May 2022

Advantages of virtual meetings

The multiple advantages offered by video conferences have attracted the attention of many companies for years, in many cases SMEs, which communicate with clients and other professionals without leaving the office. In addition to this benefit, we find other great potentials of this type of technology that are interesting to analyze.

Cost reduction

One of the obvious benefits of using video conferencing and virtual meetings is the reduction in travel and travel costs. Undoubtedly, many meetings can be held remotely without the need to spend time or money traveling, something that any company values ​​positively and contributes directly to the income statement and productivity.

Greater number of communications

The convenience of using some of the video conferencing tools on the market means that any company can communicate with clients, partners, or suppliers in a very agile way. In turn, this allows the number of communications to be increased whenever necessary.

Better monitoring of projects with the client

Clients always value the follow-up we do on their projects or the professional relationships we have.
With virtual meetings, distance is not a problem to speak face to face frequently, with the client providing adequate follow-up and transmitting much proximity through virtual meetings. Without a doubt, it can become a great tool to build customer loyalty and improve customer satisfaction.

Better monitoring of projects with collaborators/employees

The same happens with the projects we carry out with company professionals relocated to places other than headquarters.
The possibility of meeting virtually with them through video conferencing solutions allows for a better relationship with the professional, a more adequate follow-up of the project, and a feeling of greater closeness to the project.

Greater agility in decision making

Usually, decision-making in a company takes place in a face-to-face meeting, since several people, partners, etc. must intervene.
The use of video calls and virtual meetings means business decisions can also be made.
The possibility of bringing together the executives or people involved in the decision in the same space is essential, so a firm agreement can be reached in an agile way than if we had to find a face-to-face meeting of all members, with displacements/trips, and more associated scheduling difficulties.

Main tools and functionalities

Year after year, the market offers better video conferencing tools and a greater number of functionalities for professional use. The best-known and longest-running program is Skype, which since 2003 has experienced exponential growth. Is widely used both at a private and business level.

The options have multiplied lately, and there is one for every need.

By reserving a conference room, the benefits are potentiated, and the development of the meetings flows better.

Many of us have a list of things to do (to-do list), but just because it’s on the list, it doesn’t mean it will get done. Ideally, you do it all at once. David Allen in “The Two-Minute Rule,” suggests anything that can be done in less than two minutes should be done all at once, rather than added to the to-do list.

There are 5 basic decisions to be made when something new arrives:

• Do your homework on the task as soon as it arrives
• Delegate this task to someone more prepared or with more time
• Put it on schedule to do it later
• Archive it to get to this at another time
• Delete it and forget about it

Other things we can do to be more productive are:

• Eliminate distractions
• Combine the same tasks to do them all at once. You can’t be productive if you switch from task to task all day. It is most convenient to group the tasks.
• Identify priorities
• Learn to say no

To get tasks done, there are several tools we can use to help us be more productive:

1) Wunderlist: It’s synchronized on all devices (computer, iPad, cell phone) and you have access to everything everywhere. It can be a notepad and organizer where completed tasks are marked. It helps to know the degree of productivity in a day.

2) Evernote: You can save everything digitally and have quick access. Saves time searching for annotations.

3) Text Expander: This is another tool that can save you a lot of time because it gives you instant access to your resources.

4) Alarm: This tool can give you a period to perform tasks and assign the appropriate time for each one.

The new normality has led us to integrate into different spaces between a mix of the conventional way and the remote way. Many companies have chosen to leave their facilities to operate from shared, versatile spaces with the potential to make the most out of them.

In these types of spaces, the importance of feeling part of a community should not be underestimated, while operations are carried out safely and efficiently.

These may be reasons to join coworking:

1. Spaces designed for your well-being. Due to the pandemic, working conditions have changed radically. Coworking spaces are designed for the well-being of users. From the distribution of spaces and furniture to the environments, they allow you to work comfortably, improve productivity, answer calls, and have meetings and places to rest.
2. Encourage innovation. The difficulties of holding virtual meetings can occur unexpectedly. Therefore, having a suitable place is critical for innovation. The exchange of opinions between colleagues is stimulating to propose diverse ideas and improve teamwork.
3. Allow collaboration. Precisely, collaboration is one of the foundations of the creation of coworking. From this foundation, benefits are derived for the projects of the work teams, since contacts in other industries are established and increased due to co-existence in one place, the so-called networking.
4. Cyber ​​security. Home connectivity has security gaps and leaves users unprotected. There are contingency measures against potential threats of theft or vulnerability of confidential information in coworking spaces.
5. Offer focus and commitment. Being in an office avoids the blurring of efforts and attention at work. It is the place where work-life is separated from the domestic life and organizational culture is built, where the values ​​of the company are reinforced.
6. Savings. By optimizing costs in coworking, the costs of renting or buying places and the payment of services for the operation of the companies are avoided. It is not only saving money but also time and other efforts.

It is now that remote work and coworking show that they are complementary activities.