In our previous blog, you read all about the employee onboarding process, which components to use and how to optimize it with video. The bottom-line was make sure you do your onboarding right. That post was kind of a side track, it wasn’t all about videos. But it’s not just about onboarding, it’s about the fact that you need to keep training your employees.
Why would a company utilize video learning for training employees? There are some arguments:
- For starters, it is more effective. With traditional learning, 42% of the material is forgotten the same day it is learnt. 65% of the information is gone after a week. Actually, only 10% of the information remains after six months. However, presentations are 9% more effective when it includes visuals, and if the material is tested immediately after the presentation. With simply using visuals, you have increased effectivity by 90% (from 10% to 19%).
But is this the right approach? This only results in an overall 19% effectivity, which just isn’t much.
Pro-tip: the knowledge can be shifted from the short-term memory to the long-term memory, simply by conducting multiple tests over a longer period of time. Effectivity might increase to an overall 83%.[1]
Some smart organizations have adopted a flexible internal digital workspace. Within this workspace they plan tasks, communicate and also learn and evolve. In this digital environment, they have incorporated some eLearning modules, visuals and tests that are accessible 24/7. If someone forgets any information, they can easily access it again. You can discourage forgetting by having unexpected 5-minute quizzes that periodically pop up, which also tests relating knowledge. That way, you immediately refresh your employees’ memory and more information goes to the long-term memory.
This is, however, only possible if you have an internal digital workspace advanced enough to incorporate such smart eLearning modules. Also, make sure it’s fun for your employees as well, otherwise it backfires. By utilizing such smart digital solutions, more knowledge and expertise can be acquired by your employees and company. You can also provide more elaborated additional online courses to develop your employees’ skills and knowledge.
- It reduces costs. Since video-based learning is a digital concept, it can be accessed from any place anywhere, depending on how you want to offer it. Classroom-based learning events often bring about travel costs, it takes more time and thus decreases your employees productivity and you have to pay at least one instructor and often pay for hiring an accommodation. Travel costs are often 40% of the total event costs anyway. This can be (partially) lowered by incorporating eLearning into the course. Microsoft claimed to have lowered their training costs by 13.9 million dollar when they invested in a video training platform.[2] Training used to be $303 per employee, now it’s $17. It resulted in an ROI of 569%;
- Since your employees can access the course 24/7, there are no schedule conflicts. Imagine five branch executives, twenty managers and a bunch of staff leaders having to attend the same class at the same time. Impossible. Usually, classes are given a few times. Once for the branch executives, once for the managers and the branch executives that couldn’t attend the first time, and once for the staff leaders. The only upside of hiring a trainer multiple times is that, even though they might receive the same class, it can be adapted more to their situation and position on the work floor.The downside is the costs for hiring the trainer three times. The same training can probably be given online, on-demand, via (interactive) videos and eLearning modules and also tailor-made to the position of each employee;
- Does your international business have branches in America, Europe, Asia and South-Africa? Is there a change in the way you work or communicate? Has your product changed? Did you start working with one central database that works for each branch worldwide? You could ask local trainers to train your employees everywhere. Imagine the costs of hiring 34 trainers worldwide for one day, and each trainer requires an average remuneration of $25 an hour. It may be cheaper in some countries, but more expensive in others, but let’s say you operate mainly in third world countries because, of course, you try to improve life there, that’s an overall $6800 for that day. Add the additional costs of your employees being unproductive for an entire day. Plus, the several trainers might not even be consistent in what they teach! Now imagine, on the other hand, an eLearning module that can be finished in 6 hours and only costs $3000 to set up. Your employees might be two hours less unproductive, which is a huge gain, because they don’t have to wait for questions of others and they can go at their own pace, instead of the instructors’ pace. By the way, I didn’t even mention being low on instructors for specific courses, and having to fly them to each country you operate in…;
- Videos can be used more often and can be repeated. For new employees, you won’t have to rehire the same trainer that trained your other employees, but you just show the same video. Plus, some videos that you use for onboarding can also (partially) be used for external audiences. They can be multifunctional, whereas you cannot expect your consumer to listen to a trainer for two hours.
Do you already realize the importance of video-based learning? This all is no trivial value to both your employees and your company. A survey of BambooHR shows that 23% of employees quit their job within six months of starting, because they had no clear guidelines to their newly acquired responsibilities and 21% because of a lack of training.[3]
Make sure your talent doesn’t run away. Involve them. Allow them to make an impact. Get them excited for your company.
Fact: Many employees at an organization only have a basic understanding of the products they are promoting. Even fewer might even be able to name the differences between your product and your competitors product.
If your company’s employees work based on sales quotas, they’ll just work hard to sell, but they will not take the time to fully get to know your product. It’s the same with companies where everyone just does their thing and no one is enticed to like the product or demonstrate it.
It may sound funny, but it might be helpful to have an internal monthly contest for the most innovative way to use your product. It challenges your employees to get to know your product in a fun and useful way. It might also provide interesting perspectives for new developments and it might result in fun videos for your online marketing (or internal bloopers to laugh at together).
But give your employees a comprehensive explanation on how the product works before they actually start working with it. Give them time to learn all the features, forms and values. You will notice that they will start to love your product, instead of liking it, making them more enthusiastic to promote your product.
In these three blogs, we’ve told you all about how to use videos in your organization. However, we’ve only focussed on the internal uses. There are, of course, more ways videos can be helpful. In our next and final blog, we’ll explain what external uses there are and what profits they have.
[1] Rusted, J. Current Psychology (1984) 3: 61.
[2] Madelyn Fagan: Get Visual: The Value of Video Training, Bankers Academy 2016, http://bankersacademy.com/component/content/article?id=712:get-visual-the-value-of-video-training, on april 15th, 2016.
[3] Jeana Quigley, Your Company Has A Lot To Lose when a New Hire Doesn’t Stay, BambooHR.
