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Better online meetings with native virtual timers

Why every online meeting platform should have a native virtual timer

The world is entering its second year of remote work as a result of COVID-19. With this shift, online meeting platforms have become the new normal for most of the working world. Online platforms have continued to improve their offers by including features that meet the new demands of businesses worldwide. Features like screen sharing, live polls, and lobby have been adopted across most platforms. Yet there is one feature that is not yet standard on online meeting platforms: the virtual timer.

Various industries have several use cases for virtual timers. And because most online platforms don’t feature a native timer, these industries are turning to YouTube and other third-party apps for their timer solutions.

The virtual timer feature is currently in demand among users of Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, and Zoom. However, it is not a high-priority item when it comes to the development of new features (Tamarov, Techtarget.com).

KUDO has offered a native virtual timer function for speaking and presentations to all of our platform users since 2020. We know first-hand the usefulness and importance of native virtual timers. The following are some of the ways our clients have taken advantage of KUDO’s virtual timer.

Time Management

We’ve all been there, a daily 30-minute standup meeting goes on for an extra 15 minutes. While 15 minutes doesn’t seem like much, after a week you are losing 1.25 hours of your work week. If that still doesn’t seem like a lot of time lost, consider that after a year, you’ve wasted 60 hours. Utilizing a native virtual timer is a way to show the time dedicated to each section of your daily standup. In bigger events, it can also account for breaks, timed speeches and question and answer segments.

Fairness

Having a native virtual timer function guarantees that each participant gets the same amount of time to speak. For instance, in a parliamentary conference, there may be time provided to delegates to react on a subject. In order to be fair, each delegate is often given a certain amount of time to speak. Using third party applications complicate what should be a simple addition to any meeting.

Voting

In parliament or at a start-up, users may want to know how long they have to vote on certain proposals, projects, bills etc. Depending on the set up, the host of the session may be able to see the live results as the votes come in. To prevent the host from ending the voting session once they have the majority of answers to fit their needs, a timer may be used to guarantee that everyone’s votes are counted.

Activities

Larger events often have breakout rooms for different activities. Having a native virtual timer to track the time for each exercise would guarantee that all groups are following the same timer. It also makes it easier for participants to rejoin the original discussion area at the same time.

While there are quick fixes for each of these scenarios, the simplicity and efficiency of having a native virtual timer is undeniable.

As online meeting platforms continue to evolve based on user requests, rest assured that KUDO is listening. We are constantly developing new features based on your needs, ensuring you get the most out of your meetings, webinars, and events.

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