Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of the world’s population has been affected by government lockdowns. Upwards of 62% of Americans were required to work from home to comply with public health restrictions. Children have continued their studies from home while schools remain closed.
Companies are extending their pandemic work arrangements. Google, Ford, Siemens, and Microsoft are among the multitude of companies that have announced a permanent shift to hybrid work models. As per a recent survey, just 1 in 10 companies expect all employees to return to the office.
Hybrid work models are here to stay. To support this new way of working over the long-term, businesses need to adopt secure, versatile video communication technology.
Why Hybrid Work Is Here to Stay
For over a year, the pandemic has altered where and how we collaborate. Despite initial workplace disruption, remote and hybrid work has brought benefits to both employees and employers.
Evidence suggests that employees with flexible work options are more engaged, more productive, and happier.
In a remote work survey, 86% of employees rated their productivity as good or excellent when working from home. Greater work flexibility and the elimination of daily commutes are factors that helped to boost productivity—even during the initial adjustment periods.
For parents with children studying from home, flexible work schedules have been imperative. While some may be eager to get their kids back into the classroom, many families have embraced work-from-home and study-for-home. It means fewer pick-ups and drop-offs, fewer packed lunches, and greater control over work-life balance.
There are benefits for companies too. Employees with remote work options tend to be happier with their job and more loyal to their company. Research shows that companies that support remote work have a 25% lower turnover rate.
In addition, with reduced overhead for office space and on-site IT infrastructure, 44% of companies expect remote work to increase profitability.
The Problem with Overnight Lockdown Video Solutions
In the rush to scale digital workflows for remote collaboration, some companies adopted patchwork video technologies that are not well-suited for long-term use.
The most prominent issue is security. Many businesses adopted the same consumer-grade video solutions that friends and families use to chat. But these solutions should not be used to discuss or share information on sensitive business operations. In a number of cases, hackers took advantage of lax file naming protocols and the absence of encryption to capture data shared over video platforms.
Privacy and data use are also areas of concern. Like most technology companies, video platform providers collect data on their users. One video platform provider found itself in hot water when it was revealed their privacy policy allowed access to a broad range of user content including video recordings, video transcripts, instant messages, files, and other content. Especially for regulated industries like healthcare and banking, unauthorized access to certain information comes with the risk of legal repercussions.
Finally, many consumer-grade solutions come with time and user restrictions that hinder productivity in a professional environment.
Video Collaboration for Hybrid Work
According to a Barco survey of professionals working remotely during the pandemic, better video conferencing technology is the investment employees desire most.
Vidyo is a trusted provider of enterprise-grade video solutions for the traditional office, virtual office, and remote office. At Vidyo, we understand different teams work in different ways. That’s why we offer a variety of customizable solutions.
With VidyoRoom Solutions, your (on-site) team can take advantage of 4K quality video in designated huddle rooms, meeting rooms, or board rooms.
With VidyoConnect, team members can collaborate via our in-app video platform or click-to-join links—no matter where they are located.
To protect your sensitive information, Vidyo solutions are built for security.
- Vidyo protects calls and content with above industry-standard encryption levels
- Vidyo deploys continuous threat prevention
- Vidyo maintains settings to authenticate all call participants
Furthermore, Vidyo maintains a transparent privacy policy to explain how we collect, store, and use your data.
Seamless High-quality Video
Vidyo has over 15 years of experience helping teams integrate high-quality video into communication flows. Prepare your business to take advantage of seamless video communication and build a more efficient hybrid workforce.
To learn more about Vidyo for hybrid and distributed teams, contact us today.