Business opportunities Training for gain: the growth in end-user demand


With the forecast expansion of the AV market, the end-user training is an important element in fuel- ling demand and an outstanding business opportunity. AV News looks at the nature of this emerging market, and some of the training options available to those wanting a share of the demand.


If the InfoComm forecasts of growth (72% by 2016) in the AV market are correct, the in- dustry can expect a consider- able influx of novice users, with a widening skills gap in fast growing


technologies, includ- ing collaborative solutions and digital signage. Training will be a growing and increasingly prof- itable business activity in its own right, as well as providing the key to successful system deployment and generating future solution sales through improved user adoption. So why isn’t training higher on the sales agenda?


Like sustainability and world peace, training us generally re- garded as a ‘good thing’ but the role of training in driving user adoption isn’t widely under- stood or considered. There is no easier prospect for a subse- quent sale that a customer with a satisfied and enthusiastic body of end-user colleagues. By championing training as part of your product portfolio, you can call on a huge body of statistics and case studies to help you make your case. Or to put is the other way round, you can tell your cus-


Corporate AV


Digital signage for internal communications


Cost constraints combined with the effectiveness of employee engagement are driving the move of internal communications from traditional to digital media. AV News examines the trend and the busi- ness opportunities that it creates.


It’s not so long ago that the much derided ‘memo’ was the linchpin of day-to-day internal communications, sometimes supplemented by a regular company publication with pro- duction values approaching those of commercial publish- ers. Seldom read, and more of- ten binned than filed for future


reference, the abandonment of print was prompted by a mix of cost and doubts about effec- tiveness.


While the periodical all-em- ployee publication


isn’t mak-


ing a comeback, niche uses of print, that are based on achiev- ing measurable objectives, are making a comeback in many


companies. Hospitals, for ex- ample, are returning to print to get messages to nurses and oth- er staff who don’t have contin- uous access to the intranet. It’s costly and it also works – but delivery of a message in this format is far from instantaneous or dynamic.


Eclipse Digital’s ONLAN installation at Siemens UK: the solution had to be flexible enough to allow each department to sub its own internal communications network.


Engagement


Today’s mantra for internal communications is employee engagement. Levels of engage- ment have decreased to alarm- ingly low levels. Gallup estimat- ed that only 13% of employees worldwide are engaged while at work. Employees generally don’t care about the issues that keep senior management awake at night, unless these issues are expressed in such a way that they impact on particular em- ployee groups. Engagement also depends on the media used for communi- cating the message. According to one study, 72% of internal communications teams are planning to increase the use of video as a means of communi- cating with employees. More and more companies are adopt- ing a YouTube-like approach to video, introducing video librar- ies that let employees search for videos, comment on them, tag them, embed them and up- load their own as a means of sharing information and knowl- edge.


P12 AV News August 2014


Likewise, engagement levels and interaction with images scores significantly higher than text in internal communica- tions. Visual communication also lends itself to the latest internal communications tech- nique – ‘garnification’. This is the technique of making activ- ities and content often seen as boring, fun. Examples include content elements borrowed from gaming or a rewards-based programme, where employees benefit from watching internal communications content. Ex- amples include quizzes on the content, with the leading par- ticipants ranked on the display.


Delivery


So, internal communications has to be engaging, dynamic, visually


rich, interactive and


fun. Two delivery channels commend themselves. In the workplace, digital signage has emerged as the leading delivery channel, with mobile as option where a significant number of employees work off-site, or want to consume internal com- munications content when out of the office. In an ideal world, the content would be available, in a similar format though both channels.


As an example of how digital signage can be deployed with the flexibility to satisfy a num- ber of different stakeholder groups within an organisation, we can look at a recent installa-


tion by Siemens UK. The com- pany has implemented digital signage throughout a number of UK offices to improve the deliv- ery of their internal communi- cations. Eclipse


Digital Media was


asked by Siemens’ marketing and corporate communication teams to efficiently and effec- tively deliver messages to the right areas of their business at the right time. Eclipse Digital carried out a period of consul- tancy with Siemens to establish the goals and chose to install a network of ONELAN digital sig- nage hardware to provide them with the tools needed to com- municate efficiently.


As the project evolved, Sie- mens Industry, Siemens Global Shared Services and Siemens UK Corporate Head Office de- partments all required their own internal communication solu- tion. The network provides the flexibility needed to allow dif- ferent employees to access and update content locally for their department. It also provides the Siemens corporate marketing and communication teams the ability to distribute content to all departments across multiple sites as well as being able to specifically target messages to certain departments.


The Digital Signage network has so far been installed in sev- eral UK office locations includ- ing Manchester, Leeds, Hand- forth, Congleton, Worcester and Poole with the Frimley Head Of-


tion will erode its capabilities. IDC estimates that a company will lose 10 to 30% of its capa- bilities per year. By Year Three, an organization has retained only 41% of its original capa- bilities, dwindling to 24% by Year Six, due mostly to employ- ee movement, process chang- es, technology changes and the dearth of knowledge new hires bring to the organisation.” Untrained or


poorly Pip Thomas, MD of N-vest:


“We’re pleased to see the chan- nel recognise that industry train- ing is about more than technical training for installers, engineers and technicians.” Training is not just an extra rev- enue source, but is the key to a successful system deployment. Training is now available in a va- riety of formats, with a package tailored to the precise needs of the customer. This iBook, for ex- ample, enables trainees to learn at their own pace and in their preferred location.


tomer that the cost of doing nothing to maintain and im- prove the skills of an organisa-


trained


users will cost significant- ly more to support than their well-trained colleagues. Those members of your customers’ staff who spend a significant portion of their time away from the office, and who often have networking questions from multiple remote locations, are generally more expensive to support, regardless of the types of devices they're using.


Evidence


If your customer wants further evidence of the positive advan- tages of training, you might try the


following (apologies that


the figures are from the US): • The cost of replacing skilled


employees ranges from US $75,000 to $450,000. • The average recruitment cost to recruit a professional candidate is $18,374.4 • Companies in the top quar- ter


in training


($1,500 or more per year) av- erage 24% higher profit mar- gins.


• Motorola estimates that ev- ery dollar spent on training yielded US $30 in productivi- ty gains within three years. •


Corporations with 1,000


employees can save at least $240,000 per year as a result of an average productivity gain of just three minutes per day.


With evidence like this, your customers would have to be either singularly lacking in vision not to see the oppor- tunity that training offers. Fortunately, says Pip Thomas, MD of leading training pro- vider N-vest, says that both the nature of training and its preconceptions have changed: “We’re pleased to see the channel


recognises technical that training


dustry training is about more than


in- for


installers, engineers and tech- expenditure


nicians. While N-vest provides sales training and leadership coaching, our main focus is end-user training - equipping users with the knowledge, skills and confidence to use the new technology so the organisation gets real value from its invest- ment.”


Key to serving this emerging market is the development


of new training


techniques


that suit the requirements of a diverse end-user commu- nity. Thomas explains: “We provide a range of training ranging from bespoke on-site training (half-day, full-day, drop-in day and twilight), remote training via VC; self- paced online and assisted on- line training, to training video


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