Ways HR Can Benefit from Video Conferencing

When you’re in HR management, you’re expected to be a thought leader in discovering new ways and training to make personnel productive and creative, and allow them to reach their potential. Happy and skilled employees means better productivity for your business, but there’s a learning curve as technology continues to advance and new models of management styles come into vogue. Here are a few ways that HR professionals can benefit from the latest strides in video conferencing technology.

1. Job Candidate Searches

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, in the results of a survey of over 1,000 seasoned HR professionals conducted by Harvey Nash PLC of London, although 44 percent of respondents rated social networking sites such as LinkedIn as very important, most professionals still preferred more traditional methods to actually communicate with candidates, including meetings and presentations. That means that although you can conduct exhaustive searches for qualified candidates on popular social networking sites or widely circulate a job listing, you can’t necessarily depend on the same platform for effective communication. This is where video conferencing comes in. It’s easy to interview a candidate via video conferencing, or even to check references.

Utilizing a user-friendly cloud-based video conferencing system such as the ones offered by Bluejeans

on the Blue Jeans Network makes it easy to have access to video conferencing on the go, since you can join a meeting from any device and location. Whether you’re an HR professional with a packed schedule or just someone who prefers not to waste time inviting candidates onsite until they pass an initial round of interviews, video conferencing on a flexible system makes it easy to get everything done efficiently.

2. Establishing a Well Trained Staff

Staff training is one of your most important responsibilities, but it can be difficult and costly to arrange quality staff education. Employees are busy with projects or unable to attend sessions that may be setting the company back a pretty penny, effectively making the investment from your department moot. This is where video conferencing comes in. For example, if you want to hire a time management expert to come in to do a series of staff education sessions on how to more effectively manage scheduling, there’s the cost of transportation, the speaker’s fee, and any other costs associated with these types of activities to consider.

With video conferencing, on the other hand, you can offer full sessions to your employees over a video feed, and they can complete the training at their own desks. Video conferencing facilitates a dearth of opportunities to provide professional seminars and educational sessions that will help your business in the long run. The more skilled your staff, the better workers they’ll be. Video conferencing not only makes staff education accessible, but also more affordable.

3. Eliminating Unproductive Productivity Reporting

One of the biggest killers of creativity in the workplace is the need to monitor productivity and workflow by filling out charts and preparing reports, according to Raw Story. Instead of having a manager fill out a workflow chart or prepare a productivity report on their staff, try replacing this with a face to face meeting via video conference. This cuts out the middle man of paper or e-mail, and can actually result in a meaningful outcome that allows everyone present to understand what’s been happening with any workflow problems or time management issues. Get rid of the unproductive paper pushing, and bring in meaningful face to face conversations.

4. Making Everyone Feel Valued

If your staff has a contingent of offsite workers as many businesses do nowadays, you have to remember that you’re responsible for them as well as onsite staff. Business-Opportunities.biz points out that although offsite workers are statistically likely to invest more time in projects, they can also feel alienated because they’re not in the office. Engaging these workers is more essential than ever since they’re so far removed, and making them feel even more isolated will only hurt the productivity of your business.

Using video conferencing, you can offer them face time, even if it’s over a screen. With the increased mobility of video conferencing, it’s possible to conduct an in person meeting from almost any device, whether it’s a laptop, a tablet, or even a smartphone. Engage your offsite staff and ask them for their opinions, offer them professional training, and check in with them in person via video conference. Putting a face to a name is extremely important.

Human resources is all about fostering human development, talent, and growth in a professional setting, and there’s no better way to do so than establishing face to face connections. Communication is key, especially when you’re dealing with HR issues, and the ability to interact with people visually makes a huge difference in efficiency, whether it’s an interview with potential staff member, a training session, or conversing with an offsite worker.