Easy Conference calling in 2022

Little did we know it before, that easy conference calling in 2022 would be so important. 2020 will go down as the year our lives collectively changed for ever. Although there have been significant ramifications for our personal freedom and safety this year, it should not be underestimated just how rapidly and drastically our work lives have been redefined in 2020. Until now, working from home held images of a long lie-in, email checks on the phone whilst getting your hair done or shopping and maybe an early ‘business meeting’ in the pub with a mate.

Working from home – a pleasure or a chore?

This is very different from the reality of working life though, and there has certainly been no slacking off, with the enforced working from home we have all had to come to terms with. Workers have had to get to grips with new technologies, home schooling and a blurring of the work/life balance, not to mention a home suddenly becoming an office, for weeks on end.

Video conferencing fails!

Some have enjoyed the freedom, the lack of commute and have found themselves empowered by less stress, more time, and the opportunity to roll out of bed 5 minutes before being at their desk. Others haven’t fared quite so well… No profession is immune to these issues, but if you thought journalists would have their tech under control, then you’d be wrong!

Although it wasn’t during lockdown, I think everyone will remember and enjoy this personal catastrophe from a remote video interview, and also feel his pain at a simple situation gone horribly wrong, thanks to a couple of inquisitive and mischievous kids!

Don’t let technology beat you

However much these hilarious vignettes have offered us light relief during a troubling time, these unfortunate incidents, and much worse have caused embarrassment, offense, stress and even sackings and mental health problems.

There will always be pitfalls using this type of technology and meetings, however remote, will always be required. But there is already a technology which can deliver exceptional, simple, cheap, and flexible communications opportunities, without the added risk and reputational damage which can come when we invite a camera into our private lives – a dedicated conference call facility.

Easy conference calling technology is simple to use, cheap and allows multiple members to join safely, without the risk of unfortunate social and physical embarrassment. All you need is a phone, a code and off you dial.

Although we have all had a chuckle when things go wrong, there are real concerns to be addressed with video conferencing technology which simply don’t exist when using a dedicated conferencing call system.

Things to consider when deciding the correct technology for your internal communications platform:

Ease of use – can even the most technophobic employees deal use it without stress or problems. More technology often leads to more stress for people not tech-savvy. Our easy conference calling facility could not be simpler – Ring the number. Enter the code.
No additional equipment – our service is virtual. Simply distribute the phone number and the account and meeting codes and your staff can start using immediately.
Do you want to offer your staff anonymity in their own home when working? Although there are benefits to seeing who you are talking to it has been all to readily accepted that we will all want to show not only ourselves to our colleagues in a home environment, but also share our home life with people who we work with.
Are there safeguarding issues for your staff. Some staff members might be vulnerable, or have children they want to safeguard or there might be an opportunity for an unsafe situation to develop – this is especially relevant in some roles, for example that of a teacher dealing with pupils. Using the phone does not allow any illicit or inappropriate images to be distributed or viewed without consent.
Needless to say, you want to eliminate risk of Covid-19 exposure and using a conference call facility is as safe as can be regarding social distancing.
Eco-friendly – fingers crossed, the situation with working from home will not be an indefinite one, even if some prefer it. Working life will return to normal at some point, but is its ethical or even sensible to drive to a location, wasting time and polluting the earth for something which can be achieved successfully remotely? Face to face meetings still have their place, but it is time business embraces the efficiency offered by conference calling technology.
The more tech we invent, the fast we need to be to deal with it. Is your broadband able to cope with work, teaching and all that life throws at you today? It has been well documented the issues surrounding performance on platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams etc. as they try to deal with the enormous bandwidth requirements put on them. Frankly, they haven’t been able to deal with it. Conference calling for any UK business using our dedicated service is not reliant on internet speed or performance – no jerky, clunky pixelated images. No unclear audio or people endlessly repeating themselves. Our hard-wired phone lines mean that audio quality is crystal clear, no delays, no pauses, no crashes.

Just the conversations you need to succeed, on the spot, with no worries about appearance and boundaries.

Finally, it seems like something that just doesn’t happen, but the reality is that the internet is like the wild west and people can and will take advantage for nefarious and even criminal ends. Using a video conferencing platform opens not only your image but your technology – your computer to be ripe for potential abuse, extortion, and illegality. Do you want to expose your staff to unnecessary risk?

Sometimes, the simplest option is the best option.