Videoconferencing meetings > the online meeting revolution
Although introduced several years ago, the practice of web conferencing has only recently started to be used in the digital workplace.
In fact, videoconferencing technologies have only become affordable since the 2000s. It is from this time that videoconferencing became available at a reasonable cost, assuming that the Internet connection was adequate to allow a good quality of service.
The application of this technological solution, despite a slow start, is now very much in vogue in the professional sphere. Video conference meetings have become the order of the day. But let us explore this concept a little further.
What is meant by videoconferencing?
Videoconferencing refers to a mode of meeting mediated by technological aids of people who are not in the same place.
By means of videoconferencing, the participants in the meeting have the opportunity to get in touch, have a conversation and see each other while not being physically close.
Videoconferencing is a means of cancelling the physical distances between people and allows them to interchange almost as if they were present in the same place.
The introduction of Smart Working and video conferencing
Following the spread of Smart Working as a work practice integrated into the dynamics of companies, video conferencing has become particularly popular.
The application of videoconferencing as a tool to support work and no longer as a pure means to communicate with friends and relatives had already been in use for several years. However, it has only recently seen its scope broadened. Nowadays, it is not only sporadic meetings with distant employees or international customers: video conferencing has also become the usual means of holding classic business meetings.
Video conference meetings
Corporate meetings are moments designed for the sharing of opinions, discussion of working practices, discussion of issues of business relevance, deliberation on business matters, etc. They are moments designed to encourage the exchange of opinions by bringing together a company's employees in a single place where they can communicate openly.
Normally, we are accustomed to thinking of meetings as formal convocations of company members in an office or a room, for the purpose of taking decisions concerning the company's activities. Nowadays, however, meetings are increasingly being held remotely, via video conferencing.
Online meetings some time ago would have seemed an alien and distant practice. Now, however, they have become absolutely familiar. In fact, it is not uncommon for offices to have meeting rooms equipped for videoconferencing, i.e. equipped with monitors, video cameras, microphones and headsets, soundproof panels, etc.
Until not so long ago, the practices of applying technology to facilitate remote business meetings were mistrusted. In fact, they were perceived as a means of alienating employees from the corporate community, as a tool favouring the depersonalisation of relationships and, therefore, alienation in the work environment.
Having overcome the initial mistrust, however, today there is a tendency to particularly appreciate the use of new technologies in the field of videoconferencing to hold online company meetings. This methodology, in fact, has revealed undeniable advantages associated with its use, as we shall see in more detail below.
Video conference meetings ... do they work?
Video conference meetings work, you just have to be careful to organise them properly.
However, online meetings can also fail. What can most compromise the success of a video conference meeting is certainly the quality of the call. Indeed, if one cannot see and/or hear a colleague distinctly and continuously, the meeting is unlikely to achieve its objectives.
To avoid this kind of inconvenience, it is good to implement some good practices. Let's look at them together.
Videoconference meetings: where do we start?
In order to be able to conduct videoconferencing meetings without running into too many hiccups, it is important first of all to equip oneself with the right supporting technologies.
In fact, as video conferences are meetings that are realised through the mediation of technological means, it is clear that they are completely dependent on the proper functioning of the latter. Thus, if the technology is lacking, or the Internet connection is poor, videoconferencing will be compromised.
Some practical advice
It is therefore necessary to check that the equipment is working properly. Therefore, some practical tips to check its adequacy can be:
- Carry out a preventive check-up of the sound and video quality, to avoid unpleasant surprises at the time of the meeting. In this respect, the webcam preview option is very useful.
- Adjust the framing of the camera so that it allows us to see ourselves and our interlocutor optimally.
- Adjust the lighting of the camera, as well as the lighting of the environment in which you are standing.
- Pay attention to the background: it will be seen by anyone participating in the video call, so adjust accordingly.
- It is often advisable to have earphones in order to compensate for the poor performance of many microphones included on laptops. The sound check can be performed by a test call to any acquaintance at a time before the meeting.
- Check the speed of the available Internet : poor connections will inevitably cause problems during the video call.
Video conference meetings: the advantages for the company
As we have said, video conference meetings can have benefits for the company and all employees.
What are they?
→ Reduction of time and money expenditure
- Reduction in travel costs
- Reduction in employee training costs;
- Reduced organisation time.
→ Increased flexibility
In principle, online meetings can be held at any time during a 24-hour period, in different parts of the world, and employees can participate from any location. Participating in the meeting is very simple: just click on a button and you are connected in real time to the virtual meeting.
Even for those who work from home, participation is possible without difficulty, because the user in question does not have to come to the office: his conference room will be his study or living room.
Furthermore, meetings can be followed via the support of potentially most mobile devices. In fact, both tablets and smartphones are now equally well suited to support online meetings.
→ Greater employee involvement
- Thanks to video conferences, shortcomings caused by distance can be compensated for. Videoconferencing enables the recovery of the potential of exchanging non-verbal communication. This increases the community feeling of the participants (employees and customers).
- Online meetings offer the possibility of organising more meetings since participation in them causes less time expenditure (time related to travel, interpersonal meetings, etc. are eliminated). As a result, the corporate climate can become more communicative and this can allow for a higher degree of participation in the company.
- Video conference meetings can contribute to better communication of information between members of the corporate team.
How to hold a videoconference meeting: good practices during a meeting
In order to be able to hold a proper videoconference meeting, some good practices should be put in place, such as:
- Turn off your personal microphone in group meetings at times when you are not speaking. In fact, turning off the sound for your own computer can promote better overall sound quality and avoid noise pollution of various kinds.
- If it is up to you to plan meetings, it is a good idea to plan a precise agenda with reminders that can remind employees of what to do. Indeed, especially if employees are active in smart mode, it can happen more easily that a meeting, especially if it is not scheduled on a regular basis, is forgotten.
- If content is to be presented, it is good to familiarise oneself in advance with the apps to be used. They differ according to the platform used for video conferencing (Google Meet, Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Pexip, etc. are all available in a free version and all offer a free service), such as how to operate a screen share.
- It is better to plan concise and engaging interventions: even more so than in face-to-face meetings, in online meetings people can get bored and become apathetic to stimuli very quickly.
- Although video conference meetings can technically be held more frequently than regular meetings without affecting company productivity too much, it is generally a good idea not to overdo it with meetings even in video conferences. As with ordinary meetings, in fact, too high a frequency of meetings may diminish their relevance and cause more of a waste of time than a useful investment for the company.
Article translated from Italian