Working Remote? These Are the Biggest Pros and Cons of Video Conferencing

Video conferencing is inevitable in all the available industries such as education, healthcare, finance, military, law, and so on. Therefore, video conferencing is no longer an option but a necessity for various industries. 

However, everything has a positive as well as negative side. Thus, video conferencing is not an exception. We have discussed the pros and cons of video conferencing from an overall aspect. But, we are putting more emphasis on the viewpoints of corporate organizations. 

Advantages of Using Video Conferencing:

Video conferencing if highly engaging for a workplace due to the following reasons:

1. Quicker Decisions and Timely Interventions

Video conferencing enables quicker decision for lead time-sensitive projects. Businessmen won’t have to make changes and update others regarding them. Video conferencing tools facilitate ongoing communication among employees. Moreover, executives can use video conferencing for damage control in their workplace as well. This real-time action prevents situations from getting worse. Thus, your employees won’t have to wait for a decision till the next meeting. 

2. Collaborative Work 

Global enterprises have branches in different parts of the world. These branches work on various projects for the parent company. Now, interactions are essential for collaborating the work between branches. Only video conferencing can facilitate this collaboration via tools like remote control, screen sharing, and whiteboard commenting. 

As a result, everyone can work on the same file simultaneously and make the necessary corrections instantly. Furthermore, employees can update their company files without waiting for the associated persons. So, if we consider the education industry, then video conferencing assists students to work together on a project or lab report. 

3. Higher Job Retention

The happier the employees, the higher the rate of employee morale. Thus, they will stick to your organizations despite the severity of a situation. It is always beneficial to work with existing employees instead of hiring fresh candidates. Study reports have shown 56% lower turnover rates among telecommuters. The overall job satisfaction increases when people are informed about the latest happenings in an organization. Even online lectures and seminars allow students to access their online study materials whenever they feel like. 

4. Higher Savings

You need to incur separate expenses every time you are going to organize a meeting. Whereas, video conferencing enables online meetings at a much lower expense. Moreover, you don’t have to delay your company meeting as per the convenience of clients. This reduction in cost leads to higher saving that can be utilized somewhere else in your organization. 

On the other hand, online instructors can invest in the video conferencing tool and conduct numerous courses year-round. 

5. Unique Opportunities

Video conferencing is beneficial for carrying out international trade. For example, you don’t have to visit a particular location to utilize the available opportunities. Again, you can close a business deal without negotiating with the client physically. Hence, your business gets expanded without involving any travelling cost. 

There are some places that do not have proper schools and colleges. However, students in these areas can continue their studies by using the online tutorials. Even some reputed universities arrange for video conferencing platforms to support these students and their education. Along with education, they are exposed to multiple skills and cultural diversities. 

Read Also: Video conferencing Services for meeting

Shortcomings of Video Conferencing:

After discussing the pros, let’s come to the limitations of implementing video conferencing as a collaborative tool. 

1. Lack of Personal Touch

Since video conferencing does not require the physical presence of participants, a personal touch is impossible. A personal touch is always important for better and clear communication. You must be knowing that 55% of understanding is done through the use of body language. Video conferencing undoubtedly recreates real live communication where you can easily interact with each other. Still, it fails to offer a complete understanding of the matter you discuss. 

2. Network Instability

An organization must adhere to a highly strict internet connection environment for video conferencing. You can’t have a successful video conferencing unless the network connectivity is stable. The entire connection is delayed when the connection to the server is lost. Sometimes, there can be blurry image transmission and audio problems that can interrupt the entire communication. 

Besides this, video conferencing suffers from time lag in the sense one person talks and others remain quiet. This video conferencing rule helps to avoid chaos but can delay several decisions as well. 

3. Technical Issues

Everyone must not be comfortable to use the video conferencing platform. Even some employees will require training to use the video conferencing technique. Again, time, money, and other resources will be spent to perform this training. Hence, technical issues are deemed to be a part of video conferencing.  

4. Fragile Organization

Video conferencing can be organized as and when required. Therefore, you can force your employees to attend a video conferencing beyond their working hours. However, such an activity might cause employees dissatisfaction. They might not be mentally present even if they are attending the video conferencing. Thus, you must appoint managers who will monitor employees that are participating in the video conferencing. 

5. High Initial Cost

Of course, video conferencing saves a lot of expenses that an organization needs to incur for communication. But, the initial cost of setting up the video conferencing system might be costly for many organizations. Apart from installation, the video conferencing system requires good maintenance at certain intervals. 

The Overall Insight…