The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of heartache and financial losses. But, it has also given rise to new trends within the workplace.

One such trend that seems to grow stronger in the future is the hybrid work trend. The adoption rate of the hybrid work model is 70-80%, and even employees aren’t complaining because this model promises improved work-life balance. In addition, remote working is another trend that has received mass acceptance.

Therefore, if the future of work is hybrid and remote, companies’ reliance on video conferencing apps is expected to increase. It may even become an indispensable part of modern organizations. One such platform making business meetings and communications painless and smooth is Zoom.

Zoom is one of the best communications platforms allowing users to connect with phone, audio, video, and chat. It is a cloud-based video conferencing software requiring an Internet connection to function.

New users can quickly start by downloading the Zoom Client for Meetings and creating an account. The free plan allows up to 100 participants with a 40-minute time restriction. After that, users can upgrade to a paid plan to unlock more features like cloud storage, meetings up to 30 hours per meeting, 300 attendees per meeting, etc.

Although Zoom works smoothly most of the time, sometimes users are known to complain about the camera not working on Zoom. This is one of the most common technical issues, and to get on top of this, you must join a Zoom test call before joining the actual meeting.

During the test call, you can check the camera and mic to ensure they work fine. Also, remember to keep Zoom updated to avoid encountering such problems.

To help create engaging experiences within the hybrid workplace, the collaboration giant offers the following features.

Blurred Background During Meetings

The blurred background feature in Zoom is a godsend. You’ll probably use this feature more than others.

For example, if you are working from home, your background may not always be pleasant and presentable. Therefore, you can only use the blurred background feature to blur the background while keeping you focused.

To enable this feature, head to Settings > click Background & Filters > Virtual Background > Blur.

Meeting Templates For Users

The meeting templates feature introduced by Zoom makes it easier for users to adjust the settings for different types of meetings. You can choose from pre-made templates or create custom templates for your meetings.

The out-of-the-box meeting templates offered by Zoom are:

K-12: This is designed for K-12 classrooms and features quizzes and advanced polls. The template fosters productivity and engagement.
Seminars: This template sets the environment for high education classroom and corporate training meetings. When this template is activated, screen sharing is disabled.
Large meetings: This template is ideal for team-wide meetings and enables automated captions for participants. The content is recorded for future reference.

If these templates do not apply to your upcoming meeting, you can create and save custom templates.

Squash Background Noise

Working from home has proved more challenging than expected for many on-site workers. To make the transition easier, Zoom lets users adjust the audio settings to compensate for background noises during meetings.

You can use the new audio adjustment settings by going to Settings > click the arrow next to the Mute button if you are in a meeting > Audio > Suppress background noise. Then, you can adjust the settings according to your preferences.

Chat Reactions and Threaded Messages

Typically, organizations use Microsoft Teams or Slack for team messaging and collaboration. But did you know you can also use Zoom chat to message your team members?

Zoom chat lets you message anyone directly in your contact list and create channels to discuss projects in groups. If you have not used this Zoom feature yet, you can try it.

On realizing that in-meeting chat is crucial, Zoom has made it easier to share information. The video conferencing platform has released chat reactions and threaded messages to simplify conversations.

Immersive View To See All The Participants In A Single Virtual Background

If you are on a Zoom paid plan that lets you create meetings with multiple participants, it will be helpful to put all the participants in a single virtual background. This allows all the participants to collaborate and discuss in a virtual space.

From boardrooms to classrooms, Zoom allows you to set your immersive background. As a result, you can get everyone to connect seamlessly and improve the meeting’s experience.

However, this feature only works during meetings with up to 25 participants. But this isn’t the solution for all-hands meetings. You can enable the immersive view feature during meetings by clicking View > Immersive > selecting a preloaded scene, or you can create a custom scene.

The Bottom Line

These are some Zoom features you must try to elevate your business meetings in 2023.

Business News