Dear Digital Newbie: Your question is a legitimate one, and we can assure you that the “digital meeting” trend is anything but a trend. As you’ve noticed, the balance is shifting away from face-to-face and toward remote communication. Several factors have contributed towards a growing trend for employees to conduct business via digital channels.

Three components can be identified as reasons for this shift:

• Concerns about the environment: The green factor has been especially prominent in recent years as global efforts to fight climate change increase, encouraging businesses to consider their own carbon footprint and demonstrate corporate responsibility. Now more and more businesses are considering the environmental cost of air travel – and suddenly a round-trip to New York for a two-hour meeting seems far less appropriate as it may have five years ago. Studies show that businesses and individual consumers alike are taking environmental factors into consideration when making purchase decisions, which means the importance of sustainable business practices is not going to diminish anytime soon

 

• Time and costs associated with meetings: The current economic uncertainty also brings travel into question, this time from a cost perspective. The US credit crunch and fears of a subsequent recession mean corporate belts are being tightened across the world to maintain margins, efficiency and competitiveness – and business-class travel is one expense that can be trimmed in an instant. At the same time, the meteoric rise of consumer Web 2.0 applications, social networking tools and user-generated content is changing the way employees interact with each other and fueling the rise of digital communication

 

• The changing nature of technology: Companies are cutting business travel knowing that they can save money and cut their carbon output by replacing it where possible with technological alternatives. These include highly advanced web conferences with the ability to share any document, presentation or application, and even high-definition ‘Telepresence’ systems which give remote colleagues the sensation of sitting around the same table. Using these tools, remote colleagues, partners or customers can collaborate efficiently on practically any issue without leaving their desks. The time employees save from not travelling can then be put to better use, increasing efficiency and productivity

Using such technology, organizations can bring practically any face-to-face meeting into the digital domain. Now the challenge is to ensure that the form of virtual communication your organization stays as effective as its in-person alternative. Most of all, of course, it’s still crucial to have great creative, no matter how you deliver it. Be sure to hire a creative agency with demonstrated experience in the digital sphere as well as proven creative chops. We believe our company, Xavier Creative House, has both – give us a call or contact us over social media so we can show you what we can do for your organization.

Reference: 1. http://www.freshbusinessthinking.com/digital-presentation-the-next-new-skill-for-business-leaders/. Accessed June 21, 2018.