Employees are more dispersed than ever, telecommuting

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2 Employees are more dispersed than ever, telecommuting is on the rise, and information is being created at a faster pace than at any other point in history. Without a structure and process to manage this, companies cannot expect to survive. Collaboration, when done correctly, can stimulate creativity, engagement and innovation while fostering a culture of knowledge sharing. Yet many companies allow their employees to work in silos, without the opportunity or mandate to partner with their colleagues to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Unfortunately, keeping information to one s self doesn t drive growth or success. For companies to be successful and remain profitable, they must first create a culture of continuous sharing knowledge. Once this mindset is established, organizations must then find the tools to support it. With enterprise video, organizations can provide their employees with a platform to exchange ideas, propose projects, access data, and solve problems that are essential to a business s future. With enterprise video, organizations can provide their employees with a platform to exchange ideas, propose projects, access data, and solve problems that are essential to a business s future. Improving Employee Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing with Video 2

3 I. Barriers to Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration Office workers spend an average of 28 hours a week writing s, searching for information and collaborating internally, according to McKinsey & Company. They estimate that improved communication and collaboration through social technologies could raise productivity levels as much as by 20-25%. We have long been told that knowledge is power. But if that is the case, why are many organizations failing to share this power with their colleagues? There are many different reasons employees fail to collaborate and share information with others: Concerns about security Trust issues If information is shared, will it fall into the hands of the wrong person? And will an employee be held liable? Many employees don t trust their employer or colleagues, and hesitate to share knowledge. When asked for specific information, many wonder, why it is requested, and who it potentially may be shared with. Fear of not getting credit for solving an issue If we share an idea or solution with others, will they get credit instead of us? Power hungry A lot of employees crave power and authority. They often see information hoarding as a way to keep them in control--especially if they feel their job is on the line. According to a SalesForce.com study in 2012, 96% of executives cite ineffective communication as the reason for workplace failures. Even if we want to share information with other colleagues, there are often too many barriers to make it a reality. Workplace silos Workplace silos exist for many reasons. Knowledge is often shared by team members who only work in close proximity to each other. While a failure to disseminate useful information is rarely intentional, without incentives in place, employees are less likely to do so. In addition, many organizations lack a convenient method for workers to share knowledge. This could be due to convoluted communications paths, or a lack of the appropriate technology to make it easy. High turnover Employees aren t all in the same location With the trend of a more globalized workplace, it s becoming more difficult to connect employees and share information. Many employers are now allowing employees to work from home, but without an opportunity to collaborate with each other, it isn t going to benefit the company or the employee. Increased employee turnover is a new fact of life inside large organizations. One of the many areas in which this churn harms companies is a loss of institutional knowledge. Despite the best intentions to have employees train others before they depart, there will inevitably be important information that is lost during the transition. Improving Employee Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing with Video 3

4 II. Creating a Knowledge Sharing Culture with Video Most employees aren t interested in organizational knowledge bases. They care only about the work they need to complete. Because of this, shifting from a knowledge hoarding culture to one of sharing, often requires a complete change in the way a company functions. Firstly, employees must understand the benefits of collaboration and sharing knowledge. From an organizational level, how these two practices uncover unknown information and keep a business competitive, and from a personal level, by helping employees remain in their jobs for a longer period time and advance their careers. Secondly, it s important to place knowledge sharing technologies at employees fingertips. A video repository can serve as a centralized location for employees to easily access and contribute valuable content. Finally, it s important that knowledge sharing is incorporated into all internal training. By using a video platform, employees can collaborate from their first day on the job. They can also hold meetings with colleagues in other offices or locations. And when they need to access video content from another day, they can watch and learn on-demand. Most employees aren t interested in organizational knowledge bases. They care only about the work they need to complete. Improving Employee Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing with Video 4

5 III. Enabling Employee Collaboration with Video There are many false assumptions that training only applies to certain scenarios, companies of particular size, or specific industries. Yet, if we look closely, learning impacts every corner of a business. It s also evident the role that video can play. Onboarding - From education on corporate policies and procedures to business strategy and product specifics, employees are inundated with new information in their first few weeks on the job. Video simplifies onboarding by allowing employees to easily access content and review it at their own pace. Video also gives new employees the chance to learn about corporate culture, while helping them to familiarize themselves with other colleagues. According to Salesforce, as many as 96% of CEOs have determined poor collab- Customer Experience - Educating employees about customer service standards has a direct effect on a company s bottom line. This is why many companies are using video to conduct learning modules aimed at improving customer oration and communication are the primary causes for workplace failure. Even relations. though the majority of managers are aware of the issue, they are still relying on Product traditional Knowledge communication - Product enhancements tools to and facilitate releases are collaboration. happening faster than ever before. This means employees need to be updated at a quicker pace. The logistical challenges associated with gathering large groups and booking meeting rooms limits overall company agility and responsiveness, but video makes knowledge sharing easy because it s flexible and instantaneous. One such tool that is still heavily relied on is . According to McKinsey s 2012 Social Economy report, the average corporate user spends about 25 percent of the workday answering and sending . Diversity, Ethics, and HR Policies - It s critical that companies and employees are educated on topics of diversity, harassment, HR, and other potentially sensitive issues in the workplace. Creating a video library on these policies means important content is easily discoverable and accessible. Leadership and Supervisory Skills - To become successful managers, employees must develop and learn effective leadership skills. They also need education on performance management best practices, employee conflicts, and potential termination scenarios. Using video to educate managers means While will always be an important internal communications tool, it is a less closed time spent system, away from meaning their job that and the more only time person spent properly who managing can search others. for content is the owner of the message. is also limiting because information within an ac- Safety and Emergency - Employees must be aware of safety risks and how to handle a potential crisis. This can include knowledge on policies pertaining to count fire safety, is rarely security-related archived issues, when and an general employee crisis communication leaves a company. responses. Having This lost this content data in a format like video makes it easily accessible on can tablet be or costly smartphone, to organizations and increases the that likelihood may have that employees to invest will in new retain solutions the necessary to knowledge. locate or recreate it. Most importantly, cannot replace the personal interaction of a face-to-face meeting via video or in-person. As much as 30% of all time spent on could be saved if the main channel for business communication in a company was moved over to a social platform, according to McKinsey (McKinsey Quarterly, November 2012). While there are many social platforms that work to reduce , none provide the intimacy of video. Enterprise video makes it simple for employees to collaborate and share knowledge. Employees can easily upload content while benefitting from features like annotations, and multi-screen recording. Improving Employee Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing with Video 5

6 IV: Connecting the Workforce with an Enterprise Video Platform The Cost of Content Clutter According to research by ACI Information Group (formerly Newstex) called The Cost of Content Clutter, five exabytes of content were created between the birth of the world and Now, that same amount of content is produced each day. This means the task of finding information is exponentially becoming more difficult. The research also revealed that in 2013 content searches cost companies over $14,000 and 494 hours per worker annually. Enterprise video technology can drastically reduce this time spent searching for information by providing a central location for easily discoverable content. The Impact of Silos Information and communication silos exist in almost every workplace. If you have departments, then you likely have silos. Providing a certain degree of structure, silos tend to be where information and control flow. Unfortunately silos can cause problems. That same structure that creates information flow can also block and prevent the right information from being accessed by the necessary people. And for internal collaboration and knowledge share to work effectively, silos need to be broken down. An enterprise video platform provides employees with an environment to access knowledge within a company, regardless of their department. Through easily accessible apps and portals, content is available in a repository where it can be indexed for simplified search. Improving Employee Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing with Video 6

7 Contact us or schedule a demo to learn how to improve collaboration and knowledge sharing with video. Video Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing Powered by MediaPlatform Industry Awards and Recognition CHALLENGER Magic Quadrant Enterprise Video Content Management LEADER Global Enterprise Video Platforms Product Leadership Award Global Enterprise Video Platforms Product Leadership Award Top Cloud Webcasting Presentation Solution MediaPlatform, Inc. is the leading enterprise YouTube enabling live streaming and on-demand video to power collaboration and knowledge sharing at companies that include Adobe, Baker & McKenzie, Franklin Templeton and Progressive. MediaPlatform gives corporate communications and IT professionals the tools to create rich interactive video presentations and deliver them as part of their employee collaboration initiatives MediaPlatform Improving Employee Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing with Video 7