Video Conferencing will be the Top Communications Tool in 2016, Says HR Professionals

In behalf of Polycom, Inc., Redshift Research conducted a global survey focusing on the top communication tools in the different industries. The survey was participated by HR executives in 12 countries.

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Generally, the new survey shows that Human Resources teams are using video as a standard tool across the globe. Majority of the HR executives, who claim to use video in their operations, admit to prefer video collaboration over email for their business communication. Results of the preferred business communication tool:

• Video: 56%
• Email: 49%
• Voice Conference Calls: 32%

In the survey, 98% of the HR executives is fond of using video conferencing because they claim that this specific tool not only destroy the distance barriers between teams from different countries and cities by it also increases productivity. In addition to this, according to the HR Professionals, the most preferred business communication tool in the year 2016 will most likely be video conferencing. Some advantages of video conferencing include:

• Talent management
• Staffing
• Training
• Productivity
• Flexible work enablement

When the participants of the survey were asked about their current business communication tool, the tools were ranked as:

• Email: 88%
• Voice/conference calls: 62%
• Video conferencing: 46%

Other business communications tools, which were mentioned are:

• Web conferencing
• Instant messaging
• Social media

The survey also shows a shift in the communication method HR uses as well as in how the HR helps in molding the business culture.

Supporting this survey is the report of the Aberdeen Group in year 2013, focusing on video talent acquisition. According to Aberdeen’s report, the percentage of organizations investing on video interviewing increased to 32% from the 21% in the year 2012. The top three reasons of this increase according to the report are the following:

• To reduce travel costs
• To shorten the time to hire
• To reach geographically dispersed candidates

Aberdeen Group Human Capital Management Vice President and Principal Analyst Mollie Lombardi said, “Advancements in technology and telecommunications are allowing organisations large and small to operate seamlessly from anywhere. HR leaders require a new understanding of how technology can help them bridge geographical boundaries and rethink their talent strategies to take full advantage of a broader talent pool.”

The HR Director of Alain Afflelou, a French retail chain, Vanessa Mauree said that the benefits of video in the recruitment process is already evident. In addition she said, “I interview candidates for positions all over the country. I cannot make a decision from a telephone interview; I need to see the person to make a good evaluation but flying all candidates to Paris is too costly. Video interviews are ideal, and allow me to see more candidates. A good video interview is as effective as an in-person interview.”

Implementing flexible work environment, video is capable of:

• increasing productivity
• reducing employee time spent commuting
• increasing staff loyalty and satisfaction through providing more control over their work-life balance

Polycom Talent Management Vice President Daniel Sonsino said, “Not only does video help to improve the quality and depth of our talent pool and reduce recruitment and on boarding time, but it also helps to ensure retention of top talent by providing easy access to development programs and the enablement of a flexible work environment for employees. While improvements in recruitment, training, retention and flexible work are measurable and visible, the intangible benefits of video collaboration are just as relevant. Improving trust, increasing productivity, enhancing cross-cultural understanding and forming more effective teams are all areas where data can’t show the value – it must be experienced first-hand.” 

HR facets like engagement, training, and retention are affected by different factors, including:

• Voice collaboration
• Video collaboration
• Content collaboration

Video functions like asset management, conferencing, and recording are able to help organizations in their operations. Some of these benefits include:

• overcoming diminishing training budgets
• minimizing scheduling and travel conflicts
• preventing knowledge loss through retirement and attrition through easier, more frequent collaboration and on-demand access to knowledge and training
• allowing cost-effective training content delivery and efficient re-usage through recorded live training sessions

Polycom Talent Management Vice President Daniel Sonsino said, “As a unified communications and collaboration provider, we practice what we preach when it comes to using video collaboration tools to improve productivity and keep employees engaged. Around the world, 100 per cent of Polycom's employees are equipped with tools like video conferencing for conference rooms, laptops and mobile devices, which supports a flexible working environment.”