7 Uses of Internal Company Videos That Can Boost Productivity and Collaboration More and more people say they feel that video will play an important role in different business functions in the immediate future.
By Ron Yekutiel •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
By now, most organizations have a firm grasp on how to use video to market their brand, promote their products and connect with customers. But how can businesses leverage the power of video internally?
A report from Forrester Research shows that 27 percent of firms planned to launch internally-focused enterprise video in 2013, up from 21 percent in 2010. What's more, 75 percent of respondents of a video enterprise survey conducted by my company Kaltura said they felt that the integration of video into a company's tools (email, social business, instant messaging, etc.) would play an important role in the near future.
Related: Why Businesses Are Accelerating Investment in Video Communications
Here are seven ways to begin using video internally to improve productivity, collaboration and communication:
1. Employee onboarding and training
About 64 percent of respondents of the Kaltura survey are currently using video for training and onboarding, and for good reason. Using videos during the onboarding process and to train employees on new tasks can help improve knowledge and engagement while reducing costs.
About 80 percent of respondents said that using video could make the onboarding process for new employees simpler, while 87 percent stated that using video helps train employees faster and cheaper.
2. Recruiting new talent
Using video to recruit new talent can make the process easier and faster for the company and job-seekers alike. Video interviews help avoid the back and forth of scheduling, as well as travel costs.
Video integration can also be used as an attractive selling point for new talent. According to a survey conducted by Cisco, 87 percent of young professionals tracked to become executives said that a company's investment in video would influence their decision when considering otherwise equal job offers.
3. Internal communications
A majority of respondents of the Kaltura survey said that video could have a positive impact on internal communications. Using video to make announcements, promote company initiatives and other regular interactions improves relationships between employees and executives and adds personality to stiff organizations, according to 80 percent of the survey participants.
As the boundaries of business shift and industries become more global, video can serve as a tool to break down communication barriers with international team members. Among aspiring executives surveyed by Cisco, 94 percent said video can help overcome language barriers.
Related: Though Few Have, Now Is the Right Time to Embrace Video Earnings Calls
4. Video conferencing
Video conferencing and online meetings can connect team members working from different locations more effectively than the traditional audio conference call. This is very valuable in today's workplace where 92 percent of millennials want to work remotely and 87 percent want to work on their own clock, per a study by oDesk.
According to 82 percent of respondents from the Kaltura survey, video improves collaboration and productivity among colleagues separated by location. To that end, 76 percent of respondents agreed that video provides a close second to in-person communication, much more so than written communications.
The vast majority of respondents also emphasized the value of recording live videos for subsequent viewing on demand, so that, for example, team members won't miss important information while traveling.
5. Knowledge sharing
Participants of the survey said they felt that videos were most valuable for improving knowledge sharing (95 percent of respondents!). Through video, employees can effectively share best practices and how-to tutorials. Sharing employee-generated content not only improves learning, but also boosts creativity, empowers and engages employees, and fosters stronger relationships among team members.
6. Event coverage
Use live video streaming of events to bring together teams working from different locations, and to build an integrated company culture. Creating an internal video news portal will also help to keep everyone in the loop and to feel connected with executives and the organization as a whole.
7. Video social network
All of the aforementioned video experiences could and should be offered within existing online environments such as corporate portals, blogs, wikis, content-management systems, learning-management systems and social-business platforms. However, 70 percent of the participants of the Kaltura survey also saw value in having a standalone video portal, which would be home for all of the live and on-demand video content that would trickle there from all other environments.
Such a portal for contributing, sharing of and consuming video encourages social interaction and networking, and is not surprisingly often referred to as a "CorporateTube."
Related: 7 Mistakes That Could Turn Your Corporate Video Into a Corporate Disaster
