Today, remote teams are more popular than ever. The pandemic of 2020 pushed a lot of businesses to discover a work-from-home landscape much faster than they expected. However, for many companies, this was a positive step forward.
Remote work landscapes allow for greater flexibility in a professional team. You can engage with professionals from all over the globe, and access new talent like never before.
However, there’s a problem with remote work too – human connections and presence begin to dwindle. For remote teams to achieve an excellent level of productivity, you need to ensure complete collaboration. VR could be the solution that today’s teams need.
How Virtual Reality Improves Collaboration
With virtual reality, people can go beyond existing communication technology like video and audio conferencing tools, to really interact face-to-face with colleagues. To bridge existing communication and collaboration gaps, remote companies are beginning to implement virtual reality.
According to some reports, the business industry will soon surpass the consumer market as the number one user of virtual reality tools. So, how can virtual reality enhance the way that people collaborate?
1. Better Bonding Between Teams
Remote meetings and collaborative work become so much more meaningful with VR solutions, compared to traditional settings. When it comes to comparing meetings held through VR to video conferencing meetings, a lot of users feel that their colleagues are more present with VR.
In a face-to-face environment, it’s natural for off-the-cuff conversations to happen. In an office, people randomly join in on conversations and chime in with their thoughts. However, with a remote environment, this isn’t possible. Virtual reality can bring people into a space that feels like more of the “traditional” office.
Not only can teams launch meetings with VR, but they can do so in spaces that feel as natural as the standard office. This can reduce the fatigue and anxiety that people feel with being “on camera” and make interactions feel more comfortable.
2. Improved Focus in Meetings
Video conferencing is starting to reduce the issues that companies have long had with limited focus in meetings. Previously, text and audio-based conferences allowed employees to multi-task while they were in conversations. This meant that it was rare for people to pay full attention to what’s going on.
Although video conferencing means that people do feel more “observed”, it’s important to remember that people can still get distracted. Employees might start skimming through their messaging feed or checking out their email while they’re on mute.
In a VR environment, employees are more physically present within a space. They’re interacting with other people in a variety of different ways, using body language and movement, sorting through digital information, and more. Because virtual reality brings you into a space that’s completely dedicated to one specific meeting, it’s less likely that employees will end up getting distracted.
3. Improved Communication Experiences
When you work remotely, it’s easy for communication lag and other issues to get in the way of great conversations. It can take a while for someone to respond to a message on Slack, or for someone to agree to a call. There are a lot of barriers that make communication feel more stunted. However, in a virtual reality environment, these boundaries don’t exist.
At the same time, the rise of virtual reality means that companies in a remote environment can get as much context out of a conversation as they would get in a video conversation. During a virtual reality meeting, you can see the body language of your colleagues, and detect whether they’re confused, unhappy, or uncomfortable in a situation.
When you’re sending a message over Slack, or communicating via phone call, it’s easy to lose track of the context of a situation. You might even misunderstand what someone is trying to say, which increases the risk of problems in the office.
Making a New Collaborative Reality
In businesses across the world today, colleagues need to find a better way to interact and communicate outside of the office. The face-to-face office environment isn’t as common as it once was. Virtual and remote working are becoming the normal experiences of the future.
The question for many companies, is how they combine the benefits of the digital world with the advantages of face-to-face teams. Virtual reality could be the ultimate way to bridge the gap.
from UC Today https://ift.tt/36Xl6Yz
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