As the saying goes, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." When it comes to staff training, involving your employees is easier said than done. However, with training videos, you can get a step closer to employee engagement and knowledge retention. In this article, we'll take a closer look at how to create effective training videos for your staff.
Understanding the Importance of Training Videos
Before diving into the specifics of video creation, let's first understand why training videos are worth the investment. Some of the benefits of using training videos include:
Benefits of using training videos for staff
Training videos are an excellent investment for any company. From small businesses to large corporations, training videos can provide numerous benefits, including:
- Consistency: Every employee has the opportunity to receive the same training, no matter when they join the company or where they're located. This ensures that all employees have the same knowledge and skills, which can help to create a more cohesive and efficient workplace.
- Flexibility: Your employees can watch training videos at their own pace and on their own schedule, reducing travel and scheduling conflicts. This means that employees can fit training into their busy schedules without having to worry about missing work or other important commitments.
- Cost-effectiveness: Once your video is created, future training sessions become significantly less expensive given that you're using the same video repeatedly. This can be especially beneficial for companies that need to train large numbers of employees or that have a high turnover rate.
- Permanent learning: Training videos allow your employees to revisit the training content as necessary, ensuring they can always refresh their memories on company policies and best practices. This can be especially helpful for employees who may need a refresher on certain topics or who are new to the company and need to get up to speed quickly.
Addressing Different Learning Styles with Videos
Training videos serve as an effective tool because they cater to many different learning styles. Some people learn better by hearing information, while others are visual learners. Video training can combine both auditory and visual information, making it easier for employees to understand and remember the information presented.
Additionally, training videos can be customized to meet the needs of different learners. For example, you can include interactive elements in your videos, such as quizzes or surveys, to engage employees and help them retain information. You can also create videos that are tailored to specific departments or job roles, ensuring that employees receive training that is relevant to their specific job duties.
In conclusion, training videos are a valuable investment for any company. They provide numerous benefits, including consistency, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and permanent learning. Additionally, training videos can be customized to meet the needs of different learners and can address different learning styles. By incorporating training videos into your company's training program, you can help to create a more knowledgeable, skilled, and efficient workforce.
Planning Your Training Video Content
The purpose of your training video is to teach employees new information and skills. To achieve this, you need to accurately identify and outline the key areas to focus on.
Identifying your Training Objectives
Before diving deep into the video creation process, it's necessary to identify what your training objectives are. This means figuring out exactly what information you want to teach, and why you're teaching it. Some key questions to ask when identifying your training objectives include:
- What are the most important skills I want my employees to learn?
- What knowledge do my employees need to perform their job functions correctly?
- What are the critical safety, security, and compliance information I want to convey to employees?
Once you have identified your training objectives, it's essential to expand on them further. For example, if your objective is to teach employees how to use a new software program, you may need to break down the learning process into smaller, more manageable steps. This could include creating a list of the software's key features and functions, as well as outlining any common mistakes or errors that employees may encounter.
Determining the Target Audience
Once you have identified your training objectives, it's essential to determine who your target audience is. The training content you'll develop will differ depending on the knowledge level of your employees, their roles, and their experience.
To determine your target audience, consider factors such as their job duties, their level of experience, and their preferred learning style. For example, if your employees are mostly visual learners, you may want to include more diagrams and images in your training videos. On the other hand, if your employees are auditory learners, you may want to include more narration and verbal explanations.
Outlining the Video Content
With your training objectives and target audience in mind, it's time to develop your training material's outline. Here are a few tips to consider when outlining the content of your video:
- Start with a high-level introduction to set the stage for the training. This could include an overview of what the training will cover, as well as any key learning objectives.
- Break training content up into sections or stages to keep information organized. This could include breaking down the learning process into smaller, more manageable steps, or dividing the training into different modules or chapters.
- Include interactive elements, such as knowledge checks or quizzes, to keep employees engaged and to reinforce learning. This could include asking employees to answer questions throughout the training, or providing opportunities for employees to practice their new skills.
- Include key takeaways in each section to help employees retain the critical information. This could include summarizing key points, highlighting important concepts, or providing examples of how the information can be applied in real-world scenarios.
By following these tips, you can create a training video that effectively teaches your employees new skills and information while keeping them engaged and motivated to learn.
Choosing the Right Video Format
Now that you have your training content outlined, it's time to select the appropriate video format that matches the learning pace, outcomes, and desired level of engagement and interactivity for your target audience.
Choosing the right video format is crucial to the success of your training program. It can make the difference between a successful training program that engages your employees and a training program that falls flat.
When deciding on a video format, you need to consider the type of content you will be presenting and the learning objectives you want to achieve. Here are some popular video formats to consider:
Live-action Videos
Live-action videos are a common choice for employee training video content. They show real people in real situations, demonstrating how to perform tasks step-by-step. Live-action videos work well for training content that requires hands-on demonstrations and visually interactive elements.
Live-action videos are a great way to engage your employees and help them retain information. By showing real people performing tasks, your employees can see how the task is done in a real-life scenario. This can help them better understand the task and perform it more effectively.
Animated Videos
Animated videos are a great choice for training content that requires visuals or concept explanations that are not easy to demonstrate in a real-life scenario. These videos can help simplify complex topics and keep the viewer engaged.
Animated videos can be a fun and engaging way to present information to your employees. They can help simplify complex topics and make them easier to understand. By using animations, you can also make your training program more visually appealing, which can help keep your employees engaged and interested.
Screencast Tutorials
Screencast tutorials are useful for software and technology-based training. These videos typically show the computer screen capturing the task being performed, with a voice-over explaining the steps involved.
Screencast tutorials are a great way to train your employees on software and technology. They allow you to show your employees how to perform tasks on their computer, which can be more effective than simply explaining the task in writing. By using a voice-over, you can also provide additional information and guidance to help your employees better understand the task.
Ultimately, the video format you choose will depend on the type of content you are presenting and the learning objectives you want to achieve. By choosing the right video format, you can create a training program that engages your employees and helps them retain information.
Tips for Creating Engaging Training Videos
Creating engaging training videos is critical for employee retention and knowledge retention. Here are some tips to keep in mind when developing your training video materials:
Keeping the Video Concise and Focused
Avoid overloading the training material with information. Keep your training videos focused and concise to ensure that your employees can absorb and remember the important points.
Incorporating Storytelling Techniques
In your training content, try to use storytelling techniques that engage your audience emotionally by addressing their goals, pain points and desires inside and outside of work. It will help you drive learning engagement and generate more interest in the training.
Using Visuals to Support the Content
Include visuals like images, graphs, and infographics to enhance your training content and keep your audience engaged. Information presented through visual techniques is usually better retained than plain-text information.
Ensuring Clear Audio Quality
Make sure your training video's audio quality is clear and crisp, so employees can hear and comprehend all the information presented. Ensure that you use high-quality equipment with no background noise or echoes for the best results.
Conclusion
Training videos are an effective way to teach staff new information and skills while saving time and resources in the long run. By ensuring that your videos are focused, concise, engaging, and that they cater to different learning styles, you can maximize the benefits of this training format. Utilizing the tips provided in this article, you should have a good starting point for creating effective training videos that deliver positive outcomes for both your employees and your business.
