Over the last two years, the entire world was pushed into the virtual world by the pandemic. This meant that companies worldwide had to look for alternatives to replace their physical locations and face-to-face meetings. This brought about a huge shift to virtual meetings.
Of course, though the pandemic didn’t create virtual meetings, it drove its popularity in a short time. Due to travel restrictions business travel fell to an all-time low during this period. But many experts are predicting that this change might become permanent due to the convenience and cost savings from virtual meetings. A recent report on hybrid workplace trends revealed that only a third of business travelers expect to return to the same level of air travel as before the coronavirus pandemic.
Now with things edging back to normalcy, the big question to ask is: Will the virtual meetings slowly wane away or diminish in number over time? Well, the answer is ‘NO’. The entire world has seen the real benefits of virtual meetings. They offer a host of advantages that face-to-face meetings simply cannot offer. Online virtual meeting etiquette ideas are indispensable in the virtual world.
Please read on to find out what makes virtual meetings indispensable
1. More convenient
In online meetings, you don’t have to travel or visit new venues. There is no commute, no planning, no lost hours of work. You don’t have to compete with your colleagues to book meetings slots. Attendees can be added at a moment’s notice and once the meeting is over, you and your colleagues can effortlessly return to work.
When you have something to be discussed with your team you can communicate right away. Online meetings can be scheduled very quickly and there is no need for participants to travel to join a meeting. There’s no need to gather all participants in one place.
Physical presence creates dependency, and you may have to reschedule your meetings multiple times if somebody is unavailable. Therefore, online meetings enjoy better attendance than an in-person meeting. Online meetings are linked to calendars which makes it easy for attendees to remember and join the meeting on the said date and time.
2. Less travel, more savings
A study shows that video conferencing can reduce travel costs by up to 30% and the need for business travel by 47%. Another study points out that full-time remote working saves the equivalent of 2-3 weeks a year taking into account travel and commuting times. Less travel means more savings on flights, accommodation, food, and catering. Whatever money that is saved can be reinvested back into the business.
3. Overcome location constraints
The best part of virtual meetings is the attendees can join from anywhere and distance is not an obstacle. The participants do not need to travel to attend the online meeting. Online meetings always have better attendance due to the flexibility they provide to the meeting attendees.
Virtual meetings increase participation among remote team members and those who experience travel restrictions. For companies with a globalized workforce, virtual meetings align and integrate communication between teams. Online virtual meetings provide accessibility for all employees to engage with clients and colleagues from any location. With online virtual meetings, you won’t miss out on the proximity and productivity of in-person meetings.
4. Removes size restrictions
Online meetings will help you to share the ideas with a wider audience, increasing participation and contribution. Your typical boardroom may not be able to accommodate more than 15 members, but a regular Zoom meeting can accommodate up to 300 participants at the same time. This can be increased to 500 participants upon request. For bigger teams working from different locations, online meetings are more convenient and easier.
5. More productive
Online meetings are shorter, to the point, efficient and this helps save time. Meeting hosts need not spend time on meeting preparations and setting up meeting rooms. The time spent on these activities could be used for other productive work. It has been observed that online meetings speed up decision making. In a recent survey, 94% of businesses agreed that virtual meetings increase productivity.
6. Best replacement for face-to-face meetings
Screen share, webcams and video visuals add to ‘in-person’ feel to virtual meetings. Since all the participants are visible to others, it allows a more personal connection between the attendees.
Everything is visible in a virtual meeting including the facial expressions, just like a face-to-face meeting. Online meetings also provide other features like whiteboards, polls, chat functions, and more to deal with complex situations where more collaboration is needed.
7. Ease of sharing
Sharing files and slides is easy in a virtual meeting. Most applications come with a ‘share screen’ or ‘share files’ option which makes it easy and effective to share visuals and documentation with the attendees. There is no need to provide logins, flash drives or connect the laptop to the projector.
8. Recordable
In online meetings, there is no need to prepare the minutes of the meeting. The entire meeting can be recorded and played back. Even if a person is not able to attend the meeting, he or she can still go through the recorded meeting.
Additionally, recorded meetings can be paused, slowed down, or replayed. This ensures that participants can go back to the recorded meetings and get whatever details they want. By simply pressing a button, the entire meeting can be recorded, documented and used for future reference.
9. More safe
In these days of the pandemic, it is better to be safe than sorry. Virtual meetings help the team members to keep a safe distance from each other, and prevent spreading germs and transmitting infectious diseases.
10. Cleaner environment
Less travel means less fuel consumption and less burden on our environment. Air travel contributes significantly to global CO2 emissions. When a company changes an in-person presentation to an online presentation and saves just one employee’s trip across the Atlantic Ocean, a business can prevent more than 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide being released to the environment.
By hosting virtual meetings, companies can do their bit for the environment by saving tons of carbon emissions. Holding a virtual meeting instead of traveling is a great way to reduce carbon footprint. So many planes, cars, and trains aren’t needed, and a better environment translates to better mental and physical health for everyone.
11. Higher employee satisfaction
Happy employees are productive employees. People who travel to work daily during peak hours suffer from stress, poor-quality sleep, and a lack of exercise. They also don’t have time to eat a healthy diet. Virtual meetings come with none of these side effects. Eliminating frequent travel brings emotional and physical relief, better health, higher job satisfaction and lower employee turnover which in turn boosts performance and productivity.
Employees like to work for companies that give them the freedom to work from wherever they want. Virtual meetings enable teams to deliver projects remotely creating a culture that supports work-life balance. With more and more employees looking for remote work options, the online meeting option provides flexible work options, which translate to higher employee satisfaction and better work-life balance.
How Clariti helps businesses with Contextual Voice Calls
Clariti helps businesses save money and teams become more efficient through its context-based voice call feature. By providing context and relevant information during voice calls, Clariti ensures that meetings are more focused, productive, and cost-effective.
In traditional voice calls or conference calls, participants often struggle to stay aligned and on track due to the lack of context. This results in longer call durations, frequent interruptions, and the need for follow-up discussions. However, with Clariti’s context-based voice calls, participants have access to relevant chat conversations, shared files, and other contextual information in a thread. This eliminates the need for lengthy explanations or additional meetings to clarify information.
By enabling better virtual meetings, Clariti helps teams adhere to virtual meeting best practices and etiquette. Participants can quickly reference previous chat discussions, shared documents, or project updates, ensuring everyone is on the same page. This reduces confusion, streamlines communication, and allows teams to make faster and more informed decisions during virtual meetings.
Furthermore, the context-based voice call feature in Clariti promotes effective virtual team meetings. Teams can focus on the agenda and discussion points without getting sidetracked, resulting in more efficient use of meeting time and improved overall productivity.
By eliminating the need for extensive follow-up discussions and repeated explanations, Clariti helps teams save time and be more efficient. This translates to cost savings as businesses can reduce the number of meetings, shorten their duration, and minimize the potential for miscommunication or errors caused by lack of context.
Overall, Clariti’s context-based voice calls empower teams to have more effective and focused virtual meetings, promoting better collaboration, increased efficiency, and significant cost savings for businesses.
Conclusion
Virtual meetings have become the best bet for companies in 2023, and it’s crucial to embrace better virtual meetings, follow virtual meetings best practices, and adhere to virtual meeting etiquette. As remote work and hybrid work models continue to thrive, virtual meetings offer numerous advantages for businesses.
By leveraging technology and online meeting platforms, companies can foster efficient and productive collaboration among their teams. Following virtual meeting best practices ensures that meetings are well-planned, focused, and goal-oriented. Adhering to virtual meeting etiquette promotes professionalism, engagement, and respectful communication among participants.
Virtual team meeting etiquette plays a significant role in creating a positive and inclusive environment where all team members feel valued and heard. It encourages active participation, clear communication, and effective decision-making.
In 2023 and beyond, virtual meetings will remain a cornerstone of business operations, allowing teams to overcome geographical barriers, save time and resources, and increase flexibility. By embracing the power of virtual meetings and implementing best practices and etiquette, companies can enhance productivity, collaboration, and overall success in this dynamic and digitally-driven era.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are virtual meetings better?
There are several reasons why virtual meetings are often preferable to in-person meetings. First, they allow people to attend from anywhere in the world, which can be a huge advantage for businesses with remote employees or clients. Second, virtual meetings tend to be more efficient, since there is no need to travel or wait for everyone to arrive. Third, they provide an opportunity for people to multi-task, as they can listen to the meeting while working on other tasks. Fourth, they often generate more engagement, as participants can feel free to share their thoughts and ideas more freely when they are not being directly observed.
What are the advantages and benefits of virtual meetings?
One of the main advantages of virtual meetings is that they can be conducted from anywhere in the world. This is especially beneficial for companies with employees located in different time zones or for those who need to meet with clients or customers who are overseas. Another advantage is that virtual meetings can be recorded and archived for future reference. This is a valuable resource for training new employees or for reviewing important decisions.
How effective are virtual meetings?
Virtual meetings can save time and money by eliminating the need for travel. They also give more people the opportunity to participate, since there is no limit on the number of attendees. Furthermore, virtual meetings can be recorded and playback later, which is helpful for those who were unable to participate live.
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