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magazine
10
Opinion
How home-working affects
communication with office-based
colleagues is a question that’s
been debated for many years. It
encompasses a number of themes,
from the dangers of isolation and loss
of a collaborative office culture to
self-discipline and the difficulties of
separating work and family life.
The pros and cons are endless,
but one thing we are sure of is that
video communication is enhancing
the perception of home workers. Being
visible and connected face-to-face with
colleagues, customers and partners,
no matter where you are or what
device you are using, has had a hugely
positive impact on the accountability
and practicality of working from home,
as well as the effectiveness of internal
company communications.
Business-quality video conferencing
means reliable, always-on, high definition
video that puts you back in the office
with your colleagues and right in front of
your customers, wherever you are.
Importantly, when you create a
culture of video communications
instead of audio-only communications
within the office, it assists those
working from home as it becomes the
norm for internal as well as external
communications. The more employees
there are in a company who use video
on a day-to-day basis, the less important
people’s location becomes.
Being close to colleagues every day
is not just about being able to sit beside
them. It’s about working together and
being able to read each other’s body
language and emotions – high quality
video does this just as well as being
there in person. In business, you need to
see the whites of people’s eyes. That’s
what drives long lasting and meaningful
business relationships.
Once people start to use video to
communicate with their team, the phone
quickly becomes old fashioned. It’s not
as personal as video and we’re now in
a global market place and need video
to bring geographically dispersed teams
together.With advances in technology
and falling costs driven by managed
service providers, making a video call is
as easy as making a phone call.Whether
you’re a large enterprise with thousands
of staff or an SMB, business-class video is
for everyone.
Many people refer back to Marissa
Mayer’s decision to ban home working
in Yahoo! – a move that was met with
anger and confusion in equal measure on
the basis that Yahoo! is a modern tech
company. The memo that hit employees’
in-boxes read: “Some of the best
Michael Grant explains how
video-conferencing supports
and enhances home working.
Does working from home always
weaken office communication?
decisions and insights come from hallway
and cafeteria discussions, meeting new
people and impromptu team meetings.”
The beauty of video is that impromptu
team meetings and hallway-type
conversations can happen instantly. Video
meetings are no longer something you
have to schedule and get IT in to help
you set up. Video today is on-demand
and, with Virtual Meeting Rooms,
impromptu meetings can happen at the
click of a button. There are still fears and
misconceptions that video is difficult, a
technical headache and a costly endeavour.
Today, that is no longer the case.
Are speed and quality sacrificed
when we work from home? No.Working
from home can often increase staff’s
productivity and creativity. Advancements
in mobile devices, video technology
and faster internet speeds make video
conferencing and flexible working more
practical than ever before.
Working from home means we focus
more effectively without the distractions
of the office. Yet, we can still come
together with whoever we like, whenever
we need to. Effectively, we choose when
we need to interact and collaborate and
when we need to get our heads down
and work.
Video conferencing allows staff
to discover the working patterns that
work best for them, their preferred
technology choices and the best working
environment – whether that’s in or out of
the office.
Michael Grant is Founder of UCi2i, a
global video managed services provider
and Commercial Cloud Innovator Winner
(Cisco Partner Awards, 2013).
www.UCi2i.com
In the last 12 months, UCi2i customers have increased video usage by 357%. Managing director
Michael Grant attributes this increase to the rise of virtual workspaces,including home working.
He said: “Our call usage figures are reflective of the industry as a whole and it’s clear that for many
businesses, video communication is now an integral part of both mobile and desktop interaction,
allowing business to run as normal, regardless of an employee’s location or device.
“The need for employers to offer flexible working is becoming more prevalent and having video
conferencing installed allows all employees to communicate and engage with each other face-to-face. It
enables business relationships to become more efficient, more interactive and ultimately more personal.
“Allowing employees to work remotely will also save time and money. By letting an employee with
an hour long commute work from home for two days a week, the employee would save 25 days a year.
Given that 60% of saved commute time is recycled back into work, this adds 6% more time to each
employee’s working year.”
...you need
to see the
whites of
people’s eyes.