Article: What Video chats mean for the future of employee engagement

Employee Engagement

What Video chats mean for the future of employee engagement

Using video is only as good until it is employed effectively to meet the goals of truly engaging employees at a larger scale. Here are a few things video communications can do to help in that direction.
What Video chats mean for the future of employee engagement

Most organizations have had a well-established employee engagement program for a long time. But in the years following the 2008 recession, these programs have failed to deliver as per their past record. According to a recent Gallup study, only 13% employees are engaged at work. This undoubtedly results in declining workplace performance and the losses begin to stack up.

The first question to ask then is - what went wrong? And the answer to that is change. People are changing, the environment is changing, expectations are rising, and so are values. As a result, it becomes imperative for organizations to understand these changes within the workforce and adapt themselves to the changing environment. Employer’s brand identities have to be re-calibrated to maintain relevance in the modern world. Luckily for internal communications department, videos are emerging as the tool of choice to re-ignite the communications channels and re-engage with the employees in a more effective manner. According to a survey by Ragan Communications, 74 percent internal communications professionals believe videos to be a more effective way to communicate internally with employees.  

With the rise of handheld device technology, and a growing number of younger employees, a move towards videos as a communications tool is a logical one for organizations. However, using video is only as good until it is employed effectively to meet the goals of truly engaging employees at a larger scale. Here are a few things video communications can do to help in that direction.

Driving collaboration

Globalization has resulted in a diverse and dispersed workforce. A larger number of employees work from remote locations, sometimes from field offices, sometimes telecommuting from home. And an even larger number are using handheld devices to communicate with their peers and colleagues while working on a given project. Mobile devices are equipped with better technology and as a result, video is far more effective in connecting these diverse sets of employees in remote locations with each other in a more personalized manner than emails.

Improved communications

Everyone wants to be reassured that they are a meaningful contributor to a group. Employees want to be heard, making effective communication more of a necessity in the modern workplace. With teams often not restricted by geographies anymore, videos provide an inclusive channel for engagement over large distances.

Empowering the mobile generation

The employees are getting younger and a large number of them are using mobile devices. The technology is developing and contributing further to the mobile explosion in the workplace. As a result, it becomes imperative for organizations to include a mobile work culture within their systems. The Ragan Communications survey points out that already about 35% companies are streaming video content to smartphones. It is a great indicator of things to come in the near future for employee engagement as the mobile technology advances further along with the users.

Deeper engagement with senior management

One of the biggest advantages of videos is the democratization of the workplace and a direct connect between employees and senior management. Townhalls and video conferencing offer a chance for the younger employees to communicate with senior executives, learn from them and share their own ideas that often get lost in translation within the traditional hierarchical channels.

Videos as a social tool

Videos are inherently social and interactive in nature. Employees can share their views, comments and questions, and even share video responses to videos posted by others. It can be used as a learning tool, or even to capture the employee’s interests in different fields. Some of the best ones can be used for external channels by the communications team to showcase and build the employer brand as well.

Engaged employees are an essential component in the success of an organization. They perform better in every sphere and are more likely to stay with the organization for longer durations. Effective communication is the key to keep them engaged and thus help them maintain high levels of productivity that the business expects from them. As the employees get better connected with their environment with the help of technology, video, it seems is the tool of choice for many younger employees. And to engage them effectively, the logical way forward for any organization will be to adapt quickly as well and join in the fun. 

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Topics: Employee Engagement, Technology

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