HR Professionals Expect Video Conferencing to be Their Preferred Communications Tool in 2016
98 per cent of Human Resources executives surveyed say video conferencing helps companies defy distance and break down
cultural barriers to improve productivity
Auckland, March 19, 2014 – 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 per cent)
indicated video would be their most preferred method of business communication, surpassing email (49 per cent) and voice
conference calls (32 per cent).
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 per cent) 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 per cent) after email (88 per cent) and voice/conference calls (62 per cent).
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 per cent of organisations were investing in video interviewing, compared to 21 per cent of organisations 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 organisations 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 organisations 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 organisations overcome diminishing
training budgets, minimise 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 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.”
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 organisations 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.asia or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to learn more.
ENDS