When Does Intra-office Videoconferencing Make Sense?

Typically, videoconferencing is used in meetings when one or more participants are not in the same location. A construction manager can remote in to a quick catch-up with a project manager to share details from the field, and an employee working from home can be present for an all-staff meeting. Not having to spend time traveling and abandoning what you’re currently doing is just one of the benefits of videoconferencing.

Something that video conferencing software users don’t always consider is that videoconferencing can be used for meetings even when everyone who should be attending is already in the same building. Certain situations call for this set-up and can increase the effectiveness and flow of a meeting.

Need to Share Screens or Documents

Everyone has different content on their computer from projects they’re working on, and that content could be needed at the meeting. Rather than spend time bringing it up individually on a computer in a meeting room, each person can already have it ready to share on their own workstations via a videoconference. There’s always the impromptu questions that can only be answered by referencing a document. In a face-to-face meeting, it may have to wait for later if the document isn’t readily available. On a videoconference, it can be pulled up and shared on command.

Waiting for Important Information

Time-sensitive meetings need to happen whether you’re ready or not. During a meeting, there may be a discussion about a project or situation for which some information is lacking. In order to make a decision, that information needs to become available. Videoconferencing allows meeting participants to open up the discussion while they wait on the information to come up in their inbox. Attendees can also easily do Internet research during the meeting to bring up other needed information and share it right away.

On-Call for Other Work

Meetings are important, but sometimes they aren’t the first priority at that given moment. Should one of the meeting participants need to leave in the middle of a meeting for something more pressing, they can close out their videoconference without causing a disruption to others.

The Meeting Needs to Be Referenced Later

Unless the details of a meeting are meticulously written down or recorded in audio format, they are often forgotten not long after people leave the room. Taking meeting minutes is essential for an in-person meeting, as well as for a videoconference. With the recording function available on a videoconference, the entire meeting can be captured including who was in attendance, the exact discussion that took place, and any documents that were referenced. Videoconferencing allows for better overall documentation of meetings.

Because You Don’t Feel Like Leaving Your Office

Sometimes, you just don’t want to get up from your desk. It’s not so much laziness as the fact that when you’re working, you get in a zone. Breaks and interruptions are welcome at times and essential to a productive workday. However, there’s a lot to be said about the convenience of meeting from the comfort of your own office. If it’s not essential to meet face-to-face, and everyone agrees to it, a videoconference is the perfect solution.