Two years ago, “Zoom fatigue” wasn’t even a thing, but today it’s a reality accepted by everyone. However, could having your business webcam on during meetings and calls be beneficial?
According to Zoom, (perhaps unsurprisingly) it very much can. In fact, a recent survey of US workers by the video conferencing giant found that keeping the camera on during these calls positively impacts not only employees, but entire teams, as well as businesses as a whole.
By analyzing the effects of keeping the camera on, Zoom had found that the vast majority of managers (84%) were more confident in their hiring decisions, if the candidate kept the camera on during the interview.
Better together
Having a camera on meant that people felt more connected to the task they were assigned, the report found, and they were able to work more broadly, while managers felt their direct reports were more engaged.
Asides from individual workers, the wider team also stands to gain, including possibly the most obvious way - better collaboration. Roughly four in five (79%) of those surveyed said they feel their colleagues pay attention when the video is on, while three-quarters claim the quality of the conversation is better that way.
Finally, more than half (59%) believe their team-building efforts were more effective, keeping teams on better terms.
Video on as mandatory policy
Zoom notes that a business as a whole can benefit from video conferencing, too. It creates more trust with both potential and current clients, and makes closing a deal more likely. Finally, almost two-thirds (61%) of professionals feel they perform better with video on.
Even though the majority of the respondents agree “video on” brings numerous benefits all around, very few believe it should be a mandatory company policy.
Zoom seems to agree, though, as the report concludes that “not every interaction has to be a video call”.
“Having a communications ecosystem in place to support flexible business collaboration – and all the ways people want to communicate – will set you up for success,” it concludes.
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