Training video has long been an effective tool in the L&D field.
But how effective is training video now?
For most of us who have spent some time in the workplace, watching a training video is part and parcel of the job. These offerings probably came with mixed reactions and certainly varied results.
The concept is good. Rather than sit a group in front of a chart and point to it with a stick (or perhaps, these days, a Power Point and laser pen), we pre-record the information we wish to impart and it is freely available to team members whenever they choose to view it. making the training session timing a personal choice should make the chore of doing it less laborious and as such, more likely to actually happen.
What kind of training video?
The above concept doesn’t just apply to training video but research suggests that, because the viewer is performing what appears to be a consumer choice similar to watching TV, they are more likely to follow it through to the end.
However, that is only half the story. Training video, like other AV content has had to get up to speed. Modern production has made regular TV viewing a different experience now than when I was young. And training video needs to compete or it may fall by the wayside when it comes to retaining interest.
New techniques.
This is where drama based training video comes in.
If we proffer video as a platform for L&D based on the habits of its potential users, we must ensure the content is a engaging as other forms of ‘entertainment’. This is not to belittle the content of the training course or lesson. The aim is to maximise the retainability of the information delivered. It has been known for some time that viewers remember even the faintest details contained in a piece of drama if it is embedded in subject matter of interest to the viewer.
Devil in the detail
This is crux of the drama based training video concept. It’s possible to secrete many important points into one single line of drama. A well crafted script can deliver several key training points in one interesting scene.
Nostairway have used this premise often in our training video production to great effect. One of the more addressed fields is in the sales departments of larger, high unit value organisations. The reason for this is a bit of a numbers game. There are many great works on the psychology of sales. It is given these days that psychological training works. But it is time consuming and expensive to implement. If we can combine the best techniques employed by psychologists and apply them to scripting well produced short dramas, we can achieve knowledge retention results without the long-winded effort of one to one or lecture based learning.
Here’s an interesting article on Psychology of Sales.
How much can you remember?
Now, watching drama, of course, isn’t quite like going to a lecture. And, depending on the follow up approach – discussion, tests, revisiting in groups – it is difficult to tell exactly how much has sunk in. Studies show tangible results.
So, here’s a short scenario:
You run a team of 500 sales people across EMEA. Your product is hi-end software systems, each service you sell averages around £500,000. You appear to be suffering from being usurped by a competitor at the final stages of the sales process. You have pinpointed the issue is with the approach your staff are making; it is in contrast to your competitors technique. Your L&D department have isolated the approach required and are happy to get out there and train 500 people by visiting them in each location. You consider flying them all in for a centralised training session. All very effective, but time consuming and expensive.
A training video which effectively acts out the scene experienced by your sales staff, highlighting the issue in a way that will stick in their minds might not return exactly the same positive results as follow up role play and exams. But at £15,000, it is infinitely less expensive. For most firms of this size it may not even need budget approval. And yet the increased success of just one more sales person will pay for the video many times over. And it is still there for you to use in training schemes for many years to come.
Here is an example of a training video
If you would like to discuss training videos with us, get in touch via our contact page HERE
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