Are you incorporating videos into your training and development program? Well you should be. Take a look at the statistics.
According to Impact, video is an important component.
- 75 Million people in the U.S. watch online videos everyday
- Merely mentioning the word 'video' in an email subject line, the click-through rate increased by 13 percent
- Nearly 50 percent of all videos is watched on a mobile device
- By 2019, Internet video traffic accounted for 80 percent of all consumer Internet traffic
- Videos up to 2 minutes long get the most engagement
So as you can see marketers realize the power of video, and so should you in training your employees. But how do you get started and how should you use it? We’ll give you some key steps to take, but first let’s discuss why it’s valuable specifically to training.
Benefits to training videos for company learning
Offers flexibility
The trend in training is focusing more on the individual learner. Employees want a more personalized learning experience. And one way to do this is by creating tailored videos. For example, you can use the same video concept to train on a new work procedure, but you can tweak sections to speak to legal versus the marketing team.
Better engagement
Let’s face it everyone is busy and employees sometimes go through the motions of training without absorbing what is being taught. However, using video entices everyone to pay attention. Plus, it breaks up the monotony of a lecture.
Retention increases
The goal of training is to create change. However, what is learned is often soon forgotten. Video has a better retention rate than other forms of training. According to a recent study, normally a week after a training session is complete, employees have forgotten 65 percent of what was covered in the training. And after six months, employees will have forgotten 90 percent. However, the retention rate goes higher up to 65 percent by incorporating video.
Used anywhere
Whether you have sales teams who are constantly traveling or remote workers who never step foot into your office, training needs to cater to everyone. Video can be pre-recorded and uploaded to your training dashboard. That way employees have access to the training when it works best for them to take it.
More comprehensive
Videos are visual, but they also have an audio component. Whenever you combine more than one of the senses, you increase learning absorption. Plus, complex topics can be explained better through video. When an employee can see and hear a new skill to be learned, they can understand it easier than other forms of training.
Where do you use video?
Now that you know why video is important, how do you start incorporating it into your training program? You don’t want to overhaul your entire program and you don’t have to. Here are some simple steps to start adding video to your already existing content.
1. Add testimonials
Look at your existing content and see where you can add testimonials throughout your training modules. If an employee sees a co-worker or team member discussing why learning a particular skill has benefitted them, they are more likely to “buy-in” to the training themselves. Peer-to-peer learning can be enhanced through the use of video testimonials.
2. Incorporate into onboarding
Onboarding is really an employee’s first step into the doors at your company and you want it to be a good one. Consider adding a video component to your new employee welcome packet. It could be a video from the CEO discussing why it’s a great place to work or even an overview of the company with employees discussing what they like most about the company. Either way, video can enhance the onboarding process and reinforce a new employee’s decision on joining the company.
3. Define skills training
Just like you would turn on a YouTube video for a “how-to” in your personal life, it’s a great idea to add video in training when explaining a new skill in detail. For example, if you are training your sales team on a new product, it’s a lot easier to use video to demonstrate how it works versus a written manual.
4. Demonstrates role playing
It’s hard to know how to act in a given situation so video is a great way to demonstrate this. Use role-playing examples to show different scenarios during a sales transaction or to show interactions between customers and customer service representatives.
5. Helps with compliance
There are several training courses that are necessary to adhere to local and federal laws. This important training includes sexual harassment, emergency procedures and more. Sometimes this information can be so detailed that the learner is left confused. A great way to fix this is using video. If an employee can see visually what is being explained, it’s better understood. And plus there’s a better chance compliance laws will be carried out correctly and not left to interpretation.
6. Brings in-person training and meetings to everyone
Whether you have an annual conference to kick off new goals for the year or an in-person training session, not everyone can be there. You may have employees traveling or some on vacation. Whatever the reason, it’s important to record and create videos of these events. That way, employees can watch what they have missed in person at a convenient time for their schedule.
7. Enhances manager training
While you often consider new employee training or upskilling, you often forget senior executive training. Manager training is vital and often requires soft skills, like communication or leadership which are harder to learn. Video works to enhance these skills for senior leaders.
How do you make videos?
Now that you know where to incorporate video into your training, the next question is how to make a video? While this may not be your area of expertise, there are a few simple steps you can follow that will get you creating training videos fairly easily. So, here’s a simple process to follow.
1. Do research
Go through your existing training materials and see where video clips make sense to insert. Then create a list of what videos you need to create. You may find that the same video can be used in more than one training session, or slightly tweaked to work in multiple sessions.
2. Create scripts
Next you’ll want to create a video script or at least develop some talking points. Think about what value the video is adding and what you are trying to convey to your employees.
3. Record the video
After you build your script, it’s time to record your video. By using a platform like a learning management system you can easily record and upload videos directly into your existing training materials. You can use the camera on your computer or even your phone mounted to a tripod.
4. Insert the videos into your training materials
Finally, you’ll want to go back to your notes and find out where these videos should be inserted into your training. After you have uploaded everything, you should assign someone to take the training modules to make sure they make sense with the new video components added in.
Best tools to help create training videos
If you are having trouble creating videos or don’t have the time, there are some resources to help you along the way. Here is a list of companies to check out.
Continu
Like we mentioned before, a learning management system like Continu is a great partner for perfecting your videos. You can house all your training materials in one central location making it super easy to record, upload and edit your videos directly in Continu’s platform.