Since 2020, more and more companies have started to embrace the opportunities that virtual collaboration offers. By incorporating digital aspects into their corporate strategies, many businesses have seen a huge increase in efficiency, employee engagement, and overall profitability. 

A majority of virtual tools became popularized at the beginning of the pandemic because public health was a major concern, and many in-person occupations were moved to cyberspace. However, as COVID-19 cases continue to decrease, many companies are wondering if the virtual aspects they have added will continue to be effective. 

Of course, many jobs have already returned to in-person offices, but that doesn’t mean that virtual tools are obsolete. In 2020, we all saw what a completely digital workforce looked like. In 2022, we need to combine the best of both worlds and incorporate the most effective online tools into our in-person work environments. 

Why is virtual collaboration so important in 2022?

Accessibility 

If there’s one thing we all have learned in the past two years, it’s that virtual tools make long-distance business collaboration much easier. Before, it was common for industry professionals to regularly travel across the country in order to have meetings and conferences with coworkers. 

However, now that we’ve seen how effective virtual meetings can be, it’s easy to write off those long-distance meetings as unrealistic in 2022. Shifting your all-hands meetings to a virtual medium will jumpstart an extremely positive chain of events. Not only will this enable more of your employees to attend meetings, but it will also save a lot of time that could otherwise be spent working. 

Employee tracking

For many businesses, remote work was a concerning factor because they couldn’t actively watch over their employees to ensure that work was getting done. However, it quickly became apparent that virtual tools were actually more effective at tracking employees than any in-person manager could be. Software from developers like Kickidler and Activtrak enables employees to track their work throughout the day in order to properly manage their time. 

Cut costs

As we mentioned before when talking about accessibility, virtual tools have essentially made business travel obsolete. Online meeting platforms have made long-distance travel outdated and impractical. With virtual meeting software providers like Zoom, you can have the exact same kind of collaboration for a fraction of the cost. 

Although conference calls have been a huge part of business for decades now, the addition of video has added a new dimension to long-distance corporate meetings. Now, business professionals are able to have face-to-face interactions with people who live across the country without having to waste thousands of dollars. This means your corporate travel budget can be put towards more effective sectors and lead to a more profitable business overall. 

Save time and energy

Everyone in the corporate world knows how it feels to get out of a long-winded meeting feeling like the entire thing could’ve been summarized in an email. In fact, many times, it feels like employees would have been more productive had the meeting not taken place at all. One positive thing that came out of the pandemic was that it showed many big businesses how impractical it was to gather all employees in one place at one time. 

Some professionals suggest that since the beginning of 2020, meetings have become more concise, productive, and effective. Utilizing virtual tools gives employers the ability to routinely reach out to employees without wasting time and resources that may have previously been negatively impacting business operations.