New Research from 8×8 Shows Use of Video Conferencing Improves Productivity, Comradery and Accountability
8×8, Inc. , one of the leading Software-as-a-Service provider of voice, video, chat, contact center, and enterprise-class API solutions powered by one global cloud communications platform, announced the findings of its Video Collaboration Impact Study, exploring the attitudes of modern employees towards the impact of video conferencing on the workplace experience. The study, commissioned by 8×8 and conducted through Dynata, polled 500 United States knowledge workers at companies with 1-100 people and found they view video conferencing and collaboration as an important tool to increase remote productivity while minimizing traditional workplace headaches such as commuting.
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As the lines between professional and personal lives blur, remote working has become the de facto solution for employees looking to take greater ownership of their productivity and to achieve work-life balance, on their terms. In-person meetings and commute times, however, continue to eat into overall productivity. 8×8’s research found that 58 percent of employees believe their company loses $10-25K annually because employees spend time traveling to meetings and commuting to and from work, and 23 percent believe their company loses more than $75K as a result. With nearly 30 percent of respondents citing that meetings require them to come into the office every day or at least multiple times a week, an effective remote solution can give that critical time back to employees, without losing valuable face-to-face interaction.
The survey also looked at the benefits of different video collaboration features. Sixty percent of respondents said they use video or screen sharing when hosting a virtual meeting. When asked what value video conferencing adds to meetings, 48 percent said it allowed them to work from anywhere and 20 percent said it improves their connection with colleagues. Others noted that video conferencing allowed them to hold participants more accountable during meetings than equivalent audio-only conferences.
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“As meeting technology has evolved from mass dial-ins and clunky screen sharing functionality, effortless business-ready HD video collaboration has created a powerful link between teams, without requiring them to be tethered to a single office location,” said Dejan Deklich, Chief Product Officer at 8×8. “Meetings are a vital part of the workplace fabric, yet businesses need to be able to support employees who cannot afford to sit through extended commutes due to personal responsibilities or remote physical locations. As most small businesses typically operate on thin profit margins, being able to salvage even 1% of revenue by giving employees time back in their day without sacrificing productivity or human connection is critical.”
While video conferencing continues to grow in popularity among today’s employees, businesses are still falling short in delivering a seamless, intuitive meeting experience. In fact, when asked what they like least about virtual meetings, 38 percent of respondents cited issues with the connection or technology.
In order to deliver the exceptional virtual meetings experience modern employees crave, 8×8 is offering a free, standalone version of 8×8 Video Meetings, enabling teams to digitally meet in seconds and collaborate instantaneously without time restrictions. A recent article in online comparison resource GetVoiP states “8×8 Video Meetings is noteworthy because it’s completely free and is accessible through many browsers, and you don’t even have to sign up to use the service.”
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