With a network of nine offices and about 60 field staff, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZSO) was looking for a way to reduce the $1.6 million it was spending on staff travel every year. 

Determined to maintain its commitment to encouraging staff interaction and professional development, NZNO sought a cost-effective, technology-based solution – one that would also improve collaboration, efficiency and productivity nationwide.

Gen-i has installed a videoconferencing network throughout NZNO’s offices and on key people’s laptop computers. Each of the offices has a large-screen TV for access, while the laptops are equipped with videoconferencing software and a broadband data connection enabled by the XT Mobile Network.

Staging a meeting is now as simple as scrolling through a directory and clicking to establish a connection – and calls between NZNO and outside parties are just as easy.

Enabled via voice over IP technology and Gen-i’s One Office network, the solution means staff and board members can hold meetings and training sessions without needing to travel and, as often happened previously, spend nights away from home.

Videoconferencing has enabled NZNO to slash its travel budget in half – and just as importantly, it’s cut the time the organisation’s largely female staff (of whom most are mothers) need to spend away from their families.

NZNO has also seen a dramatic improvement in productivity, with staff having more time to do the work they need to do and senior managers hardly needing to travel at all.

What’s more, the investment payback time, which was originally estimated at 18 months, has been achieved in a year. Videoconferencing has proved an excellent business decision all round.