As your company grows, communicating clearly with all employees can become challenging. Memos can make ranks feel separate, more defined organization structures can leave some people disconnected from leadership, and vision can get lost in a game of telephone from the founders to the entry level employee. One way to stay authentic, personal and accurate is through videos.
Videos are great for three key areas of your communication: Training, Announcements, and Sharing your Vision and Mission.
Training
On a recent project, I needed to get a dozen people from around the world and with no prior experience making videos to send me two clips to be part of a larger video. I could have written instructions but they likely would have been skimmed or skipped entirely, and I would have had to detail so much more because, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
I made a quick video to show people how to look and sound best on their own videos, and the results were great!
Best of all, it only took about an hour and required none of my expensive gear. The whole thing was shot on an iPhone. Depending on the size and scope of the project, you probably have the tools you need in your pocket with the phone you already own.
Announcements
Changes that impact everyone need clear communication. Whether it’s leadership, organizational updates, or benefits, getting the same message to everyone is imperative.
One of our clients, has several thousand employees across multiple locations. The mountain of benefits paperwork employees receive often discourages people from reading it and HR meetings at every site wasn’t getting the exact same message to everyone. With video, we’re able to get the key messages across and also use personal testimonies to encourage others to use beneficial services that save the employees and the employer money.
Here’s a brief sample of their announcements:
Getting the same message across to all employees, in an easy to digest format is a great way to keep your changes clear.
Vision & Mission Buy In
The vision and mission that drives your company is necessary to repeat often so that everyone knows the ‘why’ behind what they are doing. Monthly or weekly quick video updates from leadership are a chance to remind employees about the purpose of their work and share quick stories of how employees are nurturing those values and how your mission impacts customers.
If you want, use the tips from the first video to look and sound your best as you do a quick check in. Here are some other tips to sound authentic and get comfortable on camera.
Conclusion
Video can be a great tool and depending on the size and scope of the project, doesn’t need anything more than the phone in your pocket. If you have multiple locations or employees working remotely, this is one of the quickest ways to keep your values and direction consistent throughout your entire organization.