If your organization is ready to invest in video conferencing solutions, here’s a checklist of things you’ll need to run through:
Purpose
The system brings a ton of benefits to the table. But what kind of benefits did you specifically have in mind? That’s the kind of question that would help you determine which systems are a good match and which ones should be crossed off your list. Want to use it to reach out to your remote teams, to train new recruits from different branches or to hold a massive meet-and-greet with your followers and fans?
Features
Once you know why you’re getting one, you’ll have an easier time picking out which features make sense to you. Which ones will prove meaningful and make life easier for you and your team? Mull over these thoughts before you decide to pick a video solution.
Size
How large is your team? How many participants are going to be in on that video call? How many of your employees will end up regularly using this tool? Business News Daily adds this to the list of things you must factor in when you scout around for video conferencing tools.
Interface
A simple and easy-to-use interface will make adoption among employees faster and more convenient. People tend to like simplicity in their gadgets and apps. A slew of nifty features won’t matter, not if the software is hard to use or tough to understand. The point, after all, is to find apps that help your team work faster. If the apps hobble them in some way or cripple their performance—slowing them down and creating productivity lags—that’s not a good pick for your team.
Integration
Teams survive on a multitude of apps, platforms, and programs these days. From Google Docs and Microsoft files to epubs and videos, we use a lot of third-party tools to get the job done. That’s why it makes sense to pick tools like video conference systems. It’s easy to integrate these apps with third-party programs, so you won’t run into any problems if you need to use both. Need to send a report or review a document together with an offsite colleague? With the right web-based solution, opening, viewing and sharing those files won’t be a problem.
Level of Expertise
You’ll want to consider your team’s level of expertise as well. It’s not always a good idea to buy the most advanced communication system out there. Consider how long adoption will take. You’ll need to prepare for a productive lag as employees learn and find their way around the system. If all your team needs is a basic, no-frills model, then go for that. No need to shell out money for a system that’s loaded with features they won’t use anyway.
Meeting Types
What kind of meetings did you have in mind? Will you host a lot of forums? Will you perform video training for new recruits? Or will you host several types of meetings, those with your team, those for your bosses and clients, to name a few? Knowing in advance what types of meetings you have in mind will help narrow down your options.
Mobile Experience
One thing that’s important to look into is the quality of the software’s mobile experience. After all, one of the main tenets of video conferencing solutions is that it allows anywhere, anytime access. That means users need to be able to connect to those video calls and chats from their mobile phones. If the mobile experience is wobbly, full of blurry and tinny audio, then that’s a failure of an app and one that needs to be tossed over for better software.
Recording Capacity
Another feature that should be in the bag is video and audio recording. Don’t want to take notes during the meeting? That’s fine. With a recording feature, these tools can take you back through the meeting. If you want to review points, clarify an issue or simply forgot a detail and want to remember it before you write up a report, these recording features make your life a whole lot easier.
Customer Support Quality
Be sure to pick a software with exceptional customer service. Sooner or later, you’ll need troubleshooting help and advice. When you do, it’s always best to get that kind of assistance from helpful, polite and informative customer service teams. It’s already going to be hard enough, wondering why your software doesn’t work. Calm and competent customer service staff can save the day and mean fewer headaches and stress for you.
Free Trials
One way to take a deeper look at systems you want is to look for free trial offers. It gives you a glimpse into the system without paying for the cost. If you like the free version enough, going for the paid version shouldn’t be a problem. Looking for the low-cost option shouldn’t be a problem, says Inc., so long as those options offer everything you need for a video solution.
Interesting to see your list of selection criteria. Nearly at the same time, I published a book (published by Createspace and Amazon KDP e-book) with a more detailed explanation of selection criteria, short profiles, and links to vendors, plus a sample checklist for planners. Please let me know if this could be of interest to your readers.
Right selection of video conferencing tool helps businesses in reduced costs, increased efficiency, better client interaction etc. By keeping in mind above mentioned points, one can select right video conferencing tool from various options such as webex, gomeetnow, gotomeeting, R-HUB HD video conferencing severs etc. in order to have maxmimum benefits from video conferencing investment.