Boost Efficiency with Effective Training Videos
- Stephen Proctor
- Sep 12, 2024
- 5 min read
In today's fast-paced business world, keeping your team up-to-speed is more crucial than ever. But let's face it, traditional training methods often fall short. Enter the game-changer: training videos.
Between five years in the Army and a decade as a classroom teacher, I’ve done a lot of training, and I’ve seen firsthand the impact of a well-produced training video.
Between five years in the Army and a decade as a classroom teacher, I’ve done a lot of training. I read stacks of manuals on all kinds of military history, procedures, and expectations in the Army, and then I entered the ever-changing landscape of new paradigms and systems in the public education system. I have experienced a lot of training in a lot of formats and I’ve seen firsthand the impact of a well-produced training video. But it’s not just me, the explosion of online training videos on YouTube, Udemy, Skillshare, and others is evidence of just how much people prefer video over other forms of learning.
This preference isn't just a passing trend—it's reshaping how we approach workplace education.
So, why are training videos such a powerful tool? Let's break it down:
Cost-Effectiveness
A well-made training video may take some time, effort, and investment, but a single video can be reused countless times, instead of having one person repeat a live training session over and over and over…
Consistency
With a training video, you can ensure that everyone in the organization receives the same instruction regardless of when they join the team or who trains them.
Accessibility
People have busy schedules and learn at different paces. Training videos allow for on-demand access to the training material so employees can learn at their own pace and review content as needed without impacting other trainees.
Enhanced Engagement
Mixing visual and auditory elements can help make information more memorable and tie things to memory more effectively than text alone. Some studies seem to indicate that people retain significantly more from video than text alone.
Real Benefits
These benefits aren't just theoretical. Take IBM, for example. They reported that “New employees are 42% more likely to stay [with the company] when receiving the training they need to do their job properly. When people know how to do their jobs, they will be happier in their jobs and more likely to stick around - saving you the time and cost of constantly training new employees.
Training videos go beyond your employees, they are also a great tool for connecting with clients and customers in a fun way. Instead of boring and often confusing instruction manuals, level up your brand with a fun instructional video!
But here's the catch: not all training videos are created equal. To truly harness the power of video, you need to focus on creating content that's not only informative but engaging and tailored to your audience. Here are the key elements of an effective training video:
Clear Objectives: Every video should have well-defined goals that align with your overall training objectives.
High-Quality Production: Professional production elements like professional cameras, lighting, audio, and graphics keep viewers engaged and reflect positively on your brand.
Interactive Elements: Incorporate quizzes or pause points to reinforce learning and maintain engagement.
Real-World Scenarios: Use relatable examples to illustrate concepts and make the content more relevant to your employees.
When it comes to creating these videos, best practices are crucial. Understanding your audience, keeping content concise and focused, including practical demonstrations, and incorporating feedback loops are all essential steps in crafting truly effective training content.
If you want to incorporate training videos in your company, you might be wondering where to start. Here's a basic roadmap you can follow:
Assess Your Needs: Identify the areas where video training could have the most impact on your organization.
Plan Your Content: Outline the key points you want to cover in each video. Remember, shorter, focused videos often work better than long, comprehensive ones.
Script Writing: Craft a clear, concise script that covers your key points in a logical order.
Storyboarding: Create a visual plan for your video, including any graphics or demonstrations you'll include.
Recording: If you're doing this in-house, invest in good-quality audio and video equipment. Poor production can undermine even the best content.
Editing: Pull your footage together, add any necessary graphics or text, and create a polished final product.
Implementation: Decide how you'll distribute the videos to your team and track their usage.
Feedback and Iteration: Gather feedback from your employees and use it to improve future videos.
While this process can certainly be undertaken in-house, many companies find that creating truly effective training videos requires a level of expertise and resources they don't have internally. That's where we come in.
Creating high-impact training videos is one of the array of services Lakeshore Visuals offers. We bring technical expertise in video production from more than 20 years working in the field, but also a deep understanding of education and learning principles as well as effective communication strategies from a decade in public education. This allows us to create videos that don't just look good, but actually drive real learning and behavior change in your organization.
When you work with Lakeshore Visuals, you get more than just a video producer. You get a partner who will:
Thoroughly understand your training needs and objectives
Craft engaging scripts and storyboards tailored to your audience
Produce high-quality videos with professional polish
Incorporate interactive elements to boost engagement and retention
Provide guidance on effective implementation and tracking
Check out some samples of training projects at the end of this post!
Is your company ready to embrace this revolution?
As we look to the future, it's clear that video will play an increasingly central role in workplace training. The question is: Is your company ready to embrace this revolution? And more importantly, do you have the expertise to do it effectively?
If you're ready to take your training to the next level with professionally crafted, engaging, and effective training videos, let's talk. Together, we can create a video training program that boosts efficiency, engages your employees, and drives real results for your business.
Don't let another day go by with outdated training methods. Reach out today, and let's start creating training videos that make a difference. Your employees—and your bottom line—will thank you.
SnapJoy Studio, Grandville, Michigan
SnapJoy Studio was a rental studio that offered photographers a beautiful space to bring clients for photo shoots. It had a variety of scenes with backdrops, props, and more. They also had various lighting equipment for renters to use as well. The studio was geared toward newer photographers, so many didn’t have experience with the equipment. The owners were
spending hours per week walking photographers through the equipment and helping them troubleshoot over the phone. To save time and money, they hired me to create a series of videos they could send to renters to ensure they had the information they needed. The overall vibe of their brand was lighthearted and fun, so the video has a fun, retro feeling that helped to maintain engagement.
Covenant House Academy | Grand Rapids
Covenant House Academy - Grand Rapids is an alternative high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan that offers a path to graduation for students who have had difficulty in the traditional education environment. They focus on building strong relationships with students and offering a flexible schedule for students with diverse needs. When they rolled out a new Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) system, they hired us to create a series of videos to show students the building expectations in a fun way that included teachers acting as students.
We also created this video as a conversation piece. The counseling department would show this to a group of students and lead a discussion about what happened and what should have happened to help students work through conflict resolution and restorative justice.
Finally, we created this series of videos training students on the school’s online platform to increase student success.
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