As much as we may love the idea of robots and other machines taking over in meetings so that we don’t have to go to them, face-to-face time is still important and indeed, vital, to every organization. Over 10 million meetings happen in workplaces every single day in the United States and on average, we wind up in over 60 meetings a month. Unfortunately, many people feel that a lot of meetings wind up being a waste of time, due to inefficiency. There are other things they could be doing while sitting in a meeting. And if there are glitches in video conferencing or other types of technology, more time is wasted trying to fix it. However, there might be a fix for these long-winded meetings, in unified communications applications, like Cisco Jabber, especially as job trends point to more people working from home (or remotely) in the future.
A Muddle of Meetings
Steven Rogelberg at the University of North Carolina conducted a study that showed that over 70% of senior managers thought the meetings at their organization were both unproductive and inefficient. The National Statistics Council estimates that just under 40% of employees’ time is spent sitting in meetings. And, as many as 70% of people in meetings say they multitask during the meeting, according to a study done by Interaction Associates, which indicates that full attention isn’t being given to the matters being discussed at the meeting.
Furthermore, if people are being conferenced in remotely, that brings up a whole new plethora of problems — if even just a team of ten is in a meeting, a delay of six minutes equals an hour of lost productivity for that team. It seems like a vicious cycle of being in meetings, not paying full attention, having to consult again, and so on. So what’s the fix?
What’s the Fix Here?
Meetings solutions like unified communications software (UC software), such as Cisco Jabber might be the answer. From Cisco Jabber and Cisco Webex to user provisioning software, UC might be our way forward. Cisco Jabber promotes collaboration and creativity — but on a timetable that works for you using a variety of platforms. You can IM, call or video call, voice message, share desktops, and conference, all with one piece of software. It also lets you see if they’re available, so you don’t have to guess.
UC management and other software solutions help bring teams together any time, any place, without having to call those massive meetings that so often can be a time drain. Instead, smaller groups of people can collaborate and communicate effectively and the amount of meetings that everyone needs to attend can hopefully be reduced.
Furthermore, as companies start slowly shifting towards remote work, meetings might become more difficult. Upwork’s 2018 Future Workforce Report showed that almost 40% of hiring managers thought their employees would primarily work remotely within the next 10 years. UC can help streamline those communications.
How Does Unified Communications Work?
Unified communications integrates a variety of communication services into one type of interface that works on an array of devices and media types. For example, if you got a voicemail, you can check it either on your e-mail or via your cell phone. If the caller is currently online and is open to calls, you can ring them back via a video call or an instant message. You can also see whether or not they’re online, which saves you time in playing phone tag or trying to track a person down.
And, because not every business uses the same type of communication channels, UC expands your ability to communicate on different levels, erasing that barrier. Effectively, UC can optimize the way you do business, increase productivity, and streamline workflow — all ideal for a business at any level.
Look into UC to see how it can benefit your business today! You might find yourself amazed at how much time and effort it saves you.