In our previous article, we discussed ways you can use video to effectively and efficiently communicate in business.

In this article, we will outline ways business leaders can use video to apply those same effective and efficient measures to business policies and procedures.

Why is this important?

You would think that a large corporation would have clearly outlined policies and procedures and an effective way to communicate them to all employees in a timely fashion, right?

The dirty little secret is, that is not necessarily the case. In just one example, it was discovered that the policy and procedure manual was spread across several HR individuals – some on a network drive, and some on individual computers. There were duplicate copies with conflicting edits, and with no file naming standards, finding them all was impossible. To make matters worse, when the HR director was dismissed from the company, there were parts that could not be located because only he knew where they were.

One sad consequence of this lack of coordinated and updated documentation: multiple class action lawsuits for regulatory infringement.

Companies, large and small, struggle in this area of creating and maintaining policies and procedures, especially in today’s business environment, where change happens at an unprecedented pace.

The old school printed policy handbook has some merit but becomes outdated about five minutes after it is printed. There needs to be a more dynamic tool available to stay on top of those changes. Failure to communicate policies and procedures in a real-time manner could cost your company thousands, if not millions, of dollars in regulatory fines.

There is also the documentation of procedures, which are ever-evolving and being refined, as they should be. The three-ring binder method requires constant manual updates.

The good news is there are better, easier, and more cost-effective ways to maintain a relevant policy and procedure manual.

Think about this for a moment. If your HR department had one dashboard from which to manage all relevant documents, how much easier would it be to update a policy or procedure and communicate it to your employees?

Here are some ways this can be accomplished in a very dynamic fashion:

• Create an electronic policy and procedure hub for your company.

• Ensure that it is automatically backed up on a regular basis.

• Set up permissions so that employees have access to the relevant tools they need.
  
  
• Require that each employee document their local procedures.
  If someone must be out on medical leave, for example, this will ensure that the work still gets done. This takes the burden not only off of management, but also off the employee, who can then focus on getting well.

• Procedures take time to write, and this is often the reason they do not get done.
  One way to quickly update and actually provide more illustration is to use video. A 5-minute screen share video could foreseeably replace pages and pages of a manual, while also providing very clear instructions.

• Video can also be used very effectively for new employee onboarding.
  It can provide relevant information in a manner that is easily reviewed, and saves the HR manager considerable meeting time. Though you certainly want to have an in-person connection with a new employee, there are parts that could be – and in fact, should be – done via electronic means. Let’s face it, an employee is not going to remember everything you cover in orientation, and good electronic documentation combined with video presentations will ensure they are clear on what is expected.

These are just some ways in which video can be used in business, and it ties directly to the company’s bottom line.

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If you’d like to learn more about how you can use video in your business leadership to strengthen your bottom line, email me at deb@strengthleader.com. Put the words VIDEO IN BUSINESS in the subject line, and I will respond to your particular questions promptly, including the tools and tips I have used to grow my business.