As you move your team to remote work, you’ll probably see many different benefits. You’ll pay less, taking rent and utilities out of your budget. Additionally, you’ll probably see an improvement in your employees’ efficiency and productivity. But there will probably be some growing pains as well. Some of those growing pains will probably be seen as you and your team take up video conferencing.
Video conferencing is vital in a work from home scenario. About 87% of all work from home employees report that video conferencing helps them feel more connected to their team. Furthermore, employees will be able to more effectively work with clients and customers through video conferencing. But you’ll probably notice issues like buffering, audio stuttering, and more as you initially begin using this technology. The question is what you can do to solve these problems. Let’s explore some of the techniques and tricks you can use to make video conferencing technology work better for you and your employees. This is an important part of your company’s unified communications system, and you need to take it seriously.
1. Provide Good Technology
This is the simplest part of ensuring that your employees have the high quality home audio solutions necessary for them to succeed while video conferencing. Your employees’ laptops and desktop computers will likely come with their own speakers, cameras, and microphones. But those often aren’t high quality enough to provide a great video conferencing experience.
Make sure that you reach out to professional managed tech providers to ensure that your employees have the home audio solutions that they need. This will require detachable microphones, headsets, and speakers. Not only will this ensure that your employees are better able to conference with their coworkers; it will also ensure that they are able to speak to clients and potential customers. This is especially important if your company is reliant upon sales teams.
2. Get Creative
You don’t always have to rely upon the same old solutions when working with video conferencing services. You should consider trying out a few before settling on one, and switching if it does not serve your employees’ home audio solutions correctly.
Generally speaking, the best video conferencing services on the market right now include Zoom, Google Meet, and Skype. While Skype was once the main video conferencing technology used by workplaces, in recent years Zoom has become more popular because it’s often easier for people to connect to an entire team through Zoom than it is through Skype. Make sure that you poll your employees and get an idea of what they like and want, rather than fully relying upon your own opinion.
3. Get Rid of Bandwidth Users
If you’re experiencing choppy audio and video during your video conferences, it could be because there are already a lot of other types of apps and services using up your bandwidth. This may mean ensuring that others in your home aren’t using up the bandwidth while you’re supposed to be working. If your kids are streaming Netflix during your work hours, you may need to tell them to stop. Check to see if your partner is playing video games.
Of course, in the long term you may also need to check on your internet speed and ensure that you have the bandwidth necessary in the first place. You may not necessarily be getting what you pay for. Furthermore, someone in your neighborhood could very well be stealing your wifi. Double-check what’s going on before assuming that your home audio solutions equipment is working incorrectly.
4. Log In Early
Tell your employees to log in early when video conferencing. The issue could simply be that their system is slow to start, and they need to give themselves extra time. Services like Zoom offer test opportunities before people get started, and WebEx has a Personal Room that can similarly be used for testing purposes.
There is nothing more frustrating than an IT crisis when you’re trying to get to work. But once you and your employees get used to this process, you’ll be able to focus on doing great work and long term success.