Most of us are aware or have heard of video conferencing, some of us have used it, some of us have recognised the benefits of it, some of us have had a bad experience with it; but do we know how to maximise the benefits from it?

The concept of video conferencing has been with us for a long time, proven by photographs from the New York Times dating back to June 1947, showing a Russian gentleman using audio and video technologies to hold a conference call. So why hasn’t it had a major impact on the way we live and work? We all hear talk that conferencing will change our lives and that technology will have great impact, particularly as we are now moving into the information age and our exposure to technology is making us change our working and domestic practices.

This paper introduces a pragmatic approach to evaluate the way in which we communicate and the best means of achieving effective communication, particularly through video conferencing technologies. It will also describe the ‘Best of Breed’ characteristics taken from a number of organisations who have successfully implemented video conferencing technologies into their business and a process which helps an organisation recognise and apply these technologies to maximise the opportunities that they present.

We communicate in many ways. There are many forms of communication to chose from when considering how we can most effectively get our messages across. Conferencing technology is now offering new ways in which to communicate and to share information and knowledge. However, with these new technologies come a number of barriers both for the carrier and recipients of the information. In order to conceptualise this, we have created a ‘Bandwidth of Communication’ which allows us to examine and evaluate the different ways in which we communicate.

At the lowest level of communication is the letter, fax and now e-mail which allows us to distribute information in a socially acceptable format. However, at this level we are often unlikely to digest all the information that is being presented and on many occasions, particularly with e-mail, recipients are now filtering out communication that they perceive to be of little value without actually having read the new mail.

At the top level of communication we consider face to face meetings to be the most effective form of communication, and these are unlikely to be ever replaced by technology. These meetings allow us to interpret and understand so many other things that may be missed by using technology, such as social interaction, body language, bonding and positioning for example.

In between these two levels of traditional communication is what we perceive to be the gap that could be filled by conferencing technology. These new methods should be seen as opportunities to compliment existing forms of communication and not reasons to replace them. The difficulty is assessing the appropriate technology to use at the appropriate time in order to gain the maximum benefit for all participants.

Also a complete understanding of the etiquette and protocols of use are essential for a video conference to be successful, particularly when more than two people take part in the conference.

When an organisation is considering the use of video conferencing as a business tool, it is our experience that in the majority of cases it will fail to achieve any impact due to a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons might be:

• Lack of vision
• Too technical a focus
• Implementation for the wrong reasons, ie: to reduce travel costs
• A replacement tool rather than a complimentary process

In many cases the person responsible for IT will be tasked to review video conferencing and determine the appropriate application within the organisation. Although it is very likely that the technical specialist will ensure that the equipment stands up to the rigours of their evaluation, it may be difficult for them to determine what key decision makers want and the application that will bring value to the business users. It is up to decision makers to take ownership and decide the parameters of the evaluation so that decisions can be made. In our experience it is essential that a cross functional approach be taken in order to identify the potential applications and benefits that implementation could bring. This approach would look at:

• Ownership at a senior level
• Project management

• The development of a success criteria

• The opportunity - in line with business objectives

• Regular feedback and review
• Conferencing etiquette and communication skills coaching
• Benchmarking against other organisations who have successfully implemented video conferencing

Screen Gravitas has developed a Seven Stage Business Perspective ModelÓ that helps key decision makers through this process. The emphasis with our model is in the achievement of business objectives and how the technology can assist. It is one that takes a competitive perspective that examines how technology is used to stimulate profit and efficiency. Any organisation, which can demonstrate achievement of competitive or operational advantage through the use of conferencing technology, will more readily accept the value that it may bring. In order to achieve these outcomes, it is appropriate to follow this model in the following stages:

• Education (What’s it all about?)

• Differentiation (How will it help me win?)
• Simulation (What will it be like?)

• Selection (How do I know what’s best?)
• Pilot (Will it work for me?)

• Implementation (Where do I go from here?)
• Exploitation (How do I maximise the benefits?)

In the first stage of the model the emphasis is on ‘education’ of the concepts and potential applications of conferencing technologies, where a new user may use case studies to understand ‘what’s it all about’. This first step is crucial, as there are likely to be great misperceptions of the technology and the potential applications. As an example, in our experience people expect to see TV picture quality with video conferencing, and as we know this is not the case. This may often lead to someone experiencing this for the first time becoming less motivated to understand the full potential of the technology. Therefore, if the person is made aware of the differences and the reasons for them in a controlled way, they are more likely to be able to explore the opportunities that video conferencing can bring. Within this process the equipment itself is not the critical factor in the early stages, it is the evaluation of how this technology can help achieve competitive or operational advantage for the organisation that needs early consideration.

The next stage considers the aspect of differentiation and how it will help the organisation gain substantial benefit. It is very likely that if it can be proven that conferencing can assist an organisation in achieving their own business goals and objectives, the more likely the technology will become an integral part of their business processes.

The other stages include a well managed pilot within a small functional area. This pilot must have clear success criteria and should consider the organisational and behavioural issues that will need to be overcome to allow it to succeed. This is the stage when key decision makers and users can explore the issues of the use of conferencing technology in a real situation, thereby recognising and dealing with any issues that could prevent it being adopted at part of the normal working practices within the organisation.

Following a successful pilot, the organisation is more likely to understand the extent of the opportunities that present themselves and is then prepared to exploit them with fuller implementation throughout the organisation.

Screen Gravitas has carried out research into a number of organisations that have successfully exploited video conferencing, and from this research we have characterised them as the ‘Best of Breed’. We consider the key characteristics as being:

• Adopting a strategic focus

• Ensuring that video conferencing fits in with the overall communication plan
• Consideration of organisational and behavioural issues
• Identification of one key business application for trial
• Implementation of a well structured pilot
• Integration into processes and working practices

This is not a definitive list of characteristics, but if adopted then it is more likely that the integration of video conferencing into processes and working practices will be successful.

It can be concluded that the introduction of video conferencing in any organisation may not be straight forward. Based on our experience it is critical that video conferencing is seen as a business tool which allows us to communicate in an appropriate way and that is not a substitute for the way in which we currently communicate.

Our research shows that for the introduction of conferencing technology into an organisation to be successful, a non-technical, strategic focus is essential. It is vital that key decision makers are consulted at an early part of the implementation project to ensure that benefits will result in the achievement of competitive or operational advantage. A carefully planned process should be followed to ensure that these benefits are then exploited to the full.

Although this paper describes the application in a business context, the same process is equally viable when considering using conferencing technology to access ‘learning’. The Seven Stage Business Perspectives ModelÓ addresses the personal barriers that need to be overcome by individuals as well as the organisational values. This process has been developed to focus on ‘values’ and not on technology, since we feel that it is important that technology is the enabler and not the driver.