Video conferencing platforms have become a necessity for modern workers in 2020. With remote work and distributed teams, getting together looks a little different. However, many organizations are unsure of how to implement video conferencing. They think it will be too complicated and costly. Or, they have concerns that employees won’t adopt it. Those are all common arguments against video conferencing. Luckily, they aren’t true.
Your organization can have a robust, user-friendly solution that’s affordable and easy to set up. Let’s look at how to best implement video conferencing for business.
Step One: Choose a Platform
There are lots of options out there, including free versions. Free usually sounds great, right? But beware as such services have drawbacks in features, time allowances, and quality. If you’re going to use a video conferencing system with customers and prospects, these concerns matter even more.
When looking for the right platform to implement, you should define what functionality matters to you. Standard video conferencing features include:
- Screen sharing and annotation: Excellent for collaborating or presenting.
- Support for multiple webcams.
- Integrations with email, instant messaging, and other apps.
- Meeting recording, transcribing, and note capturing.
- Custom branding.
Beyond features, you’ll most likely care about two other areas: ease of use/setup and cost.
Ease of Use and Setup
Since you’re using video conferencing to bridge physical distance, you’ll want your solution to be cloud-based, which means it’s accessible from any internet connection. The setup must be super simple and easy to manage. Adding or removing users should be easy. From an admin view, it shouldn’t be something that involves significant IT configuration.
Next, the systems must be easy for your team to use. It shouldn’t require more than a few minutes of training for anyone with standard computer skills. If it’s too cumbersome, no one will use it.
Price
The pricing of video conferencing depends on the features you select as well as the number of users with accounts and participants per meeting. You want the best value, but you have to consider this as an investment in a technology that has substantial benefits for your employees. Video conferencing can enhance collaboration as well as enable sales teams to stay connected to customers.
Step Two: Begin Setup
After choosing your solution, it’s time for the setup, which you wanted to be easy and hassle-free. You’ll be working with your provider to deploy the technology. It might require a little bit of testing in the beginning. However, since it’s a web-based service, it works like so many other apps you already use, so it shouldn’t be a challenge for you. At this time, you also want to make sure that your settings are best in class for security.
Step Three: Rollout to Employees
Now that you’ve got a solution ready to go, it’s time to let your employees know about the tool. In most cases, this is the first time you’ll be providing a video conferencing service and advocating for its use. You can expect some pushback. Here’s how you can ease workers into feeling more comfortable:
- Provide employees with the video conferencing essentials—an HD webcam and headset. If they have these things, they’ll feel more confident.
- Distribute best practices about camera angles, lighting, backdrops, and other tips on looking your best on camera.
- Ensure leaders are using it in their meetings: If your C-suite and managers are on board, others are likely to support it as well.
- Encourage them to practice: This is especially good for those in customer-facing roles, as they pitch to or work with clients. They can use the platform to record themselves, then play it back to determine where they need to improve.
- Explain its value for collaboration: Groups often need to work on a document or project together. Instead of emailing back and forth, which can end up causing frustration and mistakes, hold a quick video conference call with all parties to finalize it. They’ll be more productive and appreciate the channel for what it offers.
Step Four: Ask for Feedback
After deployment of your video conferencing platform, monitor usage, and ask your employees for feedback. Rate their level of satisfaction with the project and ask if it has improved workflows and collaboration. If it doesn’t meet your expectations, then you’ll need to evaluate why.
Implement Video Conferencing to Support Your Business
Even post-pandemic, video conferencing will remain important. Its use is normalized, and many prefer it. It’s also much less expensive than business travel. You should invest now in a solution that can grow with you. Intermedia AnyMeeting could be just what you’re seeking. Explore its features and possibilities now.
The Intermedia Team
Intermedia helps businesses of all sizes connect better – through voice, video conferencing, chat, contact center, business email and productivity, file sharing and backup, security, archiving, and more – from wherever, whenever. And, as a partner-first company, Intermedia goes to work for our channel partners to help them grow their revenue and maximize their success.
February 1, 2021
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