Reasons Virtual Conferences Will Transform Industries

Reasons Virtual Conferences Will Transform Industries           

While there are some conferences that must be attended in person, for others the length of travel time and expenses need to be weighed against outcomes. Many standard meetings, training sessions, brainstorming sessions, and other conferences can be handled more effectively and efficiently via video conferencing, saving time and stress not only to your budget, but on your valuable staff as well. Here are the top ten reasons that you need to consider using virtual conferencing services like Blue Jeans to handle your daily meeting needs.

1. A surprising amount of workers disengaged from their jobs and coworkers, a trend according to a Gallup poll that is especially prevalent among highly experienced and highly educated workers. These valuable members of your staff need to be reengaged with their projects and coworkers on an effective, intuitive method of meeting face to face without the travel time or work disruption.
2. According to Gigaom research, 87 percent of video conference participants felt more engaged and connected to their teams and processes when using video conferencing. With a large degree of communication being the nonverbal cues of expression, meetings conducted over video conferencing apps like Blue Jeans have a distinct advantage over emails, text-based chat applications, or conference calls.
3. With 37 percent of employee time spent in meetings, exclusive of travel or preparation time, there has to be an efficient way to rework or modify how that time is spent in order to make it effective and engaging. Be honest, how many times have you hovered seriously over your iPad in a meeting while trying to defeat the newest level in Candy Crush and checking the clock for the next coffee break?
4. It would surprise you to know that hot on the heels of that statistic, the same Verizon study showed that 92 percent of regular meeting attendees value the chance to interact and contribute at meetings. When employees feel as if they are contributing and that their input is valued and recognized, they enjoy the opportunity of a meeting.
5. And right on cue, another downer. Regular meeting attendees say that they can attend an average of 60 meetings a month. That’s an average – meaning some professionals can be called on to attend many more or significantly less. Imagine the preparation and time spend on those meetings, with hardly enough time to catch a breath before being due at the next meeting!
6. Employee stress is another ding against meetings, with workers citing the stress of leaving home and family, as well as work backing up while they are out of town. For frequent travelers, this stress can impact their morale and well-being to the point at which they disengage or even decide to quit, taking with them a wealth of knowledge and training.
7. In terms of expense, traveling to meetings, lodging and expense account per diems for meetings can hit the wallet of a company, whether they are a start up on a ramen noodle and hot dogs budget or a five star, first class operation with multi-million dollar budgets. For a Fortune 500 company, the average cost per day per meeting is a hefty $527 per day, while for a smaller company, it still runs budget thumping $412.
8. Even Fortune 500 companies are tightening their belts, looking to video conferencing to not only reduce the hit to the bottom line, but bring their geographically distant personnel and teams closer together by scheduling meetings more frequently in order to improve communication. Communication and engagement can be seen as the cornerstones of successful projects, and productive teams.
9. Smaller companies without bigtime budgets can also use video conferencing that work wherever their team members happen to be. On their Smartphone, tablet, or on a laptop or desktop. Old fashioned room based and server based solutions anchored users in one place, a cloud based application goes wherever you or your staff need to be.
10. Telecommuting is easier for on and off site personnel when they can meet face to face with a point and click or a tap and swipe. The lack of communication has been one of the bigger drawbacks to telecommuting, and video conferencing on demand, can be a boon to telecommuters who might otherwise feel isolated and out of the loop.

While video conferencing is not a magical cure all for problems within the corporate culture, it can be a highly efficient tool to facilitate communication and boost engagement when it is used correctly. The rules for running a good meeting still apply, with some twists unique to the format. Learning how to use video conferencing effectively and engaging staff and teams in adopting and using the tool is critical to the success of the undertaking.