On a daily basis, audiovisual (AV) plays an important role in your company. It allows for web conferencing, room scheduling, and in some cases, it even keeps the lights on. And when preparing for emergencies, audiovisual takes on an even more important role. It can make all the difference in maintaining normal business operations… but only if it’s working.
An important step in enduring an emergency is knowing what to expect. A second important step is knowing what tools you have at your disposal. And regardless of whether you’re facing a flood, fire, or pandemic, AV can help your business make it through to the other side.
When preparing for emergencies, it’s important to remember the following about AV:
1. AV Helps You Stay in Contact
During an emergency, it’s easy to let meetings fall to the wayside. But the longer an emergency lasts, the more important it is that you keep in contact. Depending on the emergency, your team may be unable to go to the office. And it’s important that they remain in the loop about your company’s WFH policies, shifts in focus, and other general updates.
AV allows your employees to continue working together even when they’re miles apart. And in emergencies involving illness, it lets you reach out to clients without risk of spreading disease. Basically, audiovisual tools encourage collaboration in situations where collaboration was once impossible. Additionally, they allow you to run your business as normally as possible by mimicking your usual environment.
2. Both Verbal and Nonverbal Communications are Important
Email and phone calls are potential alternatives to AV. But emails lack audio, phone calls lack video, and both of them are less than ideal. In the former case, it’s impossible to fully understand tone without hearing someone’s voice, and key information can be easily missed. Similarly, without visuals, you won’t see facial expressions or other body cues. And as a social species, these nonverbal communications are just as important as what we actually say.
Again, emergency preparedness is all about keeping operations as normal as possible. AV tools allow you to see and hear your coworker or client, thus imitating an in-person meeting. Additionally, with the pervasiveness of audiovisual tools, web conferencing itself has become normalized. Whether you’re conferencing from your office or living room, you’re doing something “normal,” which helps business operations proceed smoothly.
3. Preparing for Emergencies Means Minimizing Disruptions
All (good) emergency preparedness plans include both disaster recovery and business continuity components. The first helps your IT bounce back from emergency, whereas the second ensures you’re able to resume operations as quickly and effectively as possible. In essence, business continuity concerns your organization as a whole, and it focuses on both short-term fixes and long-term stability.
During disaster, business continuity is essential. And the best way to ensure recovery is to prevent as many disruptions as possible. With AV, you can easily minimize these disruptions via the measures we already mentioned: sending out updates, contacting clients, and keeping normalcy via web conferences. And when the emergency’s over, your AV will still be there to keep your employees informed, connected, and ready for whatever hits next.
Audiovisual is everywhere. It’s no surprise, then, that it’s so important to the business world. And when disaster strikes, it’s crucial that your AV works like normal so that your business can do the same. If you want to learn more about how audiovisual can help your business during an emergency, reach out to 1Path today.
