Mission critical: Excellent audio systems translate into good business volumes.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has profoundly changed the business dynamics. Most businesses face challenges in the way they manage workflow, communicate with teams, stakeholders and customers– and generally run their practices. The transition to remote work prompted by the social distancing measures has created the need for a virtual meeting scenario. Apart from video, the role of excellent audio quality is greater than ever in ensuring employees can effectively communicate and avoid distractions.

In fact, a detailed study conducted by market research company IPSOS MORI on behalf of the high-end audio solutions brand EPOS, which explores the current state of audio in modern working environments, has found that office workers lose 29 minutes of productivity every week because of poor sound quality. Cumulatively, it’s almost two hours a month. That’s an extensive amount of time – which summaries as reduced output and lowered employee satisfaction. A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that 29 minutes of lost productivity translates as £389.48 (Rs 38,119.46) of wasted expenditure per employee annually. For a 100-plus employee company, this figure balloons up to about £38,948 (Rs 38,11,946) of revenue loss per year.

About 95% of today’s modern workers admit that their concentration and efficiency at work has suffered due to sonic setbacks. At least 69% spend extra time on their work tasks due to poor sound quality. On the other hand, 87% of end-users say they have experienced at least one pain point due to poor sound quality during calls or virtual meetings.

As per the data—which was collected between the end of January and mid-February 2020—the most common problems include excessive background noise (42%), having to repeat themselves (34%) and asking for information to be repeated (34%). However, there are numerous further examples: bad connections on the line that cut off speech, recipients of calls having to ask for information to be repeated and the need to send follow-up emails to clarify key points. All result in frustration and wasted time. 

As well as the extra time spent on work and the associated business cost, there is an emotional impact for end users. For instance, 35% feel frustration, irritation and annoyance due to bad audio. About 25% experience moments of stress, while 15% even feel embarrassment or a lack of confidence.

Conclusively, bad audio experiences cause harm not just to organizations, but the individuals working in them; they must be addressed as a barrier to personal wellbeing as much as corporate performance. An overwhelming majority of business decision makers (79%) are aware that good audio equipment (including headsets, headphone and speaker phones) can provide the solution. But this is far from the only motivation to do things differently.

From the perspective of decision makers, more than half believe that effective audio solutions will mitigate issues such as time loss due to misunderstanding between colleagues, and the financial implications of workers incorrectly undertaking a task. They are also of the opinion that reduced efficiency, reduced productivity and client dissatisfaction caused by poor audio could be alleviated with an effective audio solution.

While keeping its ear to the ground, EPOS, which is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, delivers high-end audio solutions designed for enterprise and gaming. Being part of the Demant group – a world leading audio and hearing technology group – EPOS builds on a legacy of more than 115 years in audio innovation. EPOS believes in creating audio technology for those who insist on excellence from their audio devices. The company crafts solutions with high-quality materials that are built to last, providing the perfect balance of excellent audio and comfort. In fact, the brand mission of EPOS sums it up quite effectively, ‘We develop premium solutions that deliver excellent audio experiences so individuals and teams can reach their goals and perform better.’

EPOS uses the most advanced audio and collaboration technologies to improve how businesses communicate and collaborate. Moreover, our users can also be confident that their message is being delivered loud and clear to the recipient, thanks to noise-cancelling microphones that filter out background noise and enhance speech.
 

Another superior solution, the EXPAND 80 Series unites colleagues with a premium, scalable Bluetooth speakerphone for up to 16 in-room participants. Its six adaptive, beamforming microphones isolate voices from room reverb and ambient noise. The cutting-edge echo-cancelling designs have been developed by EPOS enabling impressive double-talk performance, so that all participants can talk simultaneously for more natural conversations and the best possible meeting experience.

The EXPAND 80 Mic expansion microphone enables users to expand their meetings and increase the number of participants within medium meeting rooms (16 participants), large meeting rooms (24 participants), and even larger meeting rooms (32 participants) so that everyone can take part in the conversation and be heard with confidence. EXPAND 80 Mic uses an Adaptive Beamforming Microphone System based on 4 low noise digital microphones in a similar refined horizontal pattern as used in the EXPAND 80 Speakerphone. Simple to use, up to two EXPAND 80 Mics can be plugged into the EXPAND 80 Speakerphone, creating one holistic unit with a sophisticated minimalist look.

The present pandemic scenario is not a one-off challenge. Businesses will have to remain prepared to navigate more such challenges. In this regard, effective audio-video communication remains mission critical and not optional anymore. It is crucial for the bottom line, too.

For more details, log on to: EPOS