There was an interesting article in The Times recently where Phil Libin, co-founder of app Evernote, made a bold statement: he feels that recorded video can be significantly more effective at getting the job done than live video meetings.
Controversial indeed.
Embracing the hybrid working model
Phil is a real advocate of hybrid working – he’s metaphorically seen the light. Phil had historically invested heavily in creating the perfect office-based working environment. Think slick offices, providing staff with a shuttle bus and even providing headphones so that employees could block out any distractions and focus in working.
Along came the dreaded virus and no doubt this forced change to the way we all needed to work that resulted in some sort of epiphany for Phil – so much so, that he founded the mmhmm app with the aim of making remote working more engaging, fun and efficient.
Remote should not mean boring
Much has been said about the monotony of video conferencing. Caught up in hour upon hour of calls with very little respite throughout the working day doesn’t make for a fun working life. But here’s a bombshell from Phil: who needs every meeting to be live? Phil argues that synchronous communication — a live conversation between people in different locations should only take place when there’s an actual conversation to be had, a proper back-and-forth where information is being shared by everyone involved – shouldn’t always be the default position for meetings.
There is always a sweet spot with meetings, and they should be used wisely. Phil believes organisations need to wake up to the fact that most people can work efficiently and effectively by absorbing information offline (this could be in written format or indeed a recorded video) and then coming together for a much shorter live discussion having digested the information they needed beforehand.
Recorded video should have a place
We’ve all been there: a call where someone talks at you for ages, so much so you’re on mute, the camera is off and you’re tucking into your cereal while they crack on. But do we really need to operate this way, even if we’re fully embracing a hybrid working world?
Imagine instead logging in to, let’s say, a 15 minute recorded video (whether it’s created using mmhmm is entirely up to you!) and then only following up with a live conversation if it’s needed. Imagine the time you’d save… it’s definitely worth thinking about.
Transcribing the video might be even more useful
Take this concept one step further and you step into the zone that Fiona Shipley excels in… transcription. There’s no reason at all why you couldn’t make the recorded video even more powerful by providing a transcript of the content. It could offer even more time saving – being able to scan over the content in written form rather than watch it in real time.
Our team has been increasingly called upon to provide transcripts for recorded meetings for our clients – whether they are meetings they’ve recorded themselves or ones where we have been in attendance to ensure the quality of the recording is of a sufficient standard. As the number of meetings, presentations and events being held through the web has increased, so has the demand we’re experiencing for recording on-line meetings. We can record webinars, podcasts, presentations, video clips and conference calls, and aim for a fast turnaround. We can also edit transcripts produced by Teams or other AI packages.
If you’d like to know more please call us on 01737 852 225 or email alex@fionashipley.com.