What is internal communication?
Internal corporate communication refers to the exchange of messages and ideas among its employees, management, and other relevant stakeholders. It encompasses all communication that occurs within the organizational boundaries.
In the dynamic realm of corporate operations, effective communication within an organization is paramount to its success. Among the plethora of communication tools available today, videos have emerged as a potent medium significantly enhancing internal corporate communication.
Advantages of Using Videos for Internal Corporate Communication
Now, what is the need for using videos in internal corporate communication? Why are they becoming so popular?
Courtesy: istock
It is because employees are more likely to retain the information they get through videos for internal communications, than through emails and newsletters. With their unparalleled ability to capture attention, simplify complex information, and create a sense of personalization, videos are becoming a cornerstone of modern communication strategies.
Let’s dig in at some of the benefits of using videos:
Enhanced Engagement and Attention
One of the key advantages of utilizing videos in internal corporate communication is their ability to enhance engagement and capture attention. Videos are inherently engaging, employing a combination of visuals and audio that naturally draw employees into the content. Research indicates that people are more likely to retain information presented through videos, making it an effective tool for conveying important messages and updates.
Courtesy: techsmith.com
Simplifying Complex Information
Complex information or processes can often be challenging to convey through traditional written communication. Videos, however, can simplify intricate concepts by using visuals, graphics, and animations. Through a visual narrative, employees can better comprehend complex topics and retain the information effectively. This ensures that crucial organizational information is communicated clearly and understandably.
Personalization and Connection
Incorporating a personal touch in communication can greatly enhance its impact. Videos offer the opportunity to personalize messages by addressing employees directly or showcasing their achievements within the organization. This personalized approach fosters a sense of connection and inclusivity among employees, making them more receptive to the message being conveyed.
Many companies use this kind of template to create personalised orientation videos. This helps to engage your new hires from the very first day and gives them clarity on the minor administrative tasks they need to complete in their first week.
Consistent and Uniform Messaging
Consistency in messaging is vital for ensuring that all employees receive the same information. Videos provide a standardized way to convey messages consistently across the organization. A single video can be shared with all employees, minimizing the risk of miscommunication and creating a uniform understanding of important updates and announcements.
Better and Faster Training & Skill Development
Videos are effective tools for training and skill development within the organization. They can demonstrate processes, provide tutorials, and showcase best practices. This visual form of training helps employees grasp concepts more efficiently and apply their learning in their roles, ultimately contributing to their professional growth.
PwC used this training video to deliver a powerful message regarding the importance of diversity. Towards the end, the video strongly emphasizes the need for self-reflection, urging individuals to make a collective shift in mindset towards a more inclusive and empathetic approach.
Cost-Effectiveness and Accessibility
Many people think that creating videos is an expensive affair. However, with platforms like Indievisual, video curation has become relatively easier and more efficient. Indievisual helps to create professional videos quickly without breaking the bank.
Videos can also be accessed on various devices, including smartphones and tablets. In a mobile-driven world, this accessibility ensures that employees can engage with content anytime and anywhere.
Multilingual Communication and Global Reach
In today’s globalized business landscape, multinational organizations need to ensure effective communication across diverse languages and regions. Videos can be easily translated and subtitled, making them accessible to a wide audience. This enables companies to maintain a consistent message and reach all employees, regardless of their native language.
Courtesy: istock
Interactive Features and Feedback
Videos can incorporate interactive elements such as polls, surveys, or comment sections, encouraging employee engagement and feedback. This two-way communication fosters a sense of involvement and inclusivity, allowing employees to participate and share their perspectives, ideas, and concerns.
Types of Internal Communication Videos
Various types of videos are used for internal corporate communications to effectively convey messages, engage employees, and enhance organizational transparency. Here are the key types of videos commonly utilized in this context:
Onboarding/ Introduction Videos
Sending a copy of your company’s handbook to new hires via email may not be a good idea. It is tedious on part of them to go through it thoroughly. Better to create onboarding videos to acquaint them with the company culture, values, processes, and know-how of relevant details to help them settle into their roles smoothly.
Onboarding using videos can be motivating to new employees, making it easy for them to quickly grasp company information and get acclimatised to the new work environment.
https://www.facebook.com/MetaIreland/videos/10154029924058011/?ref=embed_video&t=58
Check out the introduction video from Facebook that features everything from the headquarters, office layout, employee benefits, company culture and employee testimonials.
Announcements and Updates Videos
Videos are a far better option to communicate important updates, news, and announcements rather than sending them via emails or newsletters. Any updates from the company’s leadership regarding policies, campaigns, organizational changes, financial results, or future strategies can be easily communicated through videos. This also ensures a lesser chance of information getting overlooked by employees or miscommunications arising over key details.
Organizational announcements and updates are crucial for keeping employees informed and engaged. Videos are highly effective for delivering these messages as they provide a visually engaging platform to convey important information, ensuring that employees are well informed about the latest developments within the organization.
Company Culture Videos
Videos can effectively showcase and promote a company’s culture and values. Through storytelling, employee testimonials, and event coverage, videos provide a window into the organizational culture. This helps employees align with the company’s ethos and values, fostering a sense of belonging and pride.
Internal messages sharing this type of non-critical information may often get ignored because of other pressing tasks that take precedence. Using a video instead to communicate these kinds of messages on company values creates that hook — and is less likely to go unnoticed.
This video from H&M is a classic example of transmitting the company culture and values.
Tutorial/Explainer Videos
Tutorial videos can be used coherently to impart training to employees for upskilling, compliance, safety measures, product features, or new products.
Using an explainer video to communicate with employees can be an effective solution in this scenario. Complex concepts and details can be demonstrated lucidly through visual-audio instructions, core to any explainer video. This dual sensory engagement ensures a more comprehensive understanding of the content being communicated. Suppose you have a new product launch you can create a demo video to show the employees how the new product works. Check out Zendesk’s demo video on how it creates customisable software to enhance business-customer relationships for your company.
Interviews, Employee Recognition, and Employee Testimonials
Videos can be made featuring employees. They can talk about their experiences, expertise, and perspectives on working for the company.
These types of videos on interviews and employee testimonials can make them feel special and recognized. These kinds of employee-centric videos are crucial to employee engagement. Showing gratitude by internally advertising employees’ accomplishments keeps them motivated and improves productivity.
The above video is beautifully crafted to showcase the stories of various employees of the technology giant, Phillips.
FAQ and Help Videos
It is quite boring and irritating to keep on answering the same questions to different employees. Instead, these commonly asked questions and their respective answers can be compiled into a FAQ video.
Videos addressing frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to policies, procedures, benefits, emergency protocols, contingency plans, or common queries can provide quick and accessible answers to employees. Even it saves time and energy on the part of the management to sit and attend to every individual query.
Videos have undoubtedly emerged as a crucial tool in internal corporate communication. As businesses continue to evolve, integrating video content into internal communication strategies is not just an option but a necessity to keep employees informed, engaged, and aligned with the organization’s goals and values.
