When it comes to inter-office interaction, nothing beats face-to-face communication. However, depending on your office’s size or your company’s layout, you may not always be able to communicate this way. Companies can be spread out all over a city, state, country or even the world. Sending employees back and forth between different offices can be costly. To increase productivity, companies have come up with numerous ways of communicating. Each has definite benefits, but they also have disadvantages, except for video conferencing. Using video conference equipment, your company can combine all forms of traditional communication into the newest, latest and most innovative form of employee interaction.
Traditional Communication Formats:
Mail – In the past, professionals have had to rely on the mail system to conduct business.If a form or contract needed to be signed, it would have to be sent through the mail. While some companies still use the mail to handle their paperwork, most companies have become wise to the fact that there are more reliable resources available to use. Mail can get lost and in today’s fast-paced business world, deals are made in a single day and corporate changes can take place in just a few hours. Businesses needed a faster way of relaying information and began conducting business over the phone lines.
Telephone - Even if you are talking to someone whose office is located just down the hall, you may choose to do so over the phone. This way, you don’t have to leave your office. If you are talking about something on your computer, you can be looking at your screen while talking to them. Sure, telephones are convenient, but by not speaking face-to-face, you run the risk of miscommunication, and sending the wrong message can be deadly for your business. Telephones lack the
ability to convey facial expression. You cannot show a person what you are working on over the phone, and you cannot build those connections and relationships that are so vital in business if you don’t even know what the other person looks like.
Today’s Evolving Technology:
Internet - In recent years, companies have become dependent on the Internet for fast, speedy and reliable communication. Fax machines have replaced traditional mail service and email and instant messaging services have replaced the telephone. These services can be used without having to tie up the phones, or incur costly long-distance telephone charges. However, the downside to only communicating through email and instant messaging is that you cannot hear the tone of voice the other person is speaking in. This is crucial. People are more sarcastic than ever these days. You can never be sure if someone is joking or not. In order to understand what the other person is truly saying, you need to be able to hear them. That is where video conference equipment comes in.
Video Conferencing– Combining the capabilities of telephones, emails and instant messaging, video conference equipment is the ultimate in office communications. There are many different ways to video conference. Many businesses use satellites, however, this can become quite pricey. To cut costs, many companies are using the Internet. Contact your company’s tech support administrator to see what kinds of video conferencing are available for you to use. If there aren’t a lot of options, take matters into your own hands. Using the Internet, connect a web camera and a microphone to computer (many newer computers will have a built-in microphone). Many instant messaging services have webcam and audio capabilities. This way, you have the option of typing, talking and seeing who you are talking to.
Do you remember when people dreamed of video phones and flying cars?Well, there’s still no word on that whole flying car issue, but video phones have arrived! They may not look the way you had envisioned them, but video conference equipment is revolutionizing today’s workplace. While many forms of video conferencing are quite expensive, using a webcam, the Internet, an instant messaging service and a computer microphone, you can create an inexpensive form of telecommunication to enhance your company’s efficiency and effectiveness.
By Stacy Hinojosa