Different businesses employ different operational strategies to stay at the top; however, all companies share one aspect – the establishment of an internal and external communication system. It is through the communication infrastructure that upper echelon leaders stay in touch with corporate leaders, managers as well as low-level employees. This allows for the precise relay of company-centric instructions, process procedures and monitoring of the company’s overall progress, according to Management Study Guide.
However, many businesses are having a hard time maintaining this line of communication, especially those companies with business ties in different geographical locations.
Introducing Video Conferencing…
In today’s business world, video conferencing is probably the most popularly demanded application. The upsurge in the demand for this service is due to three distinct advantages:
- Technological advancements have made the technology easier and more palatable for businesses of all sizes. High definition is giving video conferences the collaboration and connection you would expect to find in a live meeting. The technology makes this form of communication even better by giving participants the capability to share data. Live recording of the meetings also provides records required for both regulatory and security requirements. Furthermore, online conferencing offers you advanced scheduling and management capabilities. Not leaving out the fact that video conferencing end point costs have decreased ten-fold, while travel costs have increased.
- The Internet protocol has now made it easier to transmit video images less expensive, easy to use, more robust, reliable and customizable to meet any type of organization’s requirements.
- Globalization and the constant need for expert workgroups in different regions has necessitated the demand for technology offering face-to-face communication.
In addition, the rise in smartphone technology has fueled the popularity of this technology, through call or instant messaging. The number of companies deploying a video meeting solution like BlueJeans is rising since adopting video conferencing not only reduces costs, but also improves the adaptability of their communication solutions.
In terms of costs, video conferencing provides everyone an abundance of benefits.
Faster Decision Making
Making quick decision based on what you hear or e-mail you read is difficult and not effective. Verbal or written communication does not reveal all the information you would require to make a good decision. The NonVerbal Group reveals that 93 percent of communication is through nonverbal elements like posture, gestures and facial expressions. Plus, people are always more comfortable talking when they can see each other. This is where video conferencing comes in. high quality picture, sound and data-sharing capabilities will make you feel like you are getting the whole story. This, in turn, reduces chances of making the wrong decisions that are likely to cost your business more than a few dollars.
Expert Skills and Contribution at no Extra Costs
If your business relies on the skills and contributions of individual experts in diverse locations, online meetings can help you avoid the extra cost of having the experts travel to your location. In addition, instead of replicating these skills at every one of your company location, videoconferencing can allow you to use these expertise more efficiently. Face-to-face online meeting on an as-need basis lets the experts share their knowledge and experience in an environment that enhances enthusiasm and trust of the people on the other end.
Effective Whole Company Communication
Satellite and branch office employees can easily feel neglected by the headquarters and the upper management if communication is sporadic. The Internet can allow your whole company come together more often, sometimes even spontaneously, to solve issues, celebrate and share a success increasing your company’s identity.
Attract and Keep the Best Talent
Reducing travel costs is a significant factor to consider; however, the real cost of travel is only realized when you take into consideration how much productivity time is lost when your employees have travel from their work stations. This is also detrimental to employee morale since they may have to spend day, even weeks, away from their families and homes. Video conferencing solutions can significantly reduce the time they spend away from their loved ones, apart from employees in travel-intensive personnel, and this will increase your books’ bottom line due to high optimism levels and lower travel costs.
Easier Training
Does your business have compliance and training requirements? If you are in an industry that requires compliance to stringent requirement, regular online meetings can help decode the data necessary for your employees. Additionally, if you have important training materials that you would like every person in your firm to regularly read, then video conferencing and video-on-demand are the perfect solution.
Small businesses with a single location may not be in a position to justify investing in video conferencing; that is until customers demand it. Other companies should, however, be looking at the benefits they are likely to reap once they deploy the technology. Companies are now coming to the realization that video conferencing is no longer just a fancy communication method, but a method that is changing the way businesses do business.
Different businesses employ different operational strategies to stay at the top; however, all companies share one aspect – the establishment of an internal and external communication system. It is through the communication infrastructure that upper echelon leaders stay in touch with corporate leaders, managers as well as low-level employees. This allows for the precise relay of company-centric instructions, process procedures and monitoring of the company’s overall progress, according to Management Study Guide.
However, many businesses are having a hard time maintaining this line of communication, especially those companies with business ties in different geographical locations.
