The only thing harder than trying to sell a stubborn client or partner on a new project or venture is adding even more individuals who are on the fence to the equation. While there’s no quick and simple way to move a group toward a consensus decision during a particularly intense meeting, working with the right tools, like a multi-point video conferencing system, can at least save you a few headaches on the logistical and technical front of this battle. To find out what role these innovative systems can play in helping your business process run a little smoother when connecting with others, here’s a breakdown of the benefits that come with making the switch to an online meeting platform.
Promoting Enhanced Understanding of Source Materials
One of the biggest problems facing a large meeting comes from the sheer physical constraints imposed by most conference rooms. If you’ve ever had to stop a PowerPoint presentation to read the slides for the folks in the back of the room who can’t see the screen, or wait while people try and catch up with note taking, you know exactly how frustrating this can be, as well as how hard it is to get back into the flow of your discussion.
When it comes to multi-party meetings, Blue Jeans and other industry leaders circumvent this problem by offering tools that enable livestreaming on-screen access to every member of the video conference. As part of its research into the subject, the University of Iowa points out that this approach to presentations helps reduce “people downtime” during meetings, as well as enhancing productivity and understanding among participating parties.
In short, instead of dealing with constant stops and starts at a live meeting, as well as members who don’t understand the source material but remain silent anyways, working with a multi-party meeting platform helps ensure you make your point, while staying cool, calm, and collected as you work through even the most taxing conference subject matter.
Saving Money and Time
Aside from enhancing your ability to conduct and lead a meeting with the members of your team that span the country or the globe, going this route helps keep these people in the distant locations where they belong. In support of this concept, one of the biggest drains on a company’s budget comes in the form of travel expenses. From meal stipends to plane tickets and hotel rooms, it all adds up frighteningly quickly for the people in charge of your organization’s expenses.
However, as Mark Barratt, Theresa Millar, and Rob Bristow of the United Kingdom’s JISC (formerly known as the Joint Information Systems Committee) explain, being buried beneath a tidal wave of travel expenses isn’t your only option. By making the move to video conferencing, your brand can save a substantial amount of money, all thanks to the convenient nature of the digital platform.
While there’s definitely some costs associated with implementing and operating a video conferencing system, there’s hardly any comparison between these two options. Taking into account the fact that going digital saves even more money by taking printing and distribution costs out of the expense picture tilts the balance even more in favor of holding meetings via multi-party platforms that promote the instant sharing and access to valuable documents.
Improving Quality of Life
On a more personal level, experts, such as June Bower, point to video conferencing as a means of improving the quality of life for yourself and the other members of your organization, as stated on Mashable. While some might dispute this as wishful thinking, it’s hard to argue against the concept that avoiding the need for frequent and extensive travel, as well as the strain of working on vital projects and deals away from the comfort and resources of the home office, makes a major difference when adjusting to the constant grind of corporate life.
As Bower goes on to explain, the convenience of video conferencing provides your brand with the best of both worlds. Connecting face-to-face with important counterparts and clients still happens on schedule, and at the end of the day you get to come home to dinner with your family and sleep in your own bed – a combination that’s worth more than gold in the vast majority of office buildings around the world.
The truth of the situation is that video conferencing with larger groups offers a wide range of benefits that cover the entire spectrum of organizational life. From keeping your business on budget and avoiding a showdown with the accounting team to freeing up more time to focus on other projects, efficiency is the name of the game with this process. Adding in the intangible benefits that promote a better quality of life within your office further solidifies the point that shifting away from physical meetings, while keeping the personal feel of a face-to-face discussion intact, is a clear win-win scenario for all parties involved.
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