Category: Employee Engagement

Sales Enablement using Video

Sales enablement is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after capabilities for businesses looking to increase their revenue and sales productivity. Sales enablement is a comprehensive approach to helping sales teams succeed. It involves providing sales reps with the tools, resources, and training they need to effectively engage prospects and customers, close deals, and increase sales.

Sales enablement is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Different companies have different needs and objectives when it comes to sales. Companies must develop an effective sales enablement strategy that aligns with their overall business objectives and sales goals.

Sales enablement begins with a well-defined strategy that outlines the company’s sales goals and objectives. This strategy should be supported by an effective sales process that outlines the activities, resources, and tools needed to achieve those goals.

Once the strategy and process are in place, sales enablement teams can begin to develop the resources and tools needed to support the sales process. This includes content such as sales presentations, case studies, white papers, and more. It also includes training materials and tools to help sales reps stay up to date on the latest industry trends and best practices.

Sales enablement also includes a variety of technologies and solutions that can help sales teams maximize their productivity and effectiveness. Solutions such as customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, sales automation tools, and analytics solutions can all help sales teams streamline their processes, increase their efficiency, and drive more sales.

Finally, sales enablement should also include a focus on sales coaching and development. Sales reps need to be trained not only on the tools and resources available to them, but also on how to effectively use those tools and resources to engage prospects and close deals. Sales reps should also be coached on how to best manage their time and prioritize their activities.

What are some of the benefits of sales training for sales enablement managers?

1. Improved sales performance: Sales training helps sales enablement managers to understand how to effectively drive sales performance. By understanding the latest sales techniques, best practices and strategies, sales enablement managers can help their sales teams to close more deals and increase sales.

2. Improved customer satisfaction: Sales training helps sales enablement managers to understand how to build relationships with customers and develop trust. By understanding customer needs and providing solutions that meet their needs, sales enablement managers can help their sales teams to provide better customer service and build long-term customer relationships.

3. Increased sales team morale: Sales training provides sales enablement managers with the skills to motivate, inspire and support their sales teams. By providing ongoing training, sales enablement managers can help their sales teams to stay motivated and engaged in their work and increase their morale.

4. Increased sales team productivity: Sales training helps sales enablement managers to understand how to maximize the productivity of their sales teams. By understanding the latest technologies and processes, sales enablement managers can help their sales teams to quickly and accurately process orders and close deals more efficiently.

If you’d like to learn more about how CircleHD can help support your training and team enablement efforts, we’d love to speak with you. Get in touch here.


6 Tips to Transform Performance & Boost ROI with Video

Video has become an essential part of digital marketing and is becoming increasingly popular with businesses of all sizes. It’s a powerful tool for improving performance and boosting ROI, but it can be difficult to get the most out of your video campaigns. Here are six tips to help you transform your performance and boost ROI with video marketing.

1. Focus on Quality. Quality is one of the most important factors when it comes to video production. Investing in quality equipment and production will ensure that your videos look professional and are engaging for viewers. Investing in quality video production will also help you to stand out from the competition.

2. Make Use of Analytics. Analytics are essential for measuring the success of your video campaigns. You can use analytics to track the performance of your videos and make sure that you are getting the most out of your campaigns.

3. Optimize for Search Engines. SEO is an important part of video marketing. Make sure that you are optimizing your videos for search engines, so that they can be easily found by potential customers.

4. Utilize Social Media. Social media is a great way to spread the word about your videos and increase engagement. Use social media to promote your videos, and encourage viewers to share them with their friends and followers.

5. Incorporate Video into Your Website. Video should be an integral part of your website. Embed videos into your website to engage visitors and increase conversions.

6. Invest in Professional Services. Investing in professional video production services will ensure that you are getting the most out of your video campaigns. Professional video production services can help you create high-quality videos that will engage viewers and improve your ROI.

These are just a few tips for transforming your performance and boosting ROI with video marketing. By following these tips, you can ensure that your video campaigns are successful and that you are getting the most out of your investment.

If you’d like to learn more about how CircleHD can help support your training and team enablement efforts, we’d love to speak with you. Get in touch here.


Microsoft Stream Alternatives in 2023

Are you confused about Microsoft Stream? oh Microsoft Stream on SharePoint? So did we. As a competitor we keep an eye on competitor’s strategy often to get inspired from each other. So this is our journey.

Microsoft Stream is one of the most popular enterprise video platform as services on the market. It’s being force pushed to IT administrators, but it’s far from perfect. Here are a few reasons why you should reconsider your decision to use Microsoft Stream.

Let’s start with product strategy. In early 2017 Microsoft had a rebranded product called Office 365 video, it was a half baked solution. In 2021 Microsoft announced Stream would be replatformed onto SharePoint, why they were still transitioning from classic to something else. Here is a chronological timeline of the product. No, they are not just name changes (which we commonly see in the industry) they are completely different offerings.

Microsoft Stream was that it was included in Microsoft 365 and offered features such as the ability to upload and share videos, live streaming capabilities, and integration with other Microsoft tools like Office 365 and SharePoint.

  1. 2015 – Microsoft Office 365 video
  2. 2017 – Microsoft Stream
  3. 2019 – Microsoft Steam Classic and Microsoft Stream 365
  4. 2021 – Microsoft Stream (on SharePoint) 
  5. 2023 – (just kidding) Stream Enterprise on SharePoint that runs on Azure 

It’s clear, the product lacked direction, commitment and investment. Therefore suffered a loss of functionalities over time that businesses see as a lost opportunity for them by investing in it. Let’s focus on the use cases.

As pandemic hit, the need for remote collaboration skyrocketed. Zoom meetings 

The main use case for video in enterprises for employees is typically for internal communication and collaboration. Enterprise video platforms are often used to share information and updates from leadership, deliver training and onboarding content, and facilitate team meetings and presentations. Microsoft Stream had some exciting features such as automatic closed captioning aka ML based transcription that was powered by Azure

Video content can also be used to capture knowledge and expertise from subject matter experts, and make it accessible to a wider audience. This can be particularly useful for organizations with a decentralized workforce or those with employees who work remotely.

Additionally, video can also be used to create a sense of connection and community among employees, especially in times when remote work is more prevalent. This can include things like virtual town hall meetings or employee-generated content.

Another use case of video in enterprise is for e-learning and training of employees, video can be used to create engaging and interactive learning experiences, which can improve retention and understanding of the material. Additionally, video can also be used for performance evaluations, providing visual evidence of an employee’s work and progress.

Microsoft Stream is a well-marketed enterprise video platform that is included in Microsoft 365 and offers a range of features for managing, sharing, and tracking videos within an organization. However, like any software, it also has some limitations and potential downsides. Some of the demerits of Microsoft Stream include:

  1. Limited Customization: Some users have reported that the platform’s customization options are limited, making it difficult to fully brand and tailor the platform to their organization’s specific needs.
  2. Limited Integration: Microsoft Stream is integrated with other Microsoft products, like Office 365 and SharePoint, but it may not integrate as seamlessly with non-Microsoft tools and systems.
  3. Limited Analytics: While Microsoft Stream does offer analytics on how videos are being used and viewed, the data is not as robust as other enterprise video platforms, which may make it difficult to fully understand viewer engagement and make data-driven decisions.
  4. Limited scalability: for large enterprises with a huge number of employees, videos and content, it may be difficult for the platform to scale to meet the needs of the organization.
  5. Limited support: some users have reported that the support options for Microsoft Stream are limited, and that getting help with the platform can be difficult.

However, other enterprise video platforms such as CircleHD, Kaltura, Brightcove, and Vimeo Enterprise, also offer similar features and benefits, and may be a better fit for certain organizations depending on their specific needs and requirements. If you are evaluating different platforms, we have put together a checklist and RFP template you can use to see which one fits your needs.

CircleHD is a full featured enterprise video platform, it’s important to evaluate all options and choose a solution that best fits the specific needs and goals of your organization. Factors such as scalability, security, integration, and cost should all be taken into account when making a decision.

1. CircleHD offers a better video quality. Microsoft Stream’s streaming quality is often subpar, resulting in choppy, pixelated videos. CircleHD, on the other hand, offers smooth, high-quality streaming that users can rely on.

2. CircleHD is more user-friendly. Microsoft Stream can be difficult to navigate, with a clunky interface and inconsistent user experience. CircleHD, however, is intuitive and easy to use, making it much more enjoyable for users.

3. CircleHD offers a better learning experience.

4. CircleHD is more affordable. Microsoft Stream can be expensive, with its subscription plans ranging from $5 to $15 per user per month. CircleHD, on the other hand, is much more affordable for scaling and growing enterprises.

CircleHD is fully integrated with your single sign on solution such Azure Active Directory, Okta or OneLogin. 

An enterprise video platform is a software solution that allows businesses to manage, distribute, and monitor video content within the organization. These platforms typically offer a wide range of features, including the ability to upload, organize, and share videos, as well as the ability to track viewer engagement and analyze data on how videos are being used within the organization.

When it comes to choosing an enterprise video platform, there are several factors to consider. Some important considerations include the platform’s scalability and security, as well as its ability to integrate with other tools and systems within the organization. Additionally, it’s important to consider the cost and support options available for the platform.

Overall, CircleHD is a much better option than Microsoft Stream.

If you’d like to learn more about how CircleHD can help support your training and team enablement efforts, we’d love to speak with you. Get in touch here.


Democratization of learning at work

The rise of the internet and mobile technologies has led to a democratization of learning at work. With more and more employees working remotely or in different time zones, traditional learning models are no longer feasible. Video is an ideal solution for this problem, as it can be accessed anytime, anywhere.

There are a number of advantages to using video for learning at work. First, it is a very engaging format that can hold attention better than text or audio. Second, it can be easily paused and rewatched, which is perfect for employees who need to learn at their own pace. Third, video can be easily shared, so employees can learn from each other as well as from experts.

How can employees use videos to learn at work from peer to peer?

There are a few things to keep in mind when using video for learning at work. First, make sure the videos are high quality and professional. Second, ensure that the videos are properly captioned so that employees can follow along. Third, consider using video quizzes or surveys to gauge employee understanding.

When used correctly, video can be a powerful tool for on the job learning. By following these tips, you can create videos that employees will watch and that will help them learn new skills and improve their performance.

This video is an excellent resource for sales training. It covers the basics of selling, including customer service, product knowledge, and sales techniques. It also provides helpful tips on how to close a sale and handle objections.

Video for employee onboarding

This employee onboarding video will help your new hires learn about your company culture, values, and expectations. It will also introduce them to their fellow employees and give them a chance to get to know the company better.

When it comes to employee onboarding, there are a lot of different methods that companies use in order to help new hires acclimate to their new roles. Some companies opt for more traditional methods, such as in-person meetings and orientations, while others are starting to use more modern approaches, such as online learning platforms and video conferencing.

There are a lot of advantages to using video for employee onboarding. For one, it’s a great way to connect with remote employees who may not be able to come into the office for an in-person meeting. Additionally, video is a great way to deliver a lot of information in a short amount of time. And, lastly, it’s a great way to create a more engaging and interactive experience for new hires.

If you’re thinking about using video for employee onboarding, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you’ll want to make sure that the video is high-quality and professional. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that the video is clear and concise, and that it covers all of the important information that new hires need to know. Finally, you’ll want to consider using video as just one part of a larger employee onboarding strategy, and not the only method.

Peer to peer learning

There are a few ways employees can use videos to learn at work from peer to peer. One way is to create a video library of how-to videos that employees can access when they need help with a task. Another way is to use video conferencing to connect employees in different locations so they can collaborate on projects or share knowledge. Finally, employees can use video chat to connect with remote co-workers or customers.

If you’re looking for a modern and effective way to onboard new employees, video is a great option to consider.

Remote work

There are many ways to collaborate remotely, and one way to do so is by using video. This can be done through video conferencing, video chat, or even just by sharing a video of what you’re working on. This can be a great way to stay connected with team members and to get work done more efficiently.

Hackathon / Engagement / collaboration/ ideation

There are a few things to keep in mind when creating a video demo for an employee hackathon. First, make sure to keep the video under two minutes. This will help to keep your audience engaged and ensure that your message is clear. Second, focus on demonstrating how your idea can be used to solve a real-world problem. This will help to show how your idea can be impactful and useful for employees. Finally, be sure to end your video with a call to action, such as encouraging employees to participate in the hackathon.

Video can be a powerful tool for on the job learning. When used effectively, it can help employees learn new skills, retain information and improve performance. Here are some tips for using video for on the job learning:

1. Make it engaging: Use engaging visuals and audio to keep employees engaged.

2. Keep it short: Videos should be short and to the point. Employees are more likely to watch and retain information from a short video than a long one.

3. Use multiple examples: Use multiple examples to illustrate a concept. This will help employees better understand and remember the information.

4. Use real-life scenarios: Use real-life scenarios to show employees how the skills they are learning can be applied in the workplace.

5. Provide follow-up: Provide employees with follow-up activities or resources to reinforce what they have learned.

Overall, video is a great way to democratize learning at work. It is engaging, flexible, and easy to share. When used properly, it can help employees learn at their own pace and improve their understanding of complex concepts.

CircleHD offers cloud-based Enterprise learning and engagement solutions that enables businesses to create and share engaging all types of content. Wizy, is one of the products under CircleHD, that has helped businesses to connect with their audiences through video, media, documents along with an engaging and interactive learning experience.

With Wizy, you can

  • Create, edit, and share videos, medias
  • Manage, distribute, and measure the impact of your video, media content
  • Easily find and reuse medias
  • Integrate videos, medias into your existing L&D programs

If you’d like to learn more about how Wizy can help support your training and team enablement efforts, we’d love to speak with you. Get in touch here.


OSHA guidelines for protecting returning employees from COVID-19

Many employers have asked employees to return to work. As the COVID-19 pandemic still continues to evolve, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a new mandate for employers. The COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requires employers to take steps to protect and minimize the impact to workers from exposure to the virus. This is a general summary of guidelines that should not be considered as medical advice.

The ETS includes provisions for engineering and administrative controls, personal protective equipment, and medical surveillance. Employers must also develop and implement a written COVID-19 exposure control plan.

The ETS is effective immediately and will remain in effect until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. OSHA will continue to monitor the situation and update the ETS as necessary.

The guidelines for employers to develop and implement an effective COVID-19 exposure control plan are as follows:

1. Assess the workplace and identify potential sources of exposure to COVID-19.

2. Identify and implement engineering and administrative controls to minimize exposure.

3. Implement personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines.

4. Establish and maintain a respiratory protection program.

5. Implement work practice and hygiene controls.

6. Educate and train employees on the exposure control plan.

7. Monitor compliance with the exposure control plan.

8. Evaluate the effectiveness of the exposure control plan and make modifications as needed.

Here are some most frequently asked questions

1.Is COVID-19 vaccine mandatory by OSHA. Since when and how to enforce it?

There is no federal mandate from OSHA (as of January 2023) requiring employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19.  However, some states and localities have adopted their own mandates. Employers may require employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment.

Note: The influenza vaccine has been mandatory by OSHA since 1980. The vaccine must be administered annually.

2. What is OSHA doing to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19?

There is currently no specific OSHA standard for protecting workers from exposure to COVID-19. However, OSHA’s existing personal protective equipment (PPE) standards require employers to provide workers with PPE to protect them from workplace hazards, such as respiratory infections. In addition, OSHA has published guidance on protecting workers from exposure to COVID-19, which recommends that employers take steps to protect workers from exposure, such as implementing engineering and administrative controls, providing PPE, and establishing and maintaining a respiratory protection program.

3. What are the guidelines for employers to protect their workers from COVID-19?

There are many guidelines employers can follow to protect their workers from COVID-19. Some of these guidelines include:

-Encouraging workers to stay home if they are sick

-Encouraging workers to wash their hands often

-Encouraging workers to avoid touching their face

-Encouraging workers to cough or sneeze into their elbow

-Encouraging workers to clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces

-Providing workers with personal protective equipment (PPE)

-Encouraging workers to practice social distancing

4. What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

This is a developing topic due to the mutating nature of the virus and new variants continue to evolve. Best to redirect employees to official recommendations from CDC here

5. What should workers do if they think they have been exposed to COVID-19?

Best to redirect employees to call the medical provider for any symptoms that are severe or concerning.

6. What should employers do if they have workers who have been exposed to COVID-19?

If employers have workers who have been exposed to COVID-19, they should have them self-isolate and get tested for the virus. Follow CDC guidelines and seek attention from the medical provider.

7. What are the guidelines for employers to clean and disinfect their workplaces? What are the guidelines for workers to protect themselves from COVID-19?

The CDC has released a series of guidelines for employers to clean and disinfect their workplaces. The guidelines include:

1. Identifying and cleaning high-touch surfaces regularly.

2. Encouraging employees to clean their workstations and equipment.

3. Providing employees with the proper cleaning supplies.

4. Implementing proper ventilation in the workplace.

5. Monitoring employee health and providing prompt medical attention if needed.

8. What are the guidelines for workers to protect themselves from COVID-19?

9. What are the guidelines for employers to provide personal protective equipment to their workers?

OSHA requires employers to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to their workers if the workers are exposed to hazards that could cause injury or death. PPE includes items such as gloves, safety glasses, and earplugs

10. What are the guidelines for employers to conduct health and safety training for their workers?

OSHA has established guidelines for employers to conduct health and safety training for their workers. The guidelines include the following topics:

• Health and safety hazards in the workplace

• Safe work practices

• Personal protective equipment

• Emergency procedures

The guidelines for employers to develop and implement an effective COVID-19 exposure control plan

The first step is to create or update your exposure control plan. This should include a list of all job tasks and corresponding exposure risks. Once you have identified the tasks and risks, you need to determine how to eliminate or minimize the exposure. This may include implementing engineering controls, work practice controls, and personal protective equipment. Once you have determined the controls, you need to train your employees on how to properly use them.

Educate and train employees on how to properly use personal protective equipment

Educate and train employees on how to safely work with and around bloodborne pathogens and how to clean up.

Educate and train employees on how to safely dispose of contaminated materials

Educate and train employees on how to safely handle and dispose of needles and sharps

Educate and train employees on the importance of getting vaccinated against hepatitis B

Educate and train employees on the importance of reporting any exposure to bloodborne pathogens

Educate and train employees on the importance of following the exposure control plan.

There is no proven method to effectively train employees about COVID-19 prevention. The commonly used measures include using clear and concise communication, providing employees with opportunities to ask questions and receive feedback, and using a variety of training methods (such as online resources, in-person training, and hands-on demonstrations) to cater to different learning styles.

We wish you and your employees a very happy new year and look forward to having a successful return to work. If are looking for a platform to train employees, please checkout CircleHD.com

If you’d like to learn more about how CircleHD can help support your training and team enablement efforts, we’d love to speak with you. Get in touch here.


Post Pandemic Learning Engagement Roadmap for 2023 and beyond.

When the pandemic first hit, many organizations were scrambling to figure out how to keep their employees learning and developing despite the disruptions. Many turned to online videos as a way to keep employees engaged in learning.

Now that we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s time to take a look at how we can learn and develop in the post-pandemic world. Here are a few ideas:

1. Use videos to deliver just-in-time training.

In the past, employees might have been sent to off-site training courses that were expensive and time-consuming. With videos, you can provide employees with training on demand, whenever they need it. This is especially helpful for employees who are working remotely.

2. Create microlearning videos.

With attention spans shorter than ever, it’s important to keep learning videos short and to the point. Microlearning videos are a great way to do this. They can be used to deliver bite-sized pieces of information that employees can easily digest.

3. Make use of video analytics.

With video analytics, you can track who is watching your videos and how long they are watching for. This information can be used to improve the content of your videos and ensure that employees are getting the most out of them.

4. Use videos to promote social learning.

Videos can be used to facilitate social learning, which is when employees learn from each other. This can be done by creating videos that show employees working together to solve problems or by sharing video testimonials from employees about their experiences with a certain product or service.

5. Use videos to create a learning community.

A learning community is a group of employees who share a common interest in learning. You can use videos to create a learning community by sharing videos that employees can discuss and provide feedback on. This is a great way to create an environment where employees can learn from and support each other.

CircleHD is the perfect enterprise video learning platform for businesses who want to provide their employees with the best possible learning and development opportunities. Our platform is easy to use and provides access to a wide range of video content that can be used for training, development, and education purposes. We also offer a variety of features that make our platform the perfect solution for businesses of all sizes.

If you’d like to learn more about how CircleHD can help support your sales training and team enablement efforts, we’d love to speak with you. Get in touch here.


Welcome to CircleHD’s New UI Design

At CircleHD, we continue to invest in the innovation of workplace video and podcasting. We are always thriving to enable the media industry with the best use cases and workflows to power everything in an enterprise. Since the day we launched in 2016, we have gone a long way in understanding how enterprises can use media to their fullest in areas of learning and engagement, and empower their employees by having all information available to them quickly and easily.

Our UX design has gone through series of usability analysis to understand user’s unique preferences and patterns. And Our steady vision of simplifying user experience for smart learning and engagement has helped many customers succeed in all scenarios, may it be pandemic, work from home, remote or distributed global teams.  

This journey of continuous improvement wouldn’t have been possible without support from our large successful customer base. We thank all our Customers for putting their trust in our platform and allow us to contribute in meeting their goals of smart learning and engagement.

What’s new?

  1. New Responsive UI Design
    CircleHD believes that if an application design is simple, you don’t need to train anyone on how to use it. Simplicity is hard to achieve, and we have put a lot of efforts automating many scenarios in our platform, so each user can focus on their main requirement of creating, sharing, consuming and analyzing. The new UI breaks down the inactive and active components in a way that user can get to his content quickly with some personalized experience. User can also personalize between dark mode and light mode view, as per his preference.

  2. Powerful Performance for any bandwidth and device
    CircleHDs application has been highly performant from day one, we still feel we can do more. This constant push has allowed us to keep improving the application performance on all types of devices and bandwidths and given users the best possible experience in terms of speed, availability and reduced latency.

  3. Enterprise Podcasting Taken to the next level
    CircleHD is proud to be the first company that has successfully launched a podcasting solution that works with video and audio both at the same time. This is a big innovation step for CircleHD by using the full potential of active and passive employee engagement and leading the space of smart effective learning and engagement. Executives and Enterprises can share their messages and announcements with employees and also get statistics on its engagement.

  4. “Wizy” – AI based Smart Learning Platform
    In this release, CircleHD announces it latest Smart Learning Platform “Wizy” which will serve as the easiest platform to use for internal employee learning and external Partner or Customer Training. Not only is the platform simple to use for end users, but it’s equally simple and quick to create a new course or record a training video and make it available to all required teams or employees in no time, on any device. Wizy has been developed after years of pilots done with large enterprises and usability studies across various demographics and regions. This is the answer to all enterprises having distributed teams and want to increase their effectiveness in employee development and training, thus increasing their overall reach and ROI.

How to Engage Your Employees and Salesforce During a Pandemic

There’s no doubt that the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has turned the world upside down. From quarantined cities to a run on basic hygiene items, school closures, and beyond, it seems there isn’t one person who hasn’t been touched by the outbreak in some way. 

Global tech giants like Twitter, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have advised their employees to work remotely, a tactic that’s being replicated by companies large and small across the globe. And while telecommuting has steadily been on the rise for the last few years, the pandemic may serve as a trigger for the greatest remote-working experiment ever conducted. 

For some workers, telecommuting can be a logistical nightmare. But it doesn’t have to be. By having the proper tech infrastructure in place, working from home can benefit both employees and employers. 

Setting Up a Tech Infrastructure That Works


The best time to set up a contingency plan is before you need it. Of course, now that the pandemic has drastically escalated over the last week, that time has passed and businesses need to act now. 

The first step to setting up any successful remote collaboration is to ensure your tech stack is up to snuff. You’ll need to figure out which everyday processes can be digitally replicated using the proper tools. For example, Zoom and WebEx, who have made their platform free during this time, are great ways to facilitate face-to-face interactions and meetings without having to be in the same room as your team. Some other programs you may want to consider for use at your company include:

  • Google Docs + Google Drive, which offers real-time collaboration, doc sharing, and storage
  • Slack is a great productivity app that is for just more than chatting. Not only does it cut down on emails, but its endless array of integrations (including with CircleHD) will help your employees keep up with projects and feedback from anywhere. Hot tip: As a distributed team ourselves, we’re also big fans of the Giphy integration, which helps the team express humor and emotions. 
  • Github is the ultimate tool for developers to host their code online. Even if you’re not a developer, it’s a great choice for a company wiki. 
  • Project management apps like Asana and Basecamp work well for remote teams because of all the options available to manage projects and track tasks

Secure Your Communications


Even if you’re using some of the above programs to fuel your organization’s productivity, you’ll also want to make sure you have a central, secure portal where sensitive information can be hosted away from prying eyes and malicious actors. Companies often try to achieve this through a corporate VPN (virtual private network), but they can be notoriously difficult to set up and can add a lot of stress on your team’s network connections. While VPN technology has come a long way, administering various network privileges is a cumbersome chore at best and will likely not provide you with nearly enough protection in the rapidly-changing cyber threat landscape.

Access permissions for content can create additional security concerns for enterprises. After all, you want to be sure that sensitive information isn’t leaked and is only being shared with your intended recipients. You should always train employees on how to detect and handle phishing attacks and confirm any information being stored or shared is encrypted in transit and at rest. 

Since we live in a time when companies need to be extra-vigilant about mitigating cyber threats, superior security protocols are at the heart of what we’ve built at CircleHD. We host your content in the Amazon cloud, which is a SOC-1 security facility so you can rest easy knowing that content is stored responsibly and served only with whom you permit using AES 256-bit encryption.


Engage Your Workforce From Anywhere


Chances are if your team is suddenly distributed, you’re looking for ways to continue to propel employee engagement and foster connections.  Here are a few ways you can use a portal like CircleHD for internal use at your organization:

Provide a central repository for company communications, announcements, and onboarding modules

Whether you make telecommuting a cornerstone of your organization’s work policy, or you’re responding to the coronavirus pandemic by incorporating it for the moment, it’s important to make sure everyone is on the same page and that there is a “single source of truth” for all company information. This can be easily accomplished with a portal where company assets are created, stored, and organized so teams can access them on demand. 

You might be thinking that many organizations have a company intranet that usually serves this purpose, and you’d be correct. However, these legacy systems are increasingly becoming outdated due to irrelevant and outdated content, poor organization, ineffective search capabilities, complicated UX, and a lack of native video support and mission-critical mobile optimizations. So it’s easy to see why an intranet may not be the best business communication tool.

Not only is CircleHD easy to use on desktop, but it’s also incredibly mobile-friendly, with native apps you can share with your team that allows them to access company content from anywhere at any time, even if there’s no wifi connection.

Record, store and share department and all-hands meetings

When teams work remotely, it’s imperative that they communicate more. Whether you’re utilizing on-demand messaging programs like Slack, a web conferencing tool like Zoom, or a platform that allows you to natively record video, adding all of this content into a central location can make it easy to access and refer to at a later date. It also is a great way to give everyone in your organization to attend the meetings at a time that is convenient for them, regardless of timezone or locale. 

Amplify executive to employee communications

In a time of crisis, it’s important that information flow from the top to the workforce as smoothly as possible. Obviously, this can be accomplished through an email or a message that is stored in your hub but seeing a member of the exec team on video can be incredibly powerful. Not only does it lend a human face to the crisis, but it also helps build employee trust and the credibility of the organization. 

The numbers don’t lie: According to a recent study, 76 percent of companies who used video found improved communications among remote employees, while 58 percent of companies found “increased alignment with company and organizational goals.”

Of course, this method is still incredibly effective when you’re not dealing with a pandemic. Video is one of the most effective tools for leaders. The best executive videos aren’t just a way to share what’s going on in the company, they’re a way to call people to action. 

Build an inclusive culture when all employees contribute

According to a recent Gallup poll, only 30 percent of full-time employees in the United States feel engaged or inspired at work. The study continues, “These employees are emotionally disconnected from their companies and may actually be working against their employers’ interests; they are less productive, are more likely to steal from their companies, negatively influence their coworkers, miss workdays, and drive customers away.”

Building a company culture that gets your workers excited should already be top of mind for any organization but the hurdles can seem insurmountable when your team is distributed. How do you encourage engagement when physical presence isn’t possible? After all, video conferencing and chatting to each other can only get you so far.

One solution is to build a video library where all your team members can upload and contribute their own content, such as:

  • Tips the department can use
  • A use case they are working on and how they solved the problem
  • Fun content that shows their office or workspace
  • How they are spending their day

Employees are often a company’s most effective storytellers and an under-utilized content resource. Not only can you build team connections through effective video exercises, but it can also become good fodder for your marketing department to use externally.

Encourage on-the-job training and continuous learning

Coronavirus has upended day-to-day operations for many companies. Even if your team is telecommuting, it’s likely not everything is going to be “business as usual”. For example, if your team relies heavily on calling potential customers, you’re not going to get as much traction if everyone in your target market is also out of the office and not answering their regular phone calls. 

That doesn’t mean all productivity needs to go out the window. Times like this are a great opportunity to reskill your workforce or offer additional learning opportunities. CircleHD helps you quickly put together a complete training module with your existing media.

Don’t have as much information as you’d like and need more content? Our platform has native video and podcast recording capabilities which can help you greatly reduce the time it would take to create courses using a traditional learning management system (LMS).

You can also assess how well knowledge is being retained and understood by creating quizzes and certifications for your workforce. 

Hot tip: Not all training needs to have extreme detail or be comprehensive. Nor is the human brain wired to pay attention for hours on end. Consider creating some bite-sized, or “micro-learning”, content that learners can take at their own pace. 

How to Engage Your Salesforce During a Pandemic


People are currently adapting and taking extra precautions to keep COVID-19 at bay. So too should your reps be flexible and agile at this time. There are several strategies you can employ to cope with the business impact of COVID-19 and keep the sales team functioning properly.

Bring marketing and sales together for better collaboration

If the virus has left you with a little bit of extra time on your hands, it’s a great time to take a step back and think about how your team is collaborating with marketing, and vice versa. Oftentimes, the two teams work in silos which can have some pretty awful effects on your bottom line. Case in point: Hubspot found when sales and marketing teams work together, companies see 36 percent higher customer retention and 38 percent higher sales win rates.

Sounds pretty great, right?  But how can you put that into something that is actionable? We recommend using CircleHD to create a central portal for sales and marketing to share things like:

  • Product demo videos
  • Content that can be shared with clients and prospects
  • Product sheets and updates
  • Notes from prospect and client conversations that can help marketing tailor their messaging in a way that helps sales win more business

    Look for new ways to engage your reps

    While many reps are used to telecommuting in some fashion, you want to make sure you’re taking every step necessary to keep them motivated during this quarantine period. Some content you should consider for your team might include:
  • Share winning stories: It’s not enough to know why a customer’s business was won, it’s also important to discuss how
  • Motivational talks: We’ve heard about leaders in the CircleHD community who do a quick pep-talk every morning to get their team excited about selling and, maybe we’re biased, but we think it’s a brilliant idea
  • Quote of the day: Similar to motivational talks, you can make a short video discussing why this thought is important and how it should inspire your salesforce to do great things
  • Recognition videos to call out reps who are crushing it
  • News and trends happening in your industry that may affect the way sales reps approach certain customers or products
  • A team podcast that reps can access from anywhere 

The good news is that quarantines don’t last forever and these motivational pieces can be used long after the chaos has passed.

Encourage the development of skills and tactics

There’s never been a better time to brush up on your sales skills than now. After all, what may have been effective yesterday doesn’t always work today. And since sales is moving faster than ever before, it’s more important than ever your team keeps their techniques fresh. 

By using a secure training system like CircleHD you can:

  • Put together modules and tracks that can support ongoing sales coaching and onboarding efforts 
  • Create on-demand training employees can browse and access, just like Netflix
  • Enable learning on-the-go (or, in the case of coronavirus, while doing other things around the house)
  • Set up role-playing scenarios that help your reps hone their negotiation skills
  • Create quizzes to facilitate knowledge retention
  • Play into your reps natural competitive instincts and set up a team leaderboard to encourage engagement

    Provide resources for virtual client meetings

    If there was ever a time to get creative with your sales prospecting and presentations, now is it. Coronavirus is forcing lots of businesses to cut down on travel and in-person meetings, which means web presentations and digital assets are more important than ever. This may require you to change the way your sales process works. There are many ways you can supplement an in-person meeting if your potential new client is working from home, including:
  • Giving them a virtual tour over FaceTime or a web conferencing application
  • Creating a pitch video you can share with prospects and leads
  • Putting together a video of your product or solution so your prospect can see it in action
  • Share some supplemental material the marketing department has put together to make a business case for your product and company knowledge

Just because you’re not able to meet in person, doesn’t mean you have to stop doing business. Deals may get stalled in your pipeline so it’s up to you to keep them warm. Keep checking on your leads and continue to offer them things of value. They may not be willing to make an investment until the storm passes but recognize that this is temporary. 

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No matter where your teams are working from, it’s crucial that leaders don’t succumb to the panic.  Remain calm, be intentional about communications, put the proper tools and processes in place, and you’ll create a winning engagement strategy that survives long after this pandemic has passed. 

The Power of Employee Video and Self-Broadcasting for Enterprises

At CircleHD, we believe opportunities made available by employee video can transform knowledge into company wealth. While many are moving the needle with self-broadcast in video, it often does not go past the top 10% of performers. In order to break through that barrier, a newer, faster experience is needed to replace legacy roadblocks to adoption.

There are some best practices organizations are implementing to operationalize video into learning, while encouraging peer-to-peer and knowledge sharing to encourage team skills growth. Here’s just a few:

  • Cambridge Engineering & CircleHD: I believe the epicenter for employee generated video is in Chesterfield, Missouri. Marc Braun is a primary lead in a consortium of 500 companies, hacking culture with video.

    As President of Cambridge Engineering, Marc doubled revenue and tripled operating profit in an industry with a CAGR of just 6.62%. Marc’s employees are told, “if you see a problem or waste, you have the job autonomy to fix it.” Just shoot a 1-min before / after video, and it’s played next morning at the all-hands meeting.

    “I have learned video takes courage to make. There is mastery in self-broadcast. And when video is given a purpose, the gift is people that outgrow the company.”

    This video interview was released to LinkedIn, where it got 7,600 views, and 69 likes.
  • Dell: Video lets employees bypass the organizational chart and connect with colleagues in other silos in the pursuit of better customer experiences. Dell uses Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite to connect its salespeople with subject-matter experts.

    “There are a lot of salespeople at Dell, but there are only a few ph.D.s in big data or machine learning,” said Lawrence Grafton, Solutions Product Manager at Dell. “Those ph.D.s can post an explainer video so that sales can better understand the topic. 
  • Moffitt Cancer Center uses an enterprise video platform to deliver content externally. The Moffitt Cancer Center uses its enterprise platform from vBrick to deliver video externally to patients.

    “We use it internally but also use a guest portal for external use,” said John Maass. He added that a doctor could curate or record videos to help patients understand their specific prognosis, “rather than go out to WebMD and get scared.” 
  • Video for Sales Training: ‘In fact, peer-to-peer instruction is one of the main pillars of modern learning programs and the majority of reps prefer peer knowledge sharing over corporate or manager-generated content. 

    Our survey of sales reps and their managers found the majority (65 percent) of sales representatives agree that sales pitch advice from peers is more effective than training from the corporation and that top-performing sales organizations are 76 percent more likely to utilize peer-generated video content for training than other firms. 
  • CISCO Shorty Awards: While more social in nature, the results from Cisco in 2016 for employee-generated video and content are outstanding. Get tips from this Shorty awards entry. 
  • Video in HR: “Employees want that guidance in an easy-to-access format to help them translate a complex topic in a way that will lead them to the right decision. Advanced HR teams have picked up on this, making video their medium of choice and incorporating into their open enrollment communications strategy.” 

CircleHD is the first cloud-native enterprise video platform for employees and teams of any size. For more information about how we can help your organization implement video learning, schedule a demo.

8 Ways to Increase Employee Engagement with Video Content

Whenever an organization implements a new program, its success is contingent on employee engagement. But video can sometimes take a little encouragement to make and sometimes it’s difficult to know where to begin. Here are a few video content ideas you can share with your team, utilizing everything from gamification to vendor collaboration, and beyond.

Hot tip: CircleHD has plenty of features to help you easily set up “games” for your company. Users can set a start and end date and a rewards section which are all tied to a points-system displayed on your virtual leaderboard.

SharkTank 

Is there an opportunity the company should invest in? A 2-5 minute pitch video may be the way to go. Big ideas come from anyone regardless of position and the best storytellers often win support. Let the collective smarts of your team identify and incubate winners faster.

Improvement Videos

If you can identify waste, you should have the job autonomy to fix it. Shoot a one-minute “before and after” video yourself, and encourage others to follow suit by highlighting the best content at the next company meeting.

A consortium of 500 companies in manufacturing, healthcare, and technology sectors have entirely transformed with this simple but high-impact culture hack.

CEO to CEO Video Series

RIP It

Want to record a live web meeting? Just rip it live from the source. Record your screen, assign it to a channel, transcribe and upload. Within minutes (not hours or days) your video asset is uploaded and published. Find spoken words now in search. Listen later in the company TV app on the drive home.

Vendor Corner 

Do you have a vendor with a particularly interesting proposition? Ask them for a video to share in your “Vendor Corner” where new opportunities go to be vetted company-wide.

Hackathon 

Set goals. Explain rules. Put the innovation to a video pitch. Highlight winners.

Sales Influencer Awards

The brands with the best stories pull ahead of the pack. Challenge reps to create their own unique video pitches then allow the company to vote for the best using the CircleHD 5-star rating system.

Train

Create a lineup of videos and assign a playlist lesson to other users. Viewers can mark when a lesson is complete.

Looking for something more complicated? CircleHD can integrate out-of-the-box with your existing LMS.

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Are you looking for a secure platform to host your original video content? Contact us for a demo and learn more about how CircleHD can facilitate better employee engagement and knowledge-sharing across your organization.