How much money is wasted on inefficient video conferencing culture?

We have the hardware; we have the software – but where are the company guidelines for video conferencing culture?

Measuring waste of time and cost for business meetings

It might sound trivial because video culture can be many things. But we're not here to talk about muting the microphone when not speaking, avoiding backlight and, you know, remembering to wear pants – this is common knowledge for most at this point.

On a larger scale, video conferencing culture is about:

1. Meeting efficiency
2. Respecting timelines
3. Sticking to agendas
4. Keeping meeting details and company data secure 

Why are these factors so important? And why is video conferencing culture necessary to establish?

It’s about company savings.  

Even though we have employees set up with the hardware and software needed to keep business operations flowing while working remotely, clear company guidelines for video conferencing is still highly necessary for these tools to work their magic.

Ignoring this is like hiring an expensive PT but refusing to go to the gym.

We spend hours upon hours in meetings every day. If these meetings become inefficient and company information is at risk of being compromised through the use of consumer-grade conferencing tools, it can slowly and subtly begin to eat at the business.  

How do we know if the guidelines are working?

When the guidelines have been established and implemented, they should be tracked. This is the only way to gain the necessary insight into the company’s meeting culture to see if and where the business is bleeding.

These are some of the factors you should be tracking:

• Is everyone able to start virtual meetings on time?
• Which conference platforms are being used (Teams, Webex, Standard SIP, Zoom, etc.)
• Are the conferencing platforms used securely for business use and sharing of company data?
• Meeting trends based on teams, departments, technologies used, locations, etc.
• Are people attending the meetings they’re scheduled for?
• Are meetings dragging out and eating up company time?
• How much is saved on travel costs? 

With these data, you can easily analyze and concretize where to save cost and what guidelines to implement further.  

With Synergy SKY CONNECT it’s easy to get an overview of all the data needed to gain control over meeting culture and analyze it in a dashboard. This will help the company estimate ROI and see what needs to improve in order to increase business operations.  

But what about the social aspect?

If the company focuses largely on social interaction and creative aspects, you could urge employees to dial into a virtual “hang out” space. 

At Synergy SKY our team is spread out across the globe, which is why we created a virtual watercooler. This allows the team to stay in touch outside of scheduled meetings; Nick can enjoy an afternoon beer in Australia as Vemun has his morning coffee in Norway. While this is great for social interaction, it directly affects scheduled business meetings, making them far more efficient, professional, and secure.

There is no doubt video conferencing has a positive effect on many aspects of our lives. Travel cost, time management, work-life balance, and dolphins in the Venice canals are just some of what makes video culture worth establishing. The new normal and future of work are already here, and we urge you all to get on board and make meetings safe, secure, and efficient.