INTERVIEW Richard Middleton - Lifesize
“Where older generations may be reluctant to adopt video conferencing technology at work,
millennials already understand its ability to make meaningful connections and boost productivity, with
little to no training required.” Richard Middleton, Country Manager UK and Irleand, Lifesize
The Millennials are here
The fact is simple, we live
Richard Middleton, Country Manager UK and Ireland at Lifesize, shares three ways in which the millennials’ video
obsession is transforming and benefiting the office environment and how you can embrace the new way of work
in a world that demands
speed and lacks patience
and for this, email is far
too slow.
Popular consumer apps such
as FaceTime and WhatsApp
have changed expectations on
how we should communicate
with each other with video
increasingly becoming the
rst choice of millennials. At
work enterprise IT teams are
scrambling to mirror that same
high-quality, fast, experience.
VIDEO IS EVERYWHERE
Millennials have been using
variations of video chat since
they were young, whether
through Skype, FaceTime or
even gaming. ey are also
big streamers, 78 per cent of
millennials in the UK streamed
videos via channels such as
YouTube, and 63 per cent used
streaming services such as
Netix and Amazon Prime. For
millennials, video conferencing
and video streaming are part
of their every day, and as a
result they are more likely
to adopt it eortlessly in the
oce. Where older generations
may be reluctant to adopt
video conferencing technology
at work, millennials already
understand its ability to make
meaningful connections and
boost productivity, with little to
no training required.
It is because it is so much
more engaging and so easy to
use that video is extending to
all corners of the enterprise
in a holistic way. Meeting
productivity is boosted by faceto
face video conferences no
matter the location. Companywide
training and onboarding
can be done using recorded and
live video tutorials. HR can use
video conferencing technology
to interview new recruits and
build strong relationships
with current employees. Livestreamed
video events can
be broadcasted to thousands
of viewers for maximum
distribution of company
messages. And with the ability
to record and share on-demand
video meetings, consuming
important company information
can be done in a way millennials
already prefer — via video.
SIMPLICITY IS KEY
As millennials have grown up
alongside interactive and video
technology, their expectation
for the user experience is higher
than any previous generation.
While millennials have
sometimes been labelled lazy by
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other generations, to them, it’s
more about being ecient.
Millennials expect a process
to advance in the least number
of steps possible. ey appreciate
technology, like wearables,
apps and workow automation
and communication, to aid
productivity and streamline the
process.
To rise to the occasion,
video conferencing in the
oce must be a true one-click
experience and accessible on
whatever device is being used
be it a mobile, laptop or tablet.
It will need to be interoperable
with other solutions and utilise
WebRTC via the web browser
to make video communication
in the enterprise as simple as
possible.
To ease IT burdens, video
conferencing solutions should
be plug-and-play, so that HD
cameras and phones work
seamlessly with cloud-based
conferencing software, no matter
what size or type of room video
is needed — huddle, conference,
auditorium, etc.
Cloud-based collaboration
tools are helping companies
provide workforces with
faster and more ecient ways
to communicate with each
other. Real time chat tools
are the norm in the majority
of workplaces, and video
conferencing is becoming
increasingly popular. ese
more ecient methods of
collaboration will eventually
replace the majority of emails
that we send.
VIDEO AND PERSONALISATION
As businesses have become
increasingly global, work is
everywhere, constant and more
exible than it has ever been.
Millennial employees want to
be part of companies with a
strong culture, wherever they
work, the use of video allows
them to meet ‘in-person’
wherever they happen to be —
whether in the oce, via laptop
in a coee shop, on a tablet at
home, or using a smartphone at
an airport.
Other than being physically
in the same place, something
that is often not possible
in today’s global work
environment, video is the next
best thing for work meetings.
It’s engaging, convenient and
more productive.
Millennials crave purposeful
work, and in today’s distributed
workforce, the more virtual
‘face-to-face’ time possible,
the more enjoyable the work
environment.
42 | Comms Business Magazine | January 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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