When the global economy was halted in the spring of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, business executives could not travel to meet with clients, vendors, and industry colleagues or visit company headquarters.
Suddenly, millions of individuals worldwide started using travel video conferencing to have remote meetings and close deals without ever leaving their homes. The category of internal travel, which accounts for 40% of company travel, experienced the most significant upheaval.
Fast forward to 2022, and business travel has become less popular as more people become accustomed to the remote working lifestyle centred on travel video conferencing and virtual communication tools. Nevertheless, it is essential to point out that business travel is still happening worldwide; however, it has been paired with virtual meetings.
While travel video conferencing and business trips will still co-exist, it is essential to consider how the two will function in the future. So, the question arises: how have virtual meetings altered business trips?
What Is Virtual Conferencing?
With the advancement of the internet, people from all over the world can now participate in person meetings through virtual conferences held online and accessed from any device.
It is essentially an online meeting where people in different locations can interact and share information in real-time through audio, video, and text chat in a single virtual setting, such as a conference room or a designated role.
Thanks to travel video conferencing meetings, conference rooms are no longer necessary; meaningful conversations, networking, and decision-making can take place anywhere online.
Teleconference
Teleconference is one of the oldest and most widely used types of virtual meetings. Participants in a teleconference can use any type of phone—from home phones to mobile devices to conference room phones—to connect and communicate with one another.
In situations where critical decisions must be taken, but key players are not physically present, teleconferencing has long been the method of choice due to its ability to facilitate simultaneous connections among numerous participants.
Video Conference
The participants in a video conference can see and hear each other through a computer's webcam and microphone or a mobile phone's in-built camera.
Businesses now realize that travel video conferencing can lead to better decision-making, even though this has always provided a lot more personal sense to a dialogue.
Web Conferencing
An online conference is a meeting between two or more persons who are physically separated by time and space but are connected through the Internet.
Webinars and live presentations are examples of events like this, where there may just be one or two presenters but an enormous audience watching and listening.
The WFH Revolution
Now that working remotely is common, travel video conferencing has exploded in popularity. Businesses' strategic video conferencing usage reduces expenses by eliminating the need for several business travels.
Having access to the same resources as an in-office worker makes it easier for telecommuters to do their jobs from the comfort of their own homes.
The efficiency of the workforce as a whole benefit as well. 99% of people surveyed said video conferencing is an effective way to enhance teamwork and efficiency.
98% of respondents to the same study also said that video conferencing helps foster relationships with people inside and outside the company.
How Virtual Conferencing Is Replacing Face-To-Face Meetings
Out of necessity, some would suggest that in-person gatherings are becoming extinct. Others might argue that millennials comprise about half of the workforce today and have introduced radical shifts in personal and professional norms.
A minority refuses to accept that virtual conferences have replaced the more conventional round table format.
Sustainability
Many companies still value in-person meetings highly, but advances in online travel video conferencing technology mean that companies will be under greater scrutiny than ever to explain why they need to send employees on business trips.
Many businesses are also concerned with their ESG rating and are working to lessen their ecological footprint. This may be the cause of the decline in the popularity of short trips.
For example, Siemens introduced a new eco-friendly fleet of corporate cars. Going electric or hybrid will, with time, make a difference when business travel is still required or when going to the workplace.
In general, business travel is improving by making minor adjustments here and there, but it has not entirely disappeared.
Conference from Anywhere
Flexibility, like sustainability, will be in the spotlight for the same reasons. Particularly at the outset, businesses will face a buyers' market because there will be more options for business travel than companies are looking to book.
Working together from different offices was once a key obstacle for global corporations. The rise of virtual conferencing, however, has not only levelled the playing field by allowing team members to participate from wherever they may be, but it has also created a unified space where genuine work can get done.
The ability to hold virtual meetings has made it much easier for teams to collaborate across great distances to complete their projects.
Cost Savings
The cost of travelling can mount up rapidly. Holding a video conference can save all participants money on gas, lodging, and food. Costs previously incurred in entertaining clients vanish.
One employee's savings on travel expenses can pay for a VC system that several employees can use. Hardware for video conferences is more readily available than ever before. The cost to set up a video conference, from the cameras to the displays, has decreased significantly in recent years.
Efficient Flow of Information
All meetings share information amongst team members, analyse that data, and develop a strategy to implement it. Having several quick and easy communication options dramatically improves productivity in a video conferencing setting.
To finish tasks more quickly and thoroughly, meeting attendees can efficiently engage in the exchange of knowledge through the use of file and screen sharing, document presentation, file upload/download, and group discussion.
Furthermore, there are no connectivity issues because everyone sees the same information. You can then quickly share those documents with action items after the meeting. By employing a cloud-based file sharing server, you can guarantee that this will be seamless.
Receive Undivided Attention
Some would claim that people are more likely to attend in-person meetings simply because everyone is in the same room. Is that the case, though?
Tell me how many meetings you've been at where everyone else was texting or staring out the window—reduced efficiency results from a lack of focus that leads to misunderstandings.
However, you might get the undivided attention you need through a video conference. People are less inclined to fiddle with their phones or drift off into daydreams when they know they're being recorded. They know they're being observed, so those in the meeting pay closer attention to what's being said.
Increased Employee Satisfaction
Employees who are both content and healthy tend to work harder. The use of video conferencing is helpful in both cases. Frequent travel has a negative impact on both the body and the mind and can significantly alter the work-life balance.
When video calls are used instead of in person meetings, people's health and satisfaction at work improve. This, in turn, improves productivity and efficiency while lowering the likelihood of employee turnover.
As a growing number of people want to work from home, studies have shown that remote work increases satisfaction in the workplace. An overwhelming majority (77%) of people in a recent survey by Owl Labs agreed that the option to work remotely after the pandemic would improve their quality of life.
When employees had the option to work from home 50% of the time, annual savings averaged $11,000 per person, according to research by Global Workplace Analytics.
Keep It Interesting, Or You’ll Lose Them
The use of video in large-scale presentations carries the risk of turning into a "talking slideshow," in which the audience's attention is quickly lost after 60 minutes of the same voice droning on while slides flash across the screen.
Use the medium to your advantage if you have to present to a large group; for example, include slides where the audience can fill in a topic, vote on the answer to a quick quiz, or switch between different speakers and types of content to keep people engaged.
Reaping the Benefits of Travel Video Conferencing
The popularity of using video conferences as a means of communication is skyrocketing. Many companies are looking to increase their teamwork since they've seen the positive results it may have. Those who use travel video conferencing rapidly see the system's many advantages.
Reduced travel costs and increased productivity are two measurable advantages. Additional significant benefits include higher-quality communication, enhanced business partnerships, and more productive gatherings. The companies gain an advantage in the market due to happier workers and less environmental damage.
Oreed Solutions is an all-in-one hybrid, in-person, and virtual events platform that enables you to host incredible events that wow audiences.
Oreed is a centrally located platform that enables managers to get all the pertinent information regarding business meetings in one location.
You can register with Oreed and access all the information related to business activity, including all the events a user has attended and the number of activities they have participated in over a month, quarter, or year.
