Will Zoom Video Conferencing Replace The Traditional Boardroom Meeting?

Zoom reported that more than 200 million meeting participants use the platform every single day, this includes a portfolio of 81,900 firms with more than 10 employees. It goes without saying that this online tool has become essential for the survival of businesses during this challenging time. 

Unfortunately, it looks like we are in for the long haul with the coronavirus pandemic. There is just one question that seems to be at the back of everyone’s mind. Will video conferencing completely replace the traditional boardroom meeting once the pandemic is over?

For the time being, boardrooms are no more. Video has completely replaced all meetings and other work-related gatherings that would usually take place within an office environment. Whether this is an internal team meeting or a proposal to a new client, all can be dealt with within the chosen video conferencing software. Even large scale meetings can be held, with Zoom allowing for up to 100 participants at any one time. 

The range of functionality offered created a professional atmosphere, even when working from your home office. Although the lockdown has created huge challenges for businesses, tools such as Zoom have empowered us to continue collaborating as a team, getting the job done time after time. First-time installations of Zoom’s mobile app have skyrocketed 728% since March 2, 2020. Access to video conferencing applications is now as essential as access to the internet.

Forming the perfect sales pitch has its complications at the best of times, especially when delivery is done through video conference calls. On Zoom, throughout the meeting, the speaker’s face will be the only face displayed on the attendee’s screen, allowing you to create a powerful yet personal sales pitch to your potential clients. 

Although there is now a strategy in place to slowly loosen the lockdown restrictions, we are still a long way off boardroom meetings. In fact, we are looking at the end of June before we start to see any public places opening again. This all relies on the rate of an infection otherwise referred to as “R” in government-led updates. 

There has been no definitive date for when we should expect to see our offices opening again, especially businesses who have the ability to operate remotely. The conclusion that we have come to is that we are likely to be relying on video conferences for a long time to come. 

The future is still very uncertain when referring to how businesses will be operating after restrictions have been lifted. It is expected that we’ll see a large number of businesses continuing to use video conferences. 

There is no data to support when the coronavirus pandemic will be over, therefore, we should all be very cautious for many months to come. Non-essential meetings may just stick to video conferences. This will lead to a huge reduction in the number of people travelling to sales pitches and other work-related meetings. 

For businesses who may have colleagues travelling abroad to reach potential customers, there may be a shift towards Zoom calls being essential for these types of meetings. Less money will be spent on travel insurance and other travel costs. Thus reducing the cost of acquiring new clients.

Although it may seem like an eternity away, the restrictions on travel will be lifted, and when this day comes businesses will be able to return to their original processes. Boardroom meetings will return and the number of Zoom conferences will decrease. 

In the end, both means of meetings will balance out evenly. Circumstances will arise leading to a video conference being the preferred option where in other cases the boardroom will be relied upon.

There is something very powerful about physically meeting someone you plan to work with. A simple handshake can go a long way in business. For this reason, boardroom meetings are likely to return, whilst the respect for video conferences will remain.