It doesn’t matter if you’re checking in on a work project or letting your partner know you’re going to be late for dinner – digital tools have fundamentally changed the way people communicate both professionally and personally. We glide seamlessly across channels, from text to calls to video chat, whatever best suits the given situation. Take our executive team, for example. A conversation about our latest office opening might start as a group chat, but will graduate to a phone call if someone has a new idea for layout design. Then again to a video conference with asset sharing so we can visually review the floor plans and prospectus. It’s seamlessness that mirrors the natural way people engage with each other and is defining the Future of Work.

Unique Moment in Global Communications

With the launch of 8x8 Video Meetings this week, I can’t help but think about this unique moment in global communications. The embrace of a single, omnichannel collaboration platform is upending decades of workplace dogma. Rather than being tethered to a single office or desk (as was my experience when I began my career), we’re collectively learning how to design our own workplace experience, with the channels that best work for us. We are empowered to have productive, engaging working relationships with colleagues that might sit two desks away, or two continents away.

Largely driving this shift is rich video functionality. While text, chat and phone are useful for sourcing information, particularly in low-complex situations, video captures the intimacy and nuance of face-to-face collaboration. My colleagues know that as a leader I value open, honest discourse. Seeing someone’s face, including their nonverbal cues, is a much stronger indicator if the individual believes that they are contributing and being heard. It’s what makes remote work an effective an efficient option – you don’t lose that vital context. Furthermore, it’s enabling businesses to chase talent without regard for geo-restrictions. Being able to have that same rapport via video means that remote employees can be an active part of the company community even if they are thousands of miles away. And for people close to physical office locations, the technology can cut down on stressful commutes and help foster better life balance.

Future of Work

It’s heartening to see 8x8 living and breathing the fluid nature of modern workplace communications. 8x8 Video Meetings was designed to capture the seamless way we communicate, as employees and as consumers. Our offices in the US, UK, Australia, Romania and Singapore, plus our remote staff – they’re bound together through our technology. Whether they’re chatting, calling or video conferencing, they’re charting a single path to the Future of Work.

How do you see video reshaping the Future of Work?