Remote Worker Integration: Can Video Conferencing Help You? (Updated)

Remote working is here to stay and it's time companies take it seriously and empowers their employees to do their best work, even if they work remotely.

Remote work is great, but it does bring challenges. How does video conferencing play a role?  

The new Today

Over the past few years, the perk of working from home, or wherever employees find themselves, has been a deciding factor for many applicants. Some of them won’t consider shifting to a new position if remote work wasn’t part of the agreement. This forced more companies to offer the arrangement to keep on being an employer of choice.  

During the pandemic, this setup became even more widespread, with more people than ever before working from home to help prevent the spread of the virus. There is the advantage that many workers feel more focused and productive when working in their own spaces. But it’s not all good news.  

An important part of any company is its culture and cohesiveness between colleagues. To sustain it, communication is essential. With each person working in isolation, it can quickly change a company’s culture, which can have an effect on productivity, people’s loyalty, morale and even service to customers.  

Studies also show that engaged workers are much more productive and if your staff is disengaged it could cost your company money. On a national level, disengagement can cost the US over $500 billion each year. So, it’s vital to ensure staff stays engaged, but it’s extremely difficult to manage that when teams never gather in one place. 

This is where resources like video conferencing become a wise investment.  

The Role of Video Conferencing 

Your company probably has many resources and software packages to facilitate communication and connect staff, management, clients, and more role players. Unfortunately, reading a text message via email or on a mobile device can never replace seeing someone’s face while they deliver that message in person.  

One of the biggest role players is the ability to use visual cues to make sense of a message. Did you know that during a conversation, as much as 80% of communication is based on what we see, rather than what we hear? This explains why one can so easily be misunderstood after sending an email or text message. By adding video conferencing to your weekly engagements with each other, you’re improving interaction and understanding instantly.  

Another aspect to manage is how integrated each party feels in the team. You need this to maintain morale, keep workers loyal, and help new team members learn your company culture. This happens much easier when your employees can interact, see facial expressions, join in activities like a personal joke with others or see the concern others have for them.

Effects  

Possible Outcomes for Productivity 

Start incorporating video conferencing into your company and you’ll see the multiple positive outcomes that make it a wise investment: 

• For successful performance, your team needs collaboration much more than the individual skills or intelligence each one brings to the table. So, make the most of your human resources by helping them work together.  

• During a video call there will be more clarity in exchanging messages and opinions. This leads to more productivity and quick decision-making compared to sending and waiting for emails.  
• With people feeling more engaged, your overall performance and success can rise as much as four times.  

Possible Outcomes for Office Culture 

Your success is not only dependent on getting the work done, but also on maintaining a healthy team. Use your video conferencing equipment to enjoy the following benefits to your company culture: 

• Workers value feeling included, which video conferencing can boost. This can help them engage more with the rest of the team.  
• A video conference helps parties get to know each other’s personalities. Becoming more comfortable with each other will result in more relaxed, happy workers. A bonus is that this increases productivity.  
• When video conferencing helps improve relationships and facilitate a healthy company culture, there’s a bigger chance of retaining staff.  

General Applications and Benefits 

Video conferencing can assist in many departments, for example: 

• Sourcing talent: Completing interviews easier and faster, without the need of anyone driving to an office. You can also record a session for future reference or for someone who can’t attend the interview.  
• Onboarding: For training of and communication with new employees, a video conference allows many role players to join in. No wasting time on travel or hosting multiple sessions to accommodate people from different branches.  
• Carbon footprint: Help workers and the company minimize carbon footprints by limiting travel, without sacrificing good communication.  

Conclusion 

Remote work is here to stay and video-conferencing helps with many aspects of a company life. Investing in the right technology will help your employees to be more effective and to feel more included.

If you need to upgrade your interaction with your team, let’s talk.  

Book an appointment or call us to find Video Conferencing Solutions perfect for your needs.