The last two years have changed a lot of things. Digital became the new normal. And the world tried to cope with new ways. Reinvention, discovery, and digitization changed the old ways. It brought forth new ways of working through remote collaborations especially bringing flexibility for organizations with a global workforce. The walls of an office building ceased to be a limitation to collaborative work and brought a level of productivity that was unheard of before.
Through online meetings, a new way for global collaboration was highlighted with which businesses could interact and bring together teams, partners and shareholders easily without any geographical restrictions.
Here are some reasons why online meetings could take the world by storm:
● Cost-effective
Virtual meetings removed the need for all the team members to be in one specific room, arrange for space, ensure a pleasurable conference atmosphere, and make time for the travel on the assigned day.
The cost of travel, venues, and the time required for a normal meeting may not seem much at a glance, but in some instances, it could take longer to get to the meeting than the period of the whole meeting itself.
With virtual meetings, all of that is transferred. There is no need for any commute, no planning is required, and no hours are lost. It is easy to add in other colleagues at a moment’s notice, and once the meeting is over, everyone can return to their daily duties.
How comfortable for everyone involved.
● Increased Inclusivity
Again, an offline meeting needed travel for members to attend, and distance usually led to many members missing out. With virtual meetings, attendees could be anywhere. Online meetings create a platform for all employees to have an increased opportunity to attend and participate in the discussion or updates.
Virtual meetings made it possible to add members regardless of their location and a very productive environment, especially for geographically dispersed teams. Most platforms come with easy file sharing options, and so it is easy to share visual and
documentation with the attendees.
● Better flow of information
A physical meeting used to go a little like this. All the members gathered around a flipchart, a whiteboard may be, and everyone tried to keep up with statistical data that would usually skip the mind if one did not take notes every second.
A virtual meeting brings the additional benefit of making use of the platform’s full functionality. Online, the flow of information can be optimized, and communication can occur via multiple channels. There are various ways that attendees can efficiently participate in the meetings through file and screen sharing, document presentation, and group chat, etc. This leads to the completion of projects quickly as well.
Also, Being easily able to open the meeting to a wider audience helps bring a diverse range of opinions to the business. This provides insight and expertise that may not have been accessible in a traditional local meeting.
● Increased Productivity
Traditional meetings, as mentioned earlier, took a lot of time and attention from all who were attending. And for the one organizing it, they took more. On top of that, a physical meeting would need to cover a whole range of topics, and most of the time, half of them didn’t apply to all attendees.
With virtual meetings, that time is saved. That attention is used more constructively. The productivity of time used is also increased as meetings can be scheduled easily and are shorter. Decision making is speeded up, and time is used better.
● Recordable
A traditional meeting usually needed a minute by minute notes keeper to revert and keep track of all discussed. Organizations can press a button with an online meeting, and the entire meeting can be documented for future reference.
Various software offers recording options in online meetings so that these conferences can be watched back later or be available to all who couldn’t attend.
Conclusion:
Many software has found glory with the increasing popularity of online meetings, training, and conferencing. And they are available at affordable prices to incorporate as well. For example, Adobe connect costs are almost free for entry-level users, making it an ideal solution for those just starting.