Latin America. Let's think about a face-to-face work meeting that has been developed successfully and stop to think why was it a success? Is it because of the ability to share ideas on a whiteboard? or is it the ease of understanding of the members when meeting in person?
Those capabilities don't have to disappear when conducting a video conference or virtual meeting, if the right platform is chosen. Successful online meetings should have all the elements that allow workers to feel productive, build team relationships, and move forward with their work processes. They just need to know what features they will actually enable for these types of meetings and then look for a service that offers them.
According to a recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management, about half of companies (46%) globally hold video conferencing to increase the productivity of their employees. However, today a large number of work teams that are not in the same workspace continue to struggle to stay connected. Many still feel isolated and disconnected, which can undermine the success of teamwork. In turn, the same study highlights that 86% of employees mention that lack of collaboration, ineffective communication and lack of adequate tools increases failures and distractions at work, so organizations should know that collaboration is a key facilitator to achieve any goal that has been set.
So what does it take for virtual teams to reach their full potential? How do we make sure they're mentally present and engaged when they're not all in the same room? BroadSoft considers the following key elements to conducting successful virtual meetings:
Video: The main factor to consider, looking for high-quality HD (1080p) video, is the only way to capture all the facial expressions and other details that would be seen in an in-person meeting. The environment plays a critical role in any meeting, the body language of the members is important to reinforce the messages that are issued, otherwise there may be ineffective or poor communication. In addition, it is important to consider the network that will be used while conducting a virtual meeting since a good video experience depends on this. The solution you use should ensure that each attendee receives the optimal video.
Shared and interactive content: Another common difficulty is not being able to collaborate in all the ways participants want, such as chatting, sharing desktops, documents, and playing media files at the same time. That sounds obvious, but many organizations stumble when choosing a collaboration solution that supports, say, only some media file formats, or just single-screen sharing. When collaboration tools are limited, time during meetings is wasted if participants find that the solution doesn't support the video format they want to play, or that they can't annotate live apps.
Instant messaging: During meetings it is necessary to have quick and immediate ways to communicate without interrupting the flow of the call or the person speaking. Even while it is silenced, everyone can actively participate, asking questions and expressing their opinions. An additional tool that enables this possibility will generate a synergy of work that will optimize time and make the objective of the meeting is achieved in a simpler way.
An excellent and productive work meeting can have a positive impact on any company or business; virtual collaboration should allow you to interact with your colleagues or partners in exactly the same way as a face-to-face meeting; it is only necessary to have the right system for this to be carried out. When meetings are more interactive and people are attentive, issues related to multitasking and lack of participation can be eliminated or significantly reduced, leading to increased productivity and results in more successful meetings.
Text written by Bárbara Ferguson, Senior Manager, Product Marketing for BroadSoft.
