Top tips to get the most from video conferencing

Although many businesses, especially in the retail sector, are opening back up other businesses are continuing with remote workers at least in part. This means a continued interest in and use of tele- and video-conferencing technologies. Here's how businesses and marketers can choose the right video conferencing equipment for their employees.

by Kristina Knight

Kristina: How should organizations go about choosing a video conferencing platform that best fits their needs?

Kara Korte, Director of Product Management, TetraVX: There are a few initial questions you can ask yourself to determine the unique requirements of your organization. How many video conferencing participants do I need to be able to host in a single meeting? Do my users require screen share, file sharing, and/or whiteboarding? Would chat functionality embedded in the video conference help streamline meetings for my users? How does mobility and the use of mobile applications impact both my internal and external users?

Kristina: How can businesses get the most out of virtual meetings? Please provide three best practices.

Kara: Whenever possible, use a wired connection: Since WiFi can sometimes have issues with range, interference, etc., you should use a wired connection whenever possible. If you must use WiFi, make sure you have appropriate coverage and use Audio Test Service to validate connectivity.

Make sure you have the right hardware to keep voice and video quality up: Avoid echo, background noise, or screeching sounds during calls by using noise-canceling headsets. When possible, use DECT or wired headsets over Bluetooth. If you use a Bluetooth headset, be mindful of ranges. A standard Bluetooth headset can handle 5-15ft versus DECT which can allow 50ft to 200ft. If you prefer to use an IP phone over your softphone, you'll need a POE switch or power supply.

Be mindful of your screen resolution: Having a large, high-resolution monitor is great but if you are presenting your screen to others in a web conference, it will result in poor experience due to higher bandwidth utilization.

Kristina: What steps can businesses take to improve the effectiveness and lower the costs of business meetings?

Kara: The ability to hold video meetings inherently lowers operational costs for an organization by decreasing the amount of travel necessary to hold in-person meetings. Additionally, what we've seen in recent months is that the shift to 'work from home' models has been for the most part successful thanks to the availability of video calling platforms. Video allows teammates to stay connected and present during meetings no matter where they're working from. With this revelation that 'work from home' is a plausible alternative for the majority of a company's workforce, some are looking at decreasing major real estate investments, opting for smaller hoteling spaces for employees who still desire office space.

Kristina: What could virtual meetings become if businesses viewed them as more than standalone events?

Kara: Video meetings can become the go-to alternative for in-person all hands meetings or even weekly team touchpoints. We've also seen a huge opportunity to bring geo-distributed teams together for team building via video conferences. Whether that be for lunches, happy hours, or even games like trivia, video conferencing opens a major opportunity to rethink how you build company culture.

Tags: remote work environment, remote work tips, smb tips, smb trends, TetraVX, video conferencing trends