The 21st Century is not just upon us, we are wrapped in it for good and all. We are almost one-fifth of the way through and many businesses are still operating like it was 1999. You might still want to party like it’s 1999, but doing business the way it used to be is going to turn out quite badly for you in the end.
Half of the workforce right now holds a job that is at least partially compatible with some kind of telecommuting. It is something every business who can do it should consider actually doing in order to save money and increase productivity. Obviously, it will all depend on what industry you are in; telecommuting will not work for everyone.
Polls and surveys have shown that out of 1,500 technology professionals, 37% would take an overall 10% cut in pay if they could work from home. Studies have also shown that working from home increases productivity by as much as 13% or possibly more.
Working from home has become more possible these days because of the technology involved in being able to participate in telecommuting via audio and video equipment. Audio conferencing, videoconferencing, and video presentations all make for great meeting strategies, allowing workers to communicate “face to face” with each other.
Bringing your business into the 21st Century is more than just about how a company talks to one another. It is also very much about how a company talks to other companies. When you are up to date with audio and video systems and are confident that you are communicating well with each other, you should also be communicating with other suppliers, other clients, or prospective clients to keep your business moving forward.
If you have been using audio conferencing but have not moved into the video conferencing sector, consider that you might be missing out on a great deal of what is being said. When you are dealing with video, you are seeing close to what you would be seeing in an in-person interaction. Audio conferencing does not give you that added edge to make sure that your communication is complete and accurate.
Message interpretation cannot be left to chance. More than half of interpretation of a message is from facial expressions and body language. It comes out to be 55% of message interpretation stems from facial expressions and body language, 37% is the tone of voice, and 8% is words that are actually said. Audio conferencing can’t bring you what videoconferencing can when it comes to getting a message across.
Putting your company in the position to take part in telecommuting means giving your employees a way to work from home, where they can actually get more done. If you can increase your productivity, save money, and raise employee moral, then turning your audio conferencing into videoconferencing will be all you need to bring your business out of the old century and into the new one.