Working from home isn’t a myth, it’s the truth. From big metros such as Bengaluru to small cities, employees across India are signing in for virtual meetings, working on projects, and completing work without leaving their home. Video is a powerful tool in this arena. Whether it’s video for a conference call, training or marketing, video is an integral part of the workplace from a distance. But why does it work? How has it revolutionized the way we work and communicate on the move? And where is it headed?
Now let’s see how video has become a necessity in the world of remote working and how Indian firms are adopting it to communicate, trust, and optimize productivity.
Video in Remote Work – Why Does Video Matter?
1. Building Human Connection in an Interactive Environment
Working remotely also creates an element of loneliness. You miss having the banter with coworkers, “chai breaks,” and the general energy of an office. Video is an important way to bridge this gap. A glimpse of someone’s face, expression, even their environment, creates a human dimension that words or sound simply don’t have.
We’ve seen companies such as Zoho embrace remote work to the point where video has been an integral part of internal communication. In the case of Chennai-based Zoho, video plays a key role not just in meetings but also in virtual team-building sessions. Even a small on-camera conversation can create the emotional connection that often happens at home.
Benefits of Video Communication
- Represents your team in a way that makes them feel good.
- Reduces confusion by providing visual and verbal communication.
- Improves participation because people are more likely to listen when they are in front of the camera.
2. Efficiency and Clarity in Communication
Emails, Slack messages and WhatsApp calls are convenient, but they also make things easy to get wrong. Most of us have taken too long when it comes to writing a message because we’ve worried about its tone or whether it’s too short or too long. Video combats this, by making it possible to communicate in real time, using tone, posture, and intent.
Let’s take Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). As one of the pioneers of remote work (through their “Secure Borderless Workspaces”), TCS uses video chat to ensure that work is conducted between time zones. Video meetings are ephemeral, eliminating follow-up emails and pointless back-and-forth.
Key Advantages:
- Immediate feedback and clarification.
- Less time-consuming than long email threads.
- Streamlines decision-making at meetings.
3. Training and Onboarding
For example, suppose that you’re onboarding someone without communicating. It’s tough, right? Fortunately, video made it easier for remote teams. Through onboarding videos, video tutorials, and even live Q&A, businesses can make it easy for incoming employees to be welcomed and encouraged even when they’re far away.
Indigenous startups such as Byju’s have jumped on the opportunity. They train via video on their remote platform, not only for internal employees but also for the millions of students who use their system. Byju’s has embraced video content to make complex topics easy and accessible for users, as well as taking similar methods in-house for employee education.
4. Increased Engagement in Virtual Meetings
Face it, teleconferencing can get repetitive. It’s easy to get lost in conversations that don’t reflect the natural flow of an in-person one. Video, however, demands attention. When people know they’re in front of the camera, they’re less likely to multitask or forget, which leads to more effective, engaged meetings.
Corporations such as Swiggy have deployed video conferencing to help keep employees morale up when they’re at home. Swiggy’s founders routinely conduct video town halls where they update, recognize progress and welcome feedback. Workers have a better sense of the company’s purpose and one another, even when they are geographically separated.
5. Video for Marketing and Client Communication
Video doesn’t have to be reserved for internal communications. It is also a very effective marketing and client management tool. As workers work from home, brands are adapting their marketing to video. Why? Because video is fun, digestible, and good at getting information across effectively and quickly.
Consider the example of Flipkart. In the pandemic, Flipkart used videos to showcase products, provide customer support and run promotions. Video allowed them to maintain an in-person relationship with customers when shops were closed.
Why Video Works for Marketing
- People tend to remember video much better than text.
- Visualization makes it much easier to communicate products or services.
Enhances conversions and customer confidence.
- The Video Problem at Home What’s the Video Challenges of Working From Home?
Video is not without its downsides. Everything from bandwidth crunches to Zoom fatigue there are a few stumbling blocks that businesses and workers must confront.
1. Technical Issues
An internet connection that is bad can create lags, screen freezes and call drop-outs, rendering communication inconvenient. The same goes for India where the quality of the internet varies from place to place greatly. Metro towns tend to have adequate internet, but smaller towns and rural areas have no connectivity problems.
2. Zoom Fatigue
Yes, video is engaging, but also exhausting. Back-to-back video calls often cause what we now call “Zoom fatigue”. It’s exhausting to stare at a screen for hours, to interpret non-verbal signals, and to persist in a virtual world.
3. Privacy Concerns
Since the onset of video-chat, privacy has been an issue. Workers might be wary of documenting their own living space on camera, and businesses must protect their video platforms. Safeguarding information over video chat is extremely important when doing business in the financial sector or healthcare.
The Future of Video for Remote Work?
Video-based work at home isn’t dying out. Indeed, it will be increasingly inescapable as businesses start leveraging hybrid work arrangements. In the future, AI could unlock even more possibilities for video communication, such as real-time transcription, language translation, and even VR meetings.
Indian companies are already gearing up for this transformation. Infosys, for instance, has been looking at immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to enable virtual collaboration. It’s the combination of video and technology that will most likely shape the future of working from home.
Soft Pitch – Reset Media — Your Expert in Video Content
As video reimagines the future of work and communication, companies require expert advice to take advantage of its power. Reset Media specializes in video production services that are relevant to your brand goals — whether it’s internal communication, marketing videos, or training courses. Our experts know the ins and outs of the Indian market and are ready to create compelling video stories for you.
Want to elevate your video strategy? Contact Reset Media today.
Conclusion
Video has changed how we work, communicate and interact from home. Whether it is the creation of human relationships or communication and marketing, its influence is undeniable. Indian brands such as Zoho, TCS and Flipkart have already proven the power of video to achieve success both in-house and externally. While there are issues such as technical problems and Zoom fatigue, video at work looks like it could be the way of the future.
So now the big question is: how are you implementing video into your office-at-home work environment? Don’t miss your chance to jump into its world because the future of work is all about the visual, and video is taking over.