When an employee is recruited by a company, there are processes to explain, procedures to clarify or simple tips and best practices to share.
In a bigger organization, there is a huge demand for seamless training.
Among different training formats, videos are found to be more effective than text or speech. That is why training videos are preferred by most of the companies.
Training videos are audio-visual communication that can be used for workforce enablement initiatives. There are different kinds of training videos that you can choose – whiteboard animation (one of the most popular types and it is easy to make and easily conveys the message), 2D animation videos (with rich colors and have higher audience engagement) and live (with real people). Depending on the message, there can also be an interesting combination of different types of videos. There is a big world of video magic waiting for you to explore.
So, videos are actually way more effective when it comes to training. And it’s not just me saying it. Some studies have found that people remember 65% of the information depicted in visual format as opposed to just 10% of the information they see in text format. With auditory components of videos like voiceovers, music, sound effects; all employees would understand and retain the information you share.
The studies have found that people remember 65% of the information depicted in visual format as opposed to just 10% of the information they see in text format.
Unlike heavy text manuals or multi-session workshops, videos can be shared extensively, shown repeatedly to multiple groups of audiences, all with the same result, better understanding and retention. Video messages are not restricted to medium. You could easily project a video via your laptop, view it on your tablet or can be played directly on your employees’ mobile phones. And with the increasing internet penetration, training videos are now accessible no matter where in the world your employees are. Videos don’t just bypass geographical boundaries but cross language barriers too and can be easily adapted to suit regional preferences. What else needed, with the right hosting platform, the effectiveness of every video can be tracked, right from play to replay.
All these are well and good, but what could you use training videos for?
Well, there are endless possibilities.
1) Educating Employees:
Though Pink Floyd has sung against the need for education, your employees need training to hone their skills. In fact, employee education is one of the main goals of training videos. Right from the time they join the organization, employees have to be trained. From induction to process training and how-tos to do’s and don’ts, videos are used to convey complex topics and procedures easily. This especially works well for sectors like banking and finance or for technical training in hardware production. Do you want to tell your employees not to talk shop outside office premises?
2) Creating Awareness on Safety:
I went to a hospital recently, and above the sink was a poster on how nurses should wash their hands. It was dull, childish and made me wonder how people ignored the poster on a daily basis? How many improperly washed hands were using the medical equipment? Simple safety measures in oil and gas companies or hospitals and emergency training are conveyed easier in an engaging way with videos. Even airlines are replacing safety pamphlets with videos. The safety video released by Virgin Atlantic was very interesting.
3) Developing Skills:
Skill development videos are integral part of IT companies, where regular skill upgradation is required. One of the main advantages of video is that it can be tweaked to meet your requirements and this is apt for skill development initiatives. Videos can be made interactive. To make it more entertaining and engaging, quizzes and activities can also be included in videos. The videos can even be personalized using websites like Vidyard that goes one step further and provides awesome analytics that show to what extent the video helps in enhancing the skills of the employees.
4) Communications & HR:
If you are working in a big organization, it’s easy for the message to get lost in transit and it gets easily misinterpretation. Videos are one of the best methods to share knowledge across departments as the message mains the same and it can be shared with different audiences as many times as you need. Even for non-profit organizations like Greenpeace or PETA, videos help them gain acceptance to take unified stance different against issues across the globe. The video hosting platforms like Wistia allows the users to add actions such as clicking on a link to sign a petition or entering an e-mail ID right within a video. You no longer have to cross check if your employees are following instructions, they can complete tasks even while watching the video.
5) Etiquette Training:
You know those awkward talks that your HR representative is forced to give about office etiquettes that people should know. Right from sexual harassment to keeping the toilets clean, sometimes videos are able to convey these messages in a much better way, avoiding embarrassed stares and tight lips. Etiquette training videos work really well in hospitality industry, where the etiquettes like ‘proper’ speech and behavior are given more importance.
We’re living in a world where attention spans are short with a whole lot of distractions. The ways and means of increasing productivity is given prime importance and wasting your employees’ time by making them read lengthy manuals or attend a series of workshops is undoubtedly a bad idea. Times have changed, and with it, the way employees and stakeholders are trained must change too.
Think it’s time you need a video training video? What works best is a hand-drawn animated video. Drop an email to our whiteboard video production team and we’ll get you an awesome presentation video in no time.
