Creating online training videos for your employees or partners is often the best method of educating people about new techniques, concepts, or subjects. However, sometimes you don’t need to design an extensive course because you only need to provide snippets of information about a particular issue. Maybe you’ve released a new product or service, and you want to make sure all team members understand how it works. In that instance, Just In Time employee training might come in handy. That’s the process of developing quick instructional videos that you can send to relevant staff to ensure they grasp whatever is it that you want them to learn.
Essential steps you need to take
At the start of the process, it’s sensible for business owners to collate all the information they want to present in their online training videos. Be sure to include all aspects of the concept to guarantee that people who watch the clips will gain a full understanding. Once you have all that info, it’s time work out how to present it methodically. Try writing a step by step guide first, and then use that document to determine all the different sections in your videos. Write a script using that step by step instructional file, and try to keep things as simple as possible to avoid any confusion.
It’s then wise to follow this strategy:
- Invest in professional equipment and software
- Decide on the best setting or backdrop for your clips
- Make the videos interactive
- Develop a means of creating reports to ensure everyone watches the videos
When it comes to finding the best equipment for making online training courses, it’s sensible to perform some online research into the latest devices and technology on the market. Of course, depending on how much money you have to spend, you might have to find products that suit your budget. Still, it’s never wise to cut back and opt for cheap audio or visual recording equipment. You want your online training videos to appear as professional as possible.
Some people will choose to use visuals in their videos in much the same way as they would when creating PowerPoint presentations. They then add a voiceover to the clip that talks the learner through each slide. However, sometimes it’s possible to get better results by showing the video presenter on the screen. For that reason, you might like to think about investing in a green screen or something similar and using an exciting backdrop. There are a couple of free open source software solutions on the market at the moment that includes that facility.
Making the videos interactive will encourage the viewer to pay more attention and remember the information. So, business owners might consider adding a quick questionnaire or quiz at the end that employees will only answer with the correct response if they concentrate during the entire video. That will help the provider to assess how well their online training solution performs.
Of course, there are other methods of judging the results. For example, some business owners choose to set time limits on their training videos, so they’re only available to employees for a couple of days. They can then use reports to make sure every person within their company clicked the link and watched the video. The stats from the quiz at the end, if you decide to include one, will also assist with that process.
Advice for creating the most effective online training videos
Anyone who plans to create online training courses should first take the time to watch some videos made by other providers. That is the best way to gain some inspiration and discover some of the tried and tested techniques that tend to work well across the board. Still, the suggestions and advice below should help to point everyone in the right direction and ensure they leave no stone unturned. All training videos should:
- Identify the purpose of the training course
- Explain why it’s important that employees learn the information
- Present learning objectives at the start
- Encourage learners to raise issues if they have concerns
Firstly, all training videos should take a moment, in the beginning, to draw the viewer’s attention towards the reasons behind the course. That is the case, even when employers just want to educate their teams about a straightforward subject. Research shows that students will always respond better to education if they can see how the information is relevant to their daily life or work-related duties.
Adding some bullet points at the start of the presentation is always a sensible move because that removes any surprises for the learner and ensures they know what to expect from the videos. Again, you need to present those key learning objectives in the most straightforward manner possible.
Towards the end of the video, be sure to tell employees or partners about the best ways to raise concerns if they still don’t understand the subject. When all’s said and done, some people require more assistance than others with matters of that nature, and so it’s not the individual’s fault if they’re still clueless about the concept. In fact, if that situation presents itself, it probably says more about the quality of your video training course than it does about the intelligence of your workers.
Conclusion
Just In Time employee video training courses are fantastic tools for promoting new information and ensuring everyone understands the direction in which your business is moving. You can use them to educate people about an endless range of subjects that will benefit your operation and help you to take things to the next level. It’s also possible to sell online training courses to business owners in your industry or others. So, if you manage to create something covering a broad subject, it’s possible to sell the online videos at a later date and recoup some of the costs involved.
