Video conferencing for business: everything you need to know
Companies today run on remote and hybrid working. In the July 2023 update of its “Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes,” the Working From Home Research Project reported that 12% of full-time employees were fully remote and another 29.3% were in hybrid work arrangements1. Taken together, that’s 40% of employees who regularly work away from the office.
Many employees prefer these flexible work arrangements, and the ability to offer them helps smaller businesses compete for talent against larger companies with more extensive benefits.
But the success of a flexible work program depends on having your office optimized to support it. This starts in your meeting rooms, where the video conferencing setup can make it easy for everyone to be seen, heard, and fully participate—or it can be a roadblock to productive collaboration.
Here are five key steps for equipping your meeting spaces to get the most from every video conference:
1. Know your space—because there is no one size fits all
You know your business and employees better than anyone else, and thinking about how they typically collaborate will provide insight on what they need for productive meetings. How often are they on video calls? Do they take calls in groups or individually? Have they given you feedback on what makes video calls difficult or run more smoothly?
Next, assess your current meeting spaces. Do you have the space to meet your employees’ video conferencing needs? Should you change your mix of spaces, such as creating more focus and stand-up areas, reducing the number of larger rooms, or bringing in booths or partitions? Are there existing rooms that fit your flexible working space requirements, but lack video conferencing ability?
Understanding the unique needs of your employees and the status of your meeting rooms provides a foundation for determining your best video solutions, and key information you’ll use in later steps.
2. Identify your video software partner
Chances are that your business already has a preferred video communications platform partner, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet. This gives you a jumping off point in your search for video conferencing solutions; start by looking at products that are certified to work with your platform. By design, these solutions work with your platform to simplify smooth, reliable communication and improve the productivity of your meetings. And with the wide array of certified solutions available for each of these platforms, you’ll be able to find the right equipment for each of your meeting spaces.
3. Create a better meeting experience
Accessories and technology features can enhance your video conferencing setup and improve the experience for everyone in the meeting. For example, adding a touch controller inside the room can make it intuitive to begin the meeting, eliminating the wasted time that’s common when users struggle to get calls started.
Depending on the space and its size, additional audio accessories such as expansion microphones can ensure crystal clear sound no matter where someone is sitting in the room or listening from.
Also look for technical features built into video conferencing solutions that make it easier for everyone to have equal presence during every meeting without manually having to track and frame as people present or move around the room.
4. Simplify adoption
It’s not enough to choose and deploy video conferencing solutions that fit your business needs. To get the full value of your investments, employees have to be comfortable using them.
After you have chosen and installed solutions that are intuitive and easy to use, set up demonstrations of how they work. It’s a good idea to record these short sessions and make those videos readily available to employees, so they can refer back whenever they need to.
Also, create a “cheat sheet” for each video-enabled space. These quick instructions, specific to the equipment in that room, will make it easy for employees to start and run meetings.
5. Know when to ask for help
Video conferencing is a large investment, and you want to get it right. It’s important to do your research upfront so you understand what’s available to you, but when it’s time to select and set up the best solutions for your spaces, reaching out to vendors or resellers can save you time and frustration.
Don’t be afraid to contact the sellers of products you are interested in. Video conferencing is their business, and they have the experience and expertise to understand exactly what equipment is needed to have the best meeting experiences in spaces of all sizes. They will answer your questions throughout the process, provide insights to help you make the most of your deployment, and may offer services to support you through equipment deployment, adoption, and optimization.
The other benefit of working with a vendor or reseller is that they can make you aware of discounts, grants, trade-in programs and other cost-saving opportunities that you may not learn about on your own.
Learn more about creating the best video conferencing experiences for your employees and your business.