing where you can see the participants. Because it is a video call, participants are unlikely to misunderstand on the basis of tone and understand better through facial expressions. Moreover, you can connect with international clients through video conference calls and start to build a more personalized connection.
Audio calls allow people to express or share information but lacks that element of interaction that can be achieved with video con calls. When holding team meetings on video conference calls, it is easier for the manager to understand if all the team members are on the same page of understanding. He can connect individually with everybody just like he would do in the conference room of the organization.
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Cost-Effective & Time-Saving
Business meetings can fall heavily on your pockets and consume a lot of time, specifically for international clients. While it is convenient to attend local meetings in person, businesses can prefer video conferencing for meeting with clients from different cities or countries. It will save a lot of your time and money that you can invest in other important business tasks.
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Convenient Mode
With businesses hiring diverse talents from different parts of the world, video conferencing is the most convenient mode of connection. Clients or employees from different time zones can connect easily to discuss important matters. Individuals can take conference calls from the comfort of their homes and outside working hours without any complications.
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Recording Capabilities
Video conferencing tools like Zoom, allow individuals to record meetings. These recordings help you refer to the important pointers that were discussed as and when required. Some tools even let you generate live transcripts of video calls with accurate timestamps. With timestamps, it becomes easier to point out certain sections of the video.
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Accessibility
All employees can access video conference meetings with ease, including those with disabilities. Live captions and transcription features allow all kinds of employees to understand what is being discussed over the call with complete engagement.
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Employee Onboarding
The Human Resources department can use video conferencing for recruitment purposes. With the global pandemic challenging all industries, HR professionals can take the help of video conferencing tools to hire people from different locations. Later, they can carry out the onboarding and offboarding formalities via video conferencing.
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Bottomline
Business leaders can take the help of video conferencing tools to keep their businesses running smoothly and efficiently. Video conferencing is helpful in regular circumstances but especially in unfortunate times like now. With a more personalized and inclusive approach, video conferencing helps in achieving smooth and seamless communication across the organization. Businesses have been using teleconferencing tools for ages but they need to start using these more competently. As we are unaware of the definite end of this deadly virus, we can only rely on more efficient tools and technologies that help us get through with maximum efficiency and productivity.
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