Benefits of recording your online meetings

In today's global, work-from-home business environment, in-person meetings are frequently being replaced by conference calls and video chats. Modern business communications software allows team members who live on different sides of the world to come together online to share ideas, delegate tasks, and collaborate on projects.

With this shift in communication mediums, there are challenges but also opportunities. For example, recording your meetings is now easier than ever. When everyone is sitting around a table in-person, recording equipment can be clunky and difficult to use. Online call recording can be as simple as the tap of a button on your laptop or phone.

From improving communication to increasing accuracy and recall, recording your online meetings can offer a range of benefits to your business.

Flexible scheduling

It's not easy to set meeting times when everyone is available, especially if you're juggling multiple time zones or remote work situations. Recording your meetings allows all stakeholders to stay on the same page, even when they can't make a scheduled meeting. Combined with other online communication methods, such as in-network messaging or email, absent team members can review call recordings and provide insights and comments.

Recording your meetings can also help you avoid rescheduling due to calendar conflicts and last-minute emergencies. You now have the flexibility to set meeting times that work for as many team members as possible, so you can move forward on a schedule that helps to maintain project momentum.

Improved communication

Having the right balance of stakeholders, decision-makers, and subject matter experts at a meeting without inviting too many people can be challenging. Too many voices at the table can derail a discussion, not to mention the negative effect on productivity when too many team hours are taken up with meeting invites.

The discussions and decisions that come out of crucial meetings may also need to be communicated to wider internal audiences. Nuance and context can be lost when meeting outcomes are distributed via written notes or minutes.

Recording important meetings and distributing them to a wider audience is an easy way to ensure all team members stay looped in on critical communications without taking up valuable production time or losing vital context.

Official record-keeping

Sometimes there are legal reasons why organizations or agencies benefit from recording virtual meetings. For example, some government agencies are required to keep official records of all meetings for the public. Video conferencing software with built-in recording capabilities makes it easy to meet this requirement.

Whether you're closing a deal or negotiating financial agreements, having a recording of the meeting can benefit all parties involved. Transparency and a record of vital conversations can protect you from future disagreements.

Administrative support

Many companies task administrative assistants to take notes during meetings, distribute minutes, and archive these records for future reference. When online meetings are recorded, administrative professionals have a recording to rely on for clarity, which can be particularly useful if the voice transcription is needed.

A call recording is even more valuable if administrative professionals aren't available to attend a meeting. The meeting recording can be referenced to compile notes or minutes afterward, giving the business and its employees greater flexibility.

Training distribution

Businesses that invest time and funds to bring in consultants, speakers, and trainers to share their expertise want to ensure they get as much value as possible out of this investment. While there are time and space limitations to how many employees can benefit from a live training session, recording this training can turn a one-time session into a learning experience that can last far longer than an hour. You can hold a training session once and use the recording to provide that same valuable training on-demand for other employees in the future.

Team coaching

Constructive, clear feedback is key to developing top talent. It can be valuable for managers and outside consultants to observe team meetings and provide feedback. Recording online meetings not only offers an easy way to review employee performance and provide useful insights, but it also allows you to pull out specific examples to target for improvement.

It's a powerful coaching practice to record how someone performs, either in a business meeting or on the sports field. Employees who review their actual performance can often spot ways to improve on their own. Listening to examples of strong performances by other team members can also be a useful coaching tool to help employees improve.

Call recordings can be used to assess performance as part of mandatory reviews or used to offer constructive feedback immediately following a meeting.

Digital note-taking

What if your company doesn't have the funding or the staff to take notes at meetings properly? If you only need decision-makers on a call, it can be awkward to force someone to take notes to share with the rest of the participants. Recording the call solves this dilemma.

Call recordings can act as digital note-takers, saving you time and money. Recording a meeting also helps prevent distraction, letting your key stakeholders fully focus on the conversation rather than taking notes.

Information archival

Virtual meetings have grown in popularity, especially over recent months. Yet it's unclear what the long-term impact of remote work and changes in communication styles will be. Forward-thinking companies can benefit from having archived recordings of their meetings and the decisions that come out of them.

Industries change all the time, and entrepreneurs and business owners must stay nimble to modernize and upgrade communication strategies within their team. Recordings are a lot like an insurance policy for start-ups and more established companies of all sizes. It's a way to make sure you're covering your bases and in full control of all the information that you may need to grow your business.

Flexible, secure business communication

Many tech-savvy companies have switched to cloud-based communication systems, replacing costly phone lines with online communication's security and scalability. The switch makes it extremely easy to record and distribute online meetings. What once required bulky machines and microphones that malfunction is now a built-in feature of most modern business communication software.

While an increase in remote work presents technical and administrative challenges, it also offers an opportunity. With so many business meetings being conducted online, it's easier than ever to take advantage of call and meeting-recording capabilities to improve your business communication. Just be sure to follow all the laws and etiquettes on call recording.