HR Professionals to Use Video Conferencing More by 2016

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.

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