Governments Can Increase Team Collaboration With Video Conferencing
Effective communication is a requirement for an effective team. Historically, when a work team was given a high-value project with an aggressive deadline, its members would meet in the same physical space. They would work together in real time as a single, cohesive unit to meet their challenge.
A team that communicates face to face is less likely to waste time miscommunicating. Traditionally, placing a team in the same physical location was the best way to foster the clearest, most direct transfer of ideas while completing tasks.
But today, an organization’s team members may be spread throughout world. A successfully deployed video communications platform provides a tool to bridge the distance. Geographically dispersed teams that use video regularly maintain the communication effectiveness that comes from seeing the people they are speaking with, while sharing the communications experience as a group.
Video also allows for more engaging meetings. Participants stay engaged and are less likely to multitask, which can lead to faster and more productive meetings.
A practical example of using a video communications platform to increase organizational effectiveness is during the hiring process.
In the past, organizations that wanted to have multiple managers and subject matter experts interview job candidates at far-flung offices were limited in their options. They could use multiple phone interviews over days or weeks to complete the vetting process, during which time the candidate might be snatched up by the competition. They could fly the candidate in, at considerable expense. Or, they could rely on just the local staff to interview the candidate, which could lead to undervetted candidates being hired.
Organizations with an integrated video platform, on the other hand, have a distinct advantage during the hiring process. Job candidates can simply visit the closest office and sit in a video conference room, where they can be interviewed by managers and subject matter experts from across the country or around the world.
Many organizations now see telecommuters or remote workers as a great way to reduce operational expenditures. In 2012, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, approximately 25 percent of eligible federal employees worked remotely at least one day a week.
Every worker who is able to be productive outside of the office, even just once a week, reduces the demand and associated costs on an organization’s facilities. And that’s not all — telework also may actually increase employee productivity.
In fact, a 2012 Stanford University study found that contact center employees allowed to work from home increased their overall performance by 13 percent. Daily video communication also gives remote workers the face-to-face interactions essential to feeling like appreciated and productive members of the team. In turn, it provides their managers with an easy way to evaluate their morale and general productivity.
Learn more about how video can be used by state and local governments in our free white paper.
