In the modern world, a lot of companies let their employees work remotely. Also, today it is a common thing when organizations hire people from any corner of our planet. In this situation, we should know all the peculiarities of such type of work.
Further, in the article, we will analyze the transition to online communication, all the peculiarities that IT specialists have to take into consideration when digital interacting, and running online conferences.
Preparatory Works
Finding a Platform
First of all, you have to analyze platforms and web feature packages that are available today and can provide customers with the necessary services. You have to check how many users can simultaneously work at one platform, what is its maximum load, and should user install additional programs and plug-ins on his/her PC.
Date and Time
You should notify your employees about the time and format of a conference regarding a project. When you choose a time, don’t forget about time zones – it will be significantly important for those companies that have representative offices in different countries. If you don’t bring into accordance these things, then it may happen that a tester or programmer won’t get a project manager because there will be night there, for example.
Choosing Necessary Web Material
Make sure that you have all the necessary materials: special illustrations, tables, presentations, and technical documentation on relevant projects.
Assure the Possibility to Work on the Platform on an Ongoing Basis
First of all, it is necessary to thoroughly test the performance of online service, the quality of video/audio, and make a test call to your colleagues to check the stability of the connection.
Check the Personal Preparedness
Incredibly enough but the online meeting may be disrupted because of such a small thing as an unexpected shutdown of the laptop or constant problems with an Internet connection. You have to predict and avoid all these force majeure situations beforehand.
Standards of Behavior in Online Communication
At the very beginning of the online conference, you have to ensure that no one of the participants has technical problems with the connection. This will help you to avoid potential problems and any one of the conference attendees won’t get distracted from the communication.
Always start the conversation on a positive note! Correct and meaningful opening remarks allow you to set the meeting participants’ expectations in the right way and quickly involve them in the communication process. This is extremely important in the modern world when the level of stress is very high and sometimes you want to escape from the growing informational noise.
Keep track of the activity of each participant in the meeting. If possible, you should find one moderator who will simply monitor the progress of communication. Also, he/she will ensure that the technical aspects do not negatively affect the communication process.
After each block of information, ensure that everything is clear for the participants of the online conference. If they have questions, try to quickly and extensively answer them.
Share your experience! For example, if you have to conduct online training about a new testing tool, try to disassemble the software proposed by the management with the audience. You can also analyze the features of these programs and ask other testers about their opinions.
Popular Platforms for Online Meetings in 2020
YouTubeLive
YouTubeLive logo
The most popular and high-demand tool. First of all, that’s because of its technical simplicity and a huge number of useful functions, for example, a chat and a big section with an interesting statistic.
Also, in YouTubeLive, you can share the stream with users from other social networks. But remember: to participate in the conference, you have to make a personal application that will be considered in about 24 hours.
WebEx
WebEx logo
This is another popular platform for video conferences that is owned by the Cisco company. WebEx is perfect not only for big video meetings but also for little internal calls.
It is focused on maximum cybersecurity. The platform’s services are fee-paying. Unfortunately, nowadays, it can be really expensive for a small business sector.
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting logo
This is special software to hold live webinars. There is an ability to work not only in browsers but also on mobile platforms (iOS / Android). Hence, online meetings can be run on smartphones and tablets.
In this program, you can share files, use presentations, work with interactive whiteboards, create online pollings, and translate text into 52 languages.
If required, you can make a record of the video meeting and then send it to all the participants.
GoToMeeting
GoToMeetting logo
This is an online platform for holding video meetings and conferences at fixed rates.
GoToMeeting includes screen sharing options, file sharing, sending out invitations, video recording, etc. There isn’t a Russian-language version of the site which is a disadvantage for participants from the former CIS.
Whereby
Whereby logo
This is a very simple and intuitive product for making video calls with an unlimited number of events. Moreover, it has budget prices.
Whereby supports screen sharing, working with presentations, file sharing, sending out invitations, and video recording.
In the paid version, you can create online conferences for up to 50 people. Technical capabilities of the product allow having a stable live meeting even for users from the most remote locations.
Conclusion
Today, a lot of IT professionals around the world work remotely. Therefore, we can confidently say that our everyday way of life is changing. It means that business (and particularly the field of information services) needs to adapt to new realities and get the most benefit from this situation!
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