5 Ways a Video Conferencing System Helps to Cut Costs
Have you ever been in a conference call with someone, asked a question, heard nothing on the other end, and a few moments later, “um, sorry, I had to take myself off mute there.” This is a waste of your time. Your time is money, and it is highly disrespectful to the group. Would this happen with a video conferencing system?
With telepresence technology like video conferencing you can see your employees or contractors and they will be more likely to stay on task and your meetings will be more productive.
But how does this save you money?
Let’s take a moment to look at five ways in which you can cut costs with a video conferencing system.
1. Video Conferencing System: Pads Your Travel Budget
It takes 1000 hours of video conferencing to equal the cost and electrical output of a one hour drive. And if you factor in flight travel, you’re already looking at more cost.
Even with frequent flyer discounts, travel expenses are horrendous. Not to mention the amount of time spent traveling to the airport, waiting in line after line after line only to travel half the distance to again wait in another airport during the layover.
With a video conferencing system, you can quickly call a face to face with clients and employees and save the travel for important larger functions and gatherings.
2. Video Conferencing System: Virtual Office Space
The days of massive brick and mortar office complexes and stores are slowly fading into the past. Gentrification and corporate monopoly are causing the price of office space to climb at an alarming rate. Start-ups and small businesses simply cannot afford to house everybody in one site.
Enter video conferencing. With a video conferencing system, you not longer need to house all of your employees in one place. You might want a small nuclear set of offices for the administration team, but telecommuting will not only save you money on space, it might make your employees happier in the long run.
80-90% of the working population would like to telecommute more. And it’s not hard to understand why. physically commuting to the office every day, especially if you live in the city, can quickly burn you out. And once you are at the office, you cannot leave or go home until late because it wouldn’t be worth your time.
Imagine how many fewer vacation or sick days an employee would take if they could have a few days of flexible, yet concentrated work from home. A few days of collaborative work at the office and then a few days of work from home would give your employees a work-life balance and keep them on track for your goals.
3. Video Conferencing System: Go Worldwide.
Globalization has been a boon to large and small businesses alike. Large businesses can operate around the clock thanks to the ability to have offices around the world.
Small businesses can take advantage of both clients and employee talent across the globe as well. But outside of video conferencing you have only two options to meet clients or hire employees.
Rely solely on email and resumes. Or phone calls. Neither of which are particularly great for getting a feel for how a person might work out as an employee or for creating a great relationship with clients.
If you want to hire from a larger pool than your immediate area, unless you are already a multinational corporation with offices all over the world, you probably aren’t going to spend the money on either traveling to interview potential employees or pay for potential employees to come interview with you.
A video conferencing system would greatly improve your ability to meet, vet, and hire new employees. It will also allow you to retain a connection with those employees.
Communication is a huge deal in today’s corporate culture. And 70% of communication is body language whereas only 23% of communication is tone of voice. The last 7% of communication? Words.
When you only communicate with words, you are cutting out 93% of potential communication. Even if you are using a voice conferencing system, you are cutting out that 70% of potential communication.
4. Video Conferencing System: Saves Time
How many times have you gone to a meeting and waited? You might have been the customary fifteen minutes early, but your fellow employee down the hall was fifteen minutes late. Then add in the time it takes to get the meeting started, the friendly banter. You’ve probably already lost a full half hour to an hour of your day and nothing productive has even happened.
If you can quickly punch in for a video meeting, nobody has to move from where they are sitting, nobody has to travel from where they were working. Your meeting is in a virtual space and it can be conducted from virtually anywhere.
5. Video Conferencing System: Provides Continuity
If a natural disaster occured near your headquarters, could you continue to operate?
80% of businesses are shut down after a disaster or an act of God occurs in their area. You don’t want to end up in the majority if you cannot weather the storm.
With world politics as unstable as they are, are you sure your business could stay afloat if it remained in a technological quagmire that relies on physical presence?
Video conferencing solutions will allow your employees to continue working and communicating remotely while the ground crews and electric companies work to restore operation and infrastructure.
Conclusion:
The world hasn’t stopped progressing toward more and more digital technology solutions. Your competitors have already weighed the costs and jumped in to make their lives easier and more affordable with video conferencing technology.
Video conferencing will not only save you money, it will give you a leg up on the competition. Leading the pack is of utmost importance in this technological and globalized age.
Why not give it a try? Step out in front with the addition of a new video conferencing system for your business. Questions? Get in touch – we’re here to help.
