New analysis of a recent global survey conducted by Redshift Research on
behalf of Polycom,
Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) has found that HR executives who use video at
work today say they will prefer video collaboration over email as their
top method of business communication within three years. The majority of
those respondents (56 percent) indicated video would be their most
preferred method of business communication, surpassing email (49
percent) and voice conference calls (32 percent).
Proving that the benefits of video for HR functions are well understood,
the survey of business decision makers in 12 countries revealed that
almost all (98 percent) of the HR executives participating in the survey
believe video conferencing removes distance barriers and improves
productivity between teams in different cities and countries.
The survey also showed that video is becoming more pervasive for Human
Resources teams across the globe. When asked to choose their preferred
methods of business communication today, HR respondents ranked video
conferencing as a top-three tool for communications, placing third (46
percent) after email (88 percent) and voice/conference calls (62
percent). Other methods of business communications these HR executives
said they use included Web conferencing, instant messaging and social
media.
The views of the HR professionals polled are supported by Aberdeen
Group’s 2013 report on video talent acquisition that found 32 percent of
organizations were investing in video interviewing, compared to 21
percent of organizations in 2012. The top three reasons identified by
Aberdeen for this growth in adoption were:
-
To reduce travel costs
-
To shorten the time to hire
-
To reach geographically dispersed candidates
“Advancements in technology and telecommunications are allowing
organizations large and small to operate seamlessly from anywhere,” said
Mollie Lombardi, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Human Capital
Management, Aberdeen Group. “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.”
Vanessa Mauree, HR Director of French retail chain Alain Afflelou is
already seeing the benefits of using video during the recruitment
process.
“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,” said Mauree.
Beyond recruitment, video is also enabling organizations to implement
flexible work environments. This is proven to increase productivity, can
reduce employee time spent commuting, and can increase staff
satisfaction and loyalty by allowing employees to have more control over
work-life balance.
“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,” said Daniel Sonsino, Vice President of Talent Management at
Polycom. “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.”
Voice, video and content collaboration is impacting many facets of the
HR function, including retention, engagement, and training. Video
conferencing, video recording and video asset management helps
organizations overcome diminishing training budgets, minimize scheduling
and travel conflicts, and prevent the loss of knowledge through
attrition and retirement with easier, more frequent collaboration and
on-demand access to training and knowledge. The ability to record live
training sessions and playback later for people to view at times when it
is more convenient for their work schedule allows for more
cost-effective delivery of training content and efficient re-use of
training content.
“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,” said Sonsino. “Around the world, 100
percent of Polycom's employees are equipped with tools like video
conferencing for conference rooms, laptops and mobile devices, which
supports a flexible working environment.”
Note to Editors
A summary of Aberdeen Group’s research into the benefits that video is
delivering to HR professionals and teams around the world can be found
in the ‘Bridging
Distance in the Talent Lifecycle’ insights paper.
See how Polycom’s own global HR team uses video collaboration tools: http://youtu.be/EFkuEdOJm_Q
Further information on how HR professionals and HR departments can
benefit from video collaboration tools can be found in an infographic on Polycom’s
Defy Distance page and on the Polycom
website.
The survey, “Global View: Business Video Conferencing Usage and Trends,”
was conducted by Redshift Research on behalf of Polycom, Inc.
Data was collected from 1,205 business decision makers in four regions
and 12 countries: EMEA (UK, France, Germany, Russia, Poland, Belgium and
The Netherlands); South America (Brazil), North America (USA) and APAC
(India, Singapore and Australia). All survey interviews were conducted
between August 25 and September 9, 2013. The survey defined “business
decision maker" as someone serving as a manager, director or owner with
decision making capability in the business. The analysis of responses
from HR professionals was conducted in January and February 2014.
About Polycom
Polycom helps organizations unleash the power of human collaboration.
More than 400,000 companies and institutions worldwide defy distance
with secure video, voice and content solutions from Polycom to increase
productivity, speed time to market, provide better customer service,
expand education and save lives. Polycom and its global partner
ecosystem provide flexible collaboration solutions for any environment
that deliver the best user experience, the broadest multi-vendor
interoperability and unmatched investment protection. Visit www.polycom.com
or connect with us on Twitter,
Facebook
and LinkedIn
to learn more.
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