Video has become the go-to medium for many employees yet few organisations are making the most of what it offers, says one industry expert.
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Whether it’s for news, entertainment or online communication, video has become the go-to medium for many employees today – so why aren’t employers adapting?
“HR is just starting to use video in a compelling and important way,” says veteran filmmaker Vern Oakley. “Unfortunately, most of the video that surrounds corporate – including HR – is not very effective.”
Oakley – who recently penned Leadership in Focus: Bringing Out Your Best on Camera – says most corporate videos are dull and boring when they could be inviting and involving.
“There's so much opportunity here,” he says. “It's just incredibly exciting about what can be done with video in the HR space.”
US-based Oakley says video is one of the most effective ways to communicate a company’s vision and can influence everything from culture and recruitment to career planning and compliance.
“In terms of creating a culture that's transparent, engaging, and exciting, video is a great tool to tell the kind of stories that you want to be told, to reinforce the values that are important to you, to get the leader's vision out,” says Oakley.
“Can you imagine if everyone understood where the company is going? What the company’s strategy is?” he asks. “That would be incredible.”
While an increasing number of organisations are adopting some form of video, Oakley says most still aren’t using it to its full advantage because they’re not tying it to strategy.
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“[HR should] work through what are the key messages? What are you trying to achieve? Then video becomes the way that you translate that, not just as the technical delivery system,” says Oakley.
“A lot of companies today are spending a lot of time on the why or the purpose, a lot of companies have spent time on the values, a lot of companies have spent time on the mission,” he continues. “What is surprising to me is those aren't woven into every video.”
It’s an approach he says employers should be quick to adopt because, as video continues to explode in popularity, employees will increasingly expect information to be delivered in a way that suits them.
“If you look three years out, 82 per cent of all the internet traffic is going to be video,” says Oakley. “We are now in a situation where people are used to having screens all the time – whether it’s on your phone, in your office, at your home, or on an iPad – these screens are driving the way that we receive information and the way that we want to receive information so video is the communication vehicle that is most effective.”
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