Video-based social learning affects more than the way a company shares knowledge. It affects, too, the way employees think about their roles in the company, about what possible ways to manage and collaborate that weren’t possible before, about better ways they can expand and share their knowledge in general.

Fundamentally, video gives your people a better tool for communicating.

Why is that? It’s more than the technical efficiencies – sure, video can be a faster way to recap a meeting or review a report than writing everything out in text, and absolutely, video can capture and show a sales or technical demonstration better than words alone.

But this goes deeper than simplifying work processes – video has the power to change workplace culture too.

Here are just some of the ways video improves the way people work together:

#1: How employees view themselves.

The traditional, hierarchical, tightly controlled organizational structure may often prevent knowledge from being easily shared. More open structures encourage, empower, and support individuals at any level of the organization to openly share their knowledge.

A centralized video content management system (video CMS, or “business YouTube”) can provide that open structure. By enabling and encouraging employees to record and share best practices, insights, strategies, and other institutional knowledge, your people can quickly begin to see that it isn’t just managers and team leaders that have a say anymore—their ideas are being listened to as well.

#2: How employees view communication.

These days, companies want employees to have more effective ways to transfer their knowledge — to make what’s in their heads available in an efficient, timely manner. Workplaces that still insist exclusively on written communications create a culture of slower communication, often unintentionally limiting employees from getting their points across faster and more completely.

Access to video and a video content management system allows employees instead to share anything from quick recap summaries to detailed explanations, illustrated with visuals like presentation slides, whiteboards, screencasts, and even actual demos. Some employees even use it to share a marked-up document that is automatically uploaded to the video CMS and ready for viewing—no scanning, uploading, emailing and downloading steps required.

#3: The way employees feel.

Ask anyone who studies motivation – from the psychology department to the HR department – and they’ll all tell you that human beings have an innate design to share, learn, and connect with others.

And yet even in a world of ultra-lean, high-efficiency workplaces where literally every last employee is a subject matter on something, too many organizations don’t prioritize helping their people to share that knowledge, learn from the knowledge of others, and connect with their broader teams.

Typically this opportunity is missed simply because it’s too difficult and time-consuming to connect our employees this way. A centralized video library tears down that wall, enabling every member of your team to share ideas right from their desks, and to learn anything your organization has to teach, on-demand anytime and anywhere.

At the highest level, then, enterprise video isn’t about saving employees’ time and lowering the company’s IT budget. It’s about more than that. It’s about making work a better place to be.

That’s the way we see it, anyway. Looking for a solution that makes all that and easier? Give Panopto a try today.

Learn How To Build A Social Learning Program With Video

In our newest white paper, How to Build a Social Learning Program with Video, you’ll learn how your organization can embrace social learning, you’ll discover 6 ideas for getting started, and you’ll gain an understanding of how an enterprise video platform can provide the technology foundation to your social learning program.

Download your copy today.