We are living at a time when there are massive changes occurring in the business world, both in how products and services are offered to business and consumer audiences to the definitions of exactly what constitutes a workplace and employees. These changes are already happening in some areas. What will the US workplace look like, as HR communications videos penetrate the market over the next eight years?
Millennials: The Wave of the Future of HR Communications Videos Is Already Here
Right now, over 30% of America’s workforce is made up of millennials. They’ve already begun to change the features of the workplace. As noted by Elizabeth Dukes in an article published in Inc. Magazine on November 7, 2016, there are three big changes already, at least partially due to the massive upgrades we’ve seen in HR communications videos:
• Email will no longer be the primary internal communications tool
• Traditional office space designs will become extinct
• Strict office hours will no longer exist
There are changes now rumbling through the structure of business organizations which began in the last few years to address the newest American workers. One department that is diligently learning the new methodology is human resources. And the tool that’s used by HR pros in ever-increasing numbers is HR communications videos.
The Values of Video In House
A 2015 article by Krystal Covington for The HR Gazette outlines uses for video already in practice for HR pros. HR already uses communications videos in a variety of settings. With internal company communications, it’s a better way to deliver news and information than written memos or newsletters for:
• Corporate Announcements – Is a new benefits package about to roll out? Has a new executive come on board?
• Company News – Whether it’s about a new product, marketing campaign or employee, visual storytelling with HR communications videos is both more memorable and impactful.
• How-To Videos – Whether the video is about booking business travel or the correct way to fill out an expense report, these videos will help employees learn the important details of corporate life.
• Daily Updates – These can be short videos with an HR person on camera, relating important news such as holiday work schedules, an investor visit or a department’s in-house lunch.
• Employee Recognition – A great way to foster employee engagement is to create a video applauding an employee’s outstanding contribution. Using a smartphone or an inexpensive camcorder, moments such as awards dinners, speeches or interviews with teams working on a new and interesting project can be shared with the company.
Recruiting, Engaging, Retaining: Right Now, Eight Years from Now
2025. In that year, approximately 75% of the workforce will be millennials. According to the 2015 US Census report, they already outnumber the baby boomer population, and are far more ethnically diverse. What do they want? And how can HR communication videos help in not only reaching them, but also engaging them in a company’s corporate culture, and keeping them from “jumping ship” to another company?
In an article for Jeanne Meister in a 2017 article for Forbes magazine, “Cloud and mobile computing, artificial intelligence, and increasing automation have created the potential to transform nearly every aspect of a business.” Millennials now, and in the closer-than-you-realize 2025, are playing a huge role in this. The use of HR communication videos is a cornerstone in the changing landscape. What do – and will – millennials want?
Marcel Schwantes, the founder and principal of Leadership from the Core, observed in a June 20, 2017 article for Inc., What Do Millennials Want From Their Employers, Exactly? This Study Sums It Up in 1 Sentence: “Freelance flexibility with full-time stability.” What does that mean?
• Flexible working arrangements
• Reconfiguring the work time or schedule
• Discretionary effort by the company
Recruitment and More with Video Tools
This is already in place with many HR departments. In a 2015 article by Roy Maurer for SHRM, 75% of the HR departments polled were already using video as a recruitment tool. Skype, right now, is often the best option. But with the rapidly-changing technology, holograms might well be in play by 2025. HR communications videos are already an option for recruitment as well as retention. It and can and will be part of the HR toolbox for corporate culture. We are living in a business world that is experiencing mushrooming growth in the employment of “agile employees.” What that means is an employee who can quickly adapt to change, thinks quickly, uses his/her initiative, is mission-led and will swap their job role if the project’s completion requires it. Already, many job descriptions include the characteristics of an agile employee in the requirements.
The Next Step
As the old Bob Dylan song observes, “The times, they are a’changin’.” HR pros have two options – to get excited about the changes in the business world, or to be fearful. Embracing the changes, and adopting an agile perspective will help every HR pro to greet 2025 with open arms and a smile.
