Here are the further five ways that CEOs can use visual communication technology to build their competitive advantage. If you missed the first five ways, you can view them here first.
6) Enable Mobile and Social Collaboration to Boost Business Agility
When in-person meetings can happen anytime, anywhere, work moves forward quickly and is nimble enough to course-correct when markets, customers, or competitors change. Both front and back office employees should use social and mobile video collaboration technology to enhance client service, such as conducting meetings and other client work via video, to expedite cases and keep costs in check while maintaining robust person-to-person interaction.
For George Brandon, partnership development leader at Morris, Polich & Purdy LLP, this was a no brainer: “When a firm grows the way we have, it is necessary to be creative to support the needs of the business,” said George Brandon, partnership development leader at Morris, Polich & Purdy LLP. “Using Polycom for secure meetings, we increase our understanding and cohesiveness through visual connections in a way that is far richer than a basic phone call. Internally, our managing partner and other leaders in the firm can use Polycom’s mobile app to chair meetings from their tablets when they travel. Polycom helps us connect people wherever they are needed.”
Just like MPP, your employees can download the Polycom RealPresence Mobile software app from iTunes or Google Play for their smartphones and tablets, giving them greater flexibility to participate in meetings from anywhere at any time. Find out more here.
7) Invest to Reduce Costs Across the Board
While most executives who are new to video collaboration assume all cost savings will come in the form of reduced travel, the bottom line improvements go far beyond lower airfare and lodging budgets.
A study by Wainhouse Research showed video collaboration can reduce wasted “downtime” costs by 27%, save training budgets by 25%, slash sales costs by 24%, and bring a 24% improvement in time-to-market budgets. This is not business as usual.
For many other customers, ROI is even faster. For example, at Verdasys, Inc., "the systems paid for themselves in a week," says Seth Birnbaum, Former CEO. "Polycom's ROI was so immediate that it made the purchase price irrelevant." Choosing the right technology vendors generates additional savings. For instance, users can get high definition video and audio quality at their home or work office using up to 50% less network bandwidth with Polycom, saving on capital-intensive network upgrades. Interoperability and multi-vendor integration reduce the total cost of ownership of video collaboration deployments in your organisation.
8) Mitigate the Risks Related to Outsourcing
Lauded as cost-effective, efficient, productive, and strategic, outsourcing is becoming a “have to have” instead of a “nice to have” for any business. The trend started in IT, but has moved to almost every other business area. Human Resources is an area companies would not have dreamed of outsourcing years ago, and now countless large businesses are entrusting these processes and operations to lower-wage nations to reduce costs.
Offshore locations and external parties need to be aligned with parent companies so they can work together as a single organisation. For businesses, Wainhouse cite the top videoconferencing benefit as increased efficiency/productivity (94%), followed by increased impact of discussions (88%), expedited decision making (87%), and reduced travel costs (87%).Video collaboration makes this possible by connecting virtual teams whenever they need to be in touch regardless of distance or culture.
9) Streamline Supply Chain Management
As the global pace of business increases, companies have to ensure that they have the flexibility to go after the markets that are exhibiting growth. The traditional perspective of the supply chain as a cost centre has shifted. Now, the supply chain is where innovation takes place – and is sometimes even considered a profit centre. Sharing data drives supply chain innovation.
As mentioned by Bob Brilman, CEO of Boretti, “Video collaboration is a vital tool for the development and success of Boretti and has become the standard of communication throughout the organization. I am now asking my suppliers, resellers, and distributors based across Europe to use video conferencing for all our meetings. I prefer to communicate via video instead of over the phone or via emails, as I find video promotes honesty, trust, and efficiency.”
Award-winningPolycom RealPresence CloudAXIS extends your existing video capabilities to logistics services and raw material suppliers who simply require just a web browser and a web camera. It leads to intimate procurement networks, lower costs, intelligent replenishment programmes, and sustainable manufacturing.
10) Engage Stakeholders and the Community
An organisation is no longer limited to a physical location; it is now only limited by its ability to connect employees and information to drive business. Connecting these internal stakeholders can be done via legacy systems and email, but they do not do much to build trust or allow individual conversations that could be valuable for the business as a whole. Effective communication leads to a committed workforce and successful change initiatives. Outside of a core business, additional external stakeholders (ranging from investors to industry associations and the public community) also thrive on communication. And they don’t want a representative – they want to hear what’s happening from the CEO. Video conferencing and streaming make both internal and external stakeholder engagement a reality with personal, face-to-face communications while reducing any organisation’s carbon footprint.
Dr Jens Wichtermann, Director of Group Communication & Sustainability, shared with us the importance for Vaillant Group to be sustainable: "As an international company with headquarters in Germany, it is important for us to be in close communications and collaboration with our subsidiaries all over the world. The Polycom RealPresence Platform allows us to increase efficiency, reduce our travel cost, and improve internal communication. It allows us to be sustainable, which is very important to us." Here is the full story if you are interested.
Conclusion
Business is about relationships – with sales forces, supply chains, employees, stakeholders, and more. And relationships thrive only when communication and collaboration are simple and effective, starting at the Chief Executive level. Enterprise-grade video collaboration solutions offer face-to-face discussions that are vital to resolving the most sensitive situations. This personal interaction with colleagues, vendors, and customers allows for better communication, more accurate assessments and solutions, and a clear competitive edge.
We, at Polycom, bring the enormous, globally dispersed world of business closer to home, driving anywhere and everywhere interaction that leads to success and growth. We help Fortune 100 companies push the boundaries of human collaboration daily. Video is the true enabler of business transformation in a globalised world, so, what are you waiting Mr or Ms. CEO?
Feel free to like, share, comment or contact me. I’d also welcome suggestions on what topic you would like me to address in my next blog. Thank you!
Marc
Dani Boekel (Dani_Boekel)
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Why Collaboration Should Matter to Every Organisat...