How web conferencing tools changed the world of communication

In the face of the 21st century, the ability to communicate in a business environment has never been easier. The two-way web communication granted the ability to connect over long distances and conduct face-to-face like meetings. This could even be done from the location of your convenience, even from the comfort of your own home. It might initially seem like this has minor implications, however, the impact of the change in communication capabilities is ground-breaking. Still not convinced? This is how web conferencing streamlined the entire process of communication within a business environment:

Team Collaboration

In the Past:

In the past, proximity amongst team members was central to the creation of teams for the completion of tasks. These teams consisted of individuals working in close physical proximity and was mainly restricted to people within one office. This has undoubtedly resulted in a collaboration which is restrictively local in nature. Additionally, projects were planned using various spreadsheets which had to be manually edited and adjusted in accordance with project progression. This process required time in order to progress, any changes needed to be reviewed and feedback could only be given at fixed times. Meaning, individual members could not work at their own pace to meet the deadlines. Moreover, communication between team members had to be carried out via email which has directly resulted in delays and cluttered inboxes that were hard to keep track of.

Today:

Today, the world of communication is looking completely different. Teams have a centralised access to projects, which are all live. More specifically, web conferencing has allowed teams to work together in real-time and at a distance. Meaning, meetings are now interactive and members of a team no longer have to be limited to a local office. Therefore, the selection of team members would be based in accordance to their skills, regardless of their physical location. Moreover, the possibility to communicate in real time and plan projects and overcome obstacles is guaranteed to improve collaboration. Resulting in less email spamming and our inbox becoming clogged with endless streams of chains we have been CC’d, bCC’d and forwarded on.

Client Communication

In the Past:

In order to communicate and meet with clients, employees needed to travel to physically meet clients. All necessary communications and presentations had to happen in person which often required a significant investment by the company into travelling costs. Additionally, in order for this to run smoothly, a high level of organisation was needed. Causing a significant impact on the team which was travelling. Everyone involved needed to factor in their jet-lag time and other similar considerations when planning these client meetings. This had a direct ramification on the productivity levels of the employees. For example, they might have had a hard time adjusting to a new country, resulting in a miscommunication with the client.

Today:

In the modern day, web conferencing tools have allowed for virtual meetings to take place between company employees and clients. Directly resulting in a reduction of company expenditure on travel costs as employees no longer need to travel to meet with clients. But not only that, hours of unproductive time which was previously spent in between travelling can instead be used to boost productivity levels within the company. Moreover, web conferencing tools are also easy to use as no downloading is necessary. They are also highly convenient to use and could be accessed via a personal computer or a mobile phone. Therefore resulting in communication which is way more effective than it was in the past.

By now you must be looking at web conferencing with a whole new light and rightly so, web conferencing software has granted us what seemed to be impossible (Impressed yet?). This article has only discussed two aspects that were directly affected by the rise of web conferencing technology. These are just specks in the overall fundamental changes which have taken in effect because of web conferencing technology in the modern day and age. Additionally, web meeting technology has given every business, big or small, an ability to communicate which has resulted in many benefits. These include an increase in team efficiency, an increase in productivity, significantly better working relationships and improved management of company resources.