How to Create Engaging Training Videos That Employees Will Love
Learning and development is crucial to the success of any organization, but traditional training methods can often be tedious and unengaging. A powerful remedy to uninspiring training is the use of video – as they are a great tool for delivering information in an interactive and engaging way.
Training videos – particularly with the rise of e-learning and remote work – have become more important than ever for employee onboarding, professional development, and creating a learning culture within your organization.
In this article, we will provide you with a step-by-step guide for creating effective training videos that will improve learning outcomes, increase engagement and retention, and contribute to a more productive work environment.
7 Steps to Create Training Videos That Engage Your Employees
Follow these simple tips on defining your objectives, choosing the right topic, storytelling, video editing, and feedback gathering, to create personalized training videos that meet your employees' needs and support your organization's goals. 1. Define the Objectives of Your Employee Training Defining clear objectives is a crucial first step in creating effective and engaging training videos for your employees. Without objectives, how will your training video meet the desired learning outcomes and engage your audience? When you set well-defined objectives, you give your training video clear direction – this helps you create a roadmap for your content, structure, and approach. And this roadmap will ensure your videos meets both your employee's training needs and help your business achieve its goals in the process. Effective objectives are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. For example, if your objective is to train employees on a new software program, your training video's learning objective could be, "By the end of this training video, employees will be able to navigate and utilize all the features of the new software program confidently." Defining clear objectives at the beginning of your training video production process leads to higher engagement, motivation, and retention for your employees. It also helps you measure the effectiveness of your training video and its impact on your organization's success – leading to a more productive and successful workforce. 2. Choose Your Topic and Content With your objectives defined, the next step is to choose a relevant and interesting topic for your training video. The topic you choose should align with your learning objectives and resonate with your employees. According to E-learning expert, Connie Malamed, "When creating e-learning, the key is to ensure that the content is relevant to the learners and that they see the relevance right from the start." Choosing the right content is critical for engaging your employees and making your training video memorable. You want your employees to walk away from the training feeling like they have learned something valuable and can apply it to their work, which is why it is essential to select the most important, topic-related information in your video. You can make this information engaging by incorporating storytelling and real-life examples. Storytelling helps to capture your employee's attention and connect them emotionally to the content. When real-life examples are included, your employees can see how the training relates to their job and understand how to apply it in their day-to-day work. With the right combination of topic and content for your training videos, you will increase their motivation and interest in the training, leading to better learning outcomes and an overall positive impact on your business’ success. 3. Develop Your Script and Storyboard The next step is to develop a well-written script and detailed storyboard. A well-crafted script and storyboard are essential components of your training video because they serve as the foundation for what you employees will see and hear. As expert in Instructional Design, Tim Slade, states, "A good script is critical to the success of any training video. It ensures that you're providing clear and concise information to your learners in a way that's easy to understand." When developing your script, focus on creating an engaging and informative narrative. Start by introducing the topic and explaining why it's important. Then, break down the information into easily digestible sections with clear and concise language. Use storytelling techniques and examples to make the content more relatable to your employees. Once you have a script, it's time to create a detailed storyboard that maps out how the visual and audio elements will come together. The storyboard should include images that illustrate each section of the video, including the timing of the narration, the placement of the graphics, and any on-screen text. A well-crafted script and storyboard will guide the production process, ensuring that your training video meets your objectives and engages your employees. It will also help you to identify any potential issues before production begins, saving you time and resources in the long run. 4. Create Engaging Visuals With the storyboard done, now is the time to create the visuals. Your visuals help to capture your employee's attention and make the content more memorable, which in turn leads to better learning outcomes. As Multimedia Learning expert, Richard Mayer, explains, "Visuals can improve learning by appealing to a person's natural processing abilities." To create effective visuals for your training video, consider using a variety of multimedia elements such as animation, screen capture, and images. Graphics can be used to illustrate key concepts, processes, or data, and animation can bring them to life. Screen capture can also be an effective way to demonstrate software applications, websites, or other digital tools. To elevate your visuals even further, use a consistent color scheme and font throughout the video. This helps to create a sense of continuity and makes the video more visually appealing. It's important to remember that your visuals should support your script and learning objectives. Avoid using anything that is likely to distract the learner. Instead, choose visuals that enhance the learning experience and help your employees retain the information and support your content. 5. Increase Engagement with Effective Video Editing The recording and editing stage is where everything comes together. It's where the magic happens, and the story comes to life. To ensure clear audio, use high-quality equipment, and record in a quiet location. Practicing your script before recording will also help you deliver a smooth and natural performance. During the editing stage, fine-tune your video and add the finishing touches. Cut out any mistakes or unnecessary footage, add music and sound effects, and adjust the color and lighting to create a consistent look and feel. It's crucial to keep your learning objectives in mind while editing, ensuring that your visuals and audio reinforce the key takeaways. Keeping your video length appropriate is also important to maintain engagement. By recording and editing your video effectively, you can create a high-quality training video that engages your employees and achieves your learning objectives. 6. Incorporate Interactive Elements To ensure your training videos are truly engaging, incorporate interactive elements to significantly boost employee engagement and retention. Interactive elements such as quizzes, surveys, and discussions offer employees opportunities to apply what they've learned and receive immediate feedback. In fact, research by the eLearning Industry shows that incorporating interactive elements can increase learning outcomes by up to 60%. To select the most effective interactive elements for your training video, it's important to consider your learning objectives and audience. For instance, quizzes can be useful for testing knowledge and reinforcing key concepts, while surveys can help gather feedback and insights from employees. And different types of employee training can benefit from different interactive elements. Compliance training, for instance, can use scenarios and case studies to illustrate ethical and legal principles and engage employees. Sales training may benefit from role-playing exercises and simulations to practice sales skills in a safe and supportive environment. And leadership training can incorporate group discussions and peer coaching to facilitate learning and develop leadership skills. When incorporating interactive elements, it's crucial to design them in an engaging and user-friendly way, so use a variety of interactive elements to keep employees interested and motivated. By incorporating interactive elements into your training videos, you can create a culture of learning within your organization, leading to improved retention, motivation, and your overall success. 7. Deliver Your Video and Gather Feedback If you follow steps one to six closely, you will have an engaging training video that your employees will love. But now it's time to deliver it and gather feedback to ensure it is effective in achieving your learning objectives. Delivering your video involves making it easily accessible to your employees through a learning management system, company intranet, or other platform. Communicate the availability of the video to your employees and provide any necessary instructions on how to access it. After your employees have had a chance to watch the video, gather feedback to assess its effectiveness. Consider sending out a survey or holding a focus group to gather feedback on the video's content, delivery, and overall effectiveness. You should use this feedback to improve future training videos and adjust your training strategy as needed. Monitoring the usage and impact of your training video over time is also crucial. Track metrics such as views, completion rates, and learning outcomes to assess the video's impact on your organization's success. Use this data to make informed decisions about future training initiatives. By doing this, you can ensure that your training videos continue to achieve your learning objectives and engage your employees. This will create a culture of learning within your organization, leading to improved retention and motivation.
Harness the Power of Engaging Training Videos to Transform Employee Training and Development
Creating engaging training videos is a critical component of employee training and development. In today's fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, investing in employee training and development is more critical than ever. By using engaging and effective training videos, you will empower your employees with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. So, start creating your engaging training videos today and watch your business’ success soar.
