In episode eight of the Business Video Playbook, we talk with Tobi Flowers, CEO of the award-winning TraCorp LMS. TraCorp is a full-service learning company that delivers customized, accessible training for businesses, including one of SproutVideo’s global hotel customers.

Businesses rely on TraCorp for learning and development strategy and to build training that drives measurable business impact. SproutVideo integrates with TraCorp LMS, providing secure video hosting for sharing, bitrate streaming, and rich analytics directly within their learning and development ecosystem. 

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In the interview, Flowers shares how to achieve better results for employees and organizations through video and innovative L&D design. Busy leaders may be tempted to offer courses that merely check the training requirements box. But Flowers makes the case for investing in content as a priority.

You’ll learn:

• Why short, well-designed videos can replace hours of reading manuals.
• Proven enterprise learning and development strategies that scale for SMBs. 
• Metrics to track employee skill absorption versus just clicking ‘complete’.

3 Learning and Development Strategies for an Effective Training Framework

1. Replace Documentation with Video Training

Compliance training is often presented in written form, making it challenging for employees to engage and absorb the necessary information: “Studies show that 70–80% of learners prefer video over reading a document or traditional e-learning.”

“Training is one of those things that everybody loves or hates. One way to encourage people to want to take training is to make it available as a video. Video and great storytelling make training more engaging, allowing employees to retain more information and organizations to see a real impact.”

— Tobi Flowers, CEO of TraCorp LMS

Therefore, consider replacing text documentation with videos that employ storytelling. 

Video is also effective for organizational communication. For example, in lieu of distributing a memo or documentation, you might share a video interview with an executive discussing new policies or procedures. This more engaging approach of communicating helps employees understand why the changes matter.

Watch Flowers share more in this short video.

2. Prioritize High-Impact Content & Localization Needs

L&D teams face constant pressure to do more with less. As organizations grow, they must manage multiple requests, software rollouts, and localization for multiple languages or regions. 

“Learning and development teams have to be highly efficient. One of the things we do when designing programs is to ask if the training needs to be localized. This helps us prepare an inventory of language translations.”

— Tobi Flowers, CEO of TraCorp LMS

Flowers prioritizes high-impact content over platform features in her learning and development strategy: “We’re always looking at the biggest picture. What program would have the highest impact? Let’s invest our resources there. Spend as much of your budget as possible on content and the training itself.”

Watch Flowers share more in this short video.

3. Create A Short Video for Each Step

Ensuring employees effectively absorb video-based learning requires a strategic approach.

“If the goal is to make sure that someone can complete their day-to-day activities inside a piece of software, we’re going to pick an approach where we’re building very short videos that just cover individual steps.”

— Tobi Flowers, CEO of TraCorp LMS

Create short, focused videos that cover individual workflow steps. This content allows employees to easily reference the specific material they need, making the learning process smoother and more effective. 

Watch Flowers share more in this short video.

Flowers shares inside tips on how TraCorp uses storyboarding and decision-based learning to design highly impactful video content. Watch the full interview now. 

Bonus: Scale Brand Consistency with Video 

As a business grows, L&D teams become increasingly responsible for brand consistency. Scaling brand standards is especially crucial for franchises and multi-location companies, where customer satisfaction and brand integrity depend on maintaining these standards. 

“Starbucks is known for its drinks being the same at every single location. I would bet there is a lot of video training that goes into teaching people how to make the drinks exactly the same across all locations.”

— Tobi Flowers, CEO of TraCorp LMS

Videos help organizations communicate standards clearly and efficiently, where long manuals and slide decks often fail to do so.

Watch Flowers share more in this short video.

Effective Videos Are Your Secret L&D Weapon

Discover how TraCorp leverages its innovative learning and development strategy to design engaging and measurable training programs.

A Training Framework for Measurable Results

Watch the Full Episode Now

Why L&D Teams Choose SproutVideo

TraCorp LMS integrates with SproutVideo, which operates as its high-powered video backend. This integration enables TraCorp to upload videos or embed video-based courses directly within their platform. The system automatically handles the upload to SproutVideo in the background.

Often, companies use an LMS to create a record trail, ensuring protection in the event of an audit. 

“That’s what’s so nice about integrating with SproutVideo: TraCorp’s LMS provides all learning and development compliance records. Customers don’t have to go directly to SproutVideo. They get all the benefits of using SproutVideo while being able to access their records in one place.”

— Tobi Flowers, CEO of TraCorp LMS

The integration also provides rich analytics (views, engagement, drop-off points, etc.) to measure the real impact of training. Beyond compliance needs, video analytics enable L&D teams to identify what went well and how to enhance their video content. 

“Our customers can evaluate who watched the video. They can determine if our email communications successfully engaged learners. They can see if viewers drop off during the video, and if so, why? The rich video analytics allow us to reflect on what we did well or where we have room for improvement. It’s just fantastic that it’s all baked in,” shared Flowers. Grab your free 30-day trial today.

The post Learning and Development Strategy: A Video Framework for Better Results appeared first on SproutVideo.

However, 43% of employees want their training to be more effective. 

If you’ve ever sat through a boring lecture, you know training alone isn’t enough. That’s why we reached out to experts in learning and development, marketing, and operations to learn what works when creating employee video training that produces results. 

Their experience, alongside insights from neuroscience, paints a clear picture of how to create training that engages employees. 

Discover why video can be your superpower for effective video training. This complete guide reveals how to streamline employee training without in-person or online meetings and tedious reading. We’ll also cover how to track employee progress and completion.

What Is Video Training for Employees?

Companies use video training to efficiently onboard, upskill, and align team members with company initiatives. Video training is accessible and flexible. It can be shared directly with employees online, whether they work remotely or in the office. 

The Benefits of Employee Video Training

Video training offers many advantages over in-person training events or exhaustive reading material. These benefits include: 

• Improved Employee Experience: Onboard new hires with video training to expedite productivity and provide clear expectations
• Flexible & Cost-Effective: Eliminate travel costs with remote training and minimize employee time away from projects
• Scalability and Efficiency: Support team alignment and scale employee training while reducing manager workflow interruptions 
• Compliance and Tracking: Track video engagement to validate training ROI and maintain compliance in regulated industries
• Employee Engagement and Retention: Engage and upskill employees, increasing business advantage and employee productivity 
• Learning Effectiveness: Implement new software or procedures with increased adoption rates using micro-learning and interactive tools for greater absorption
• Feedback and Optimization: Gather feedback based on viewing patterns and engagement to increase training effectiveness

Types of Employee Training Videos

• Onboarding
• Company Culture/Policies
• Mandatory Training
• Scenario Training
• Demonstrations & Tutorials
• Professional Development

Skip to the video examples here. 

What Makes An Employee Training Video Successful?

A good video training program is up-to-date and comprehensive. It should provide a measurable return in job performance, task efficiency, and employee retention. 

The majority of video training aligns team members for specific roles within departments. A complete onboarding series or training program may include one-size-fits-all videos. But, companies often tailor video training to specific departments or roles within a business. 

Effective video training is:

• Bite-sized: Create compact video content that is under 20 minutes long. Most viewers prefer videos that are 3-6 minutes long. Turn large topics into short videos to reduce cognitive load and increase watch times. 
• Science-based: Our brains build connections to remember information. Darren Smith, CEO of Making Business Matter, believes space repetition is key to building those connections. “[It] essentially means we do something, stop, wait, and do something again. Video-based learning needs to be similar.”
• Engaging and Enjoyable: “Video-based training has a reputation for being boring,” says Rob Boyle, Marketing Operations Director for Airswift. “To hold employee attention, use relatable characters [with] a problem to solve or challenge to overcome.”

It’s essential that video training is accessible as well; we discuss this in detail later. 

Corporate Training Video Examples

Employee video training has evolved. Gone are the days of retro training videos with over-the-top explanations and distrustful commentary about employees. Let’s look at some modern examples for inspiration. 

Onboarding

Set new hires up for success and save managers time.

This video aligns new Spotify engineers with its company strategy in just over ten minutes using a whiteboard-style video. “Whiteboarding is an excellent way to break down tough ideas into smaller, more digestible pieces,” shares Adam Klein, a Certified Integral Coach and Managing Director for New Ventures West. “The use of straightforward drawings and animations can make the content more accessible to a wider range of viewers.” 

Company Culture/Policies

Showcase environment and set new hire expectations.

In this video, the city of Edmonton uplifts its workers. It focuses on their role in creating a safe and healthy environment through waste management. The city also presents the idea of long-term fulfillment with the company by featuring employees who made it their career.

Mandatory Training

Maintain safety and compliance standards.

With a clever script and creative perspective, video training can be entertaining and cost-effective. A character-driven narrative is powerful for delivering important messages. Here, the live-action character holds attention while the animation delivers life-saving knowledge. 

Scenario Training

Prepare employees to handle specific situations with success.

This type of video provides a solution-oriented explanation for a common but difficult situation. It offers an empathetic approach to why a customer may be rude. The video follows with effective instructions for moving through the interaction. 

Demonstrations & Tutorials

Showcase how to complete a task or use a program.

Tossing pizza dough requires practice. New employees will likely watch the video various times while learning the technique, which makes this to-the-point video ideal. Additionally, it concludes with a few slides summarizing the key information.

Professional Development

Develop current employee skills for company goals.

Longer content is engaging and powerful when storytelling, delivery, and high-quality information align. This 12-minute talk by Simon Sinek showcases a high production value. But Sinek’s ability to persuade through storytelling is a masterclass on holding attention. 

How to Design a Winning Video-Based Training Program

1. Define Objectives and Engage Viewers

“Define clear objectives for the training. Identify what employees should know or be able to do after completing the course,” says Bradford Glaser, President & CEO of HRDQ. “These objectives will guide the content and structure of your videos, ensuring that the training is purposeful and aligned with your company’s goals.”

Consider the other resources you will provide, too. Map out interactive elements like quizzes, discussion questions, practice exercises, and hands-on application. “These elements not only aid in comprehension but also make the training more interactive and enjoyable,” states Glaser. 

2. Collaborate with Content Matter Experts (CMEs)

Also known as subject matter experts (SMEs), collaborating with CMEs is key to effective video training. CMEs include department managers, senior team members, and other internal stakeholders. 

Alexander Nosek is an L&D specialist who updated and expanded training content for Patriot Growth Insurance Services. He recommends listing all CMEs and using a task management system (i.e., Jira) for project management. Additionally, they suggest 

• Request CMEs provide the information needed to cover a topic accurately
• Use CME knowledge to write scripts and organize videos by chapters
• Have CMEs review video scripts for accuracy before moving forward

Stakeholders may also need to review content for approval before moving forward.

In some instances, you might be the expert. Following this process can still help organize the subject matter before creating content. 

3. Invest in Production Quality

“High-production quality is also important,” says Bradford Glaser of HRDQ. There are three essential elements of video training that will enhance the learning experience and prevent distractions. They are:

• Clear audio
• Sharp visuals
• Professional editing

“Poor production quality can undermine the effectiveness of your training and make it less engaging,” Glaser notes.

4. Make Content Organized & Accessible

Accessibility comes in many forms. 

1. Inclusivity for people with disabilities is a key component of employee video training. “Use captions, subtitles, and audio descriptions,” recommends Steven Mostyn, Chief Human Resources Officer for Management Library. 
2. When scripting content and creating interactive resources, use various learning styles and culturally diverse examples. This accessibility practice increases training effectiveness by considering multiple groups of people.
3. From a user experience standpoint, consider accessibility across devices. “Enable employees to learn anywhere and at any time in a comfortable and personal environment,” recommends Tornike Asatiani, CEO of Edumentors.

Finally, ensure employees can navigate your video training portal without friction. One solution is to organize content into playlists by topic, department, or role.

Learn More: Playlists Overview

5. Gather Feedback

“Before rolling out the training program, pilot your videos with a small group of employees to gather feedback on its effectiveness and engagement levels,” recommends Steven Mostyn of Management Library. 

Get feedback from internal stakeholders as well. This review process ensures the information is accurate and aligned with the company.

The more people who test the training program, the more you’ll be able to ensure its accuracy, effectiveness, and accessibility. 

6. Monitor and Evaluate the Program

Video training is successful when it positively impacts employee performance and company goals. Common key performance indicators (KPIs) for employee video training include: 

• Time to onboard new employees
• The volume of customer complaints
• Compliance with regulations
• Adoption rate of new technology or platforms

Creating benchmarks for video content is a great way to ensure it meets company standards. Monitor overall video performance and individual engagement. These benchmarks can help you determine when to assist an employee who may be struggling to learn the material.

How to Track Video Engagement 

Measure overall employee participation in training videos with average engagement rate.

The average engagement rate is represented as a percentage. It measures the time a viewer spends watching your video compared to its duration.

Therefore, 100% indicates that viewers watched every second of your video. Video engagement can also be above 100% if viewers rewatch parts of the video.

You can use engagement metrics to track individual employee video engagement and completion as well. We discuss how later.

4 Ways to Create Employee Training Videos 

Across the types of employee training videos you create, Steven Mostyn for Management Library recommends including “a mix of visuals, animations, and real-world examples to illustrate points and keep the content dynamic.” 

Here are a few different ways you might approach employee video training production. 

1. Live-Action Videos

Live-action videos use real-world scenarios and human interactions to convey a message. This video style centers on realistic situations, making both task instructions and messages like “safety first” or “your team is here to support you” more engaging and emotionally impactful. 

This level of video production may require a team. Use in-house team members, video freelancers, or a production company. Your approach will determine the resources or creativity required.

2. Animated Videos

Animated videos are effective at engaging viewers. Voiceover conveys important information that is brought to life through animated elements. Common animation styles include whiteboard, 2D or 3D animation, and motion graphics. 

This video tier is suitable for various budgets. There are many ways to create animated videos, from hiring an artist to employing an online tool.

3. Talking-Head Presentations

Are you working with a skeleton (or no) crew and limited resources? A single person with a quality filming setup can create professional videos alone.

Create a well-crafted script and consider how the video will hold attention. These videos often cut to short animations, stock footage, or text-based slides. Another strategy is to film two camera angles and flip back and forth during the video.

4. Screen Recorded Videos

Screen-recorded videos showcase how to perform a specific task within a software program. This type of training video is the easiest and most affordable. 

One person can easily create professional screencast videos. However, making engaging videos in this category is challenging. Keep videos focused on a single how-to and use playlists to guide employees through the software onboarding.

How to Implement A Video Training Program 

It’s essential to make employee video training easy to access and navigate. Social sharing sites are great for distributing brand materials to a wide audience. However, employee training videos are usually intended for internal distribution only. 

One solution is to create a dedicated and secure video library for training content. This ensures that your proprietary content is organized and visible only to employees with authorized access. 

A second option is to use your company intranet. 

Secure Video Library

Share internal videos with employees through a secure and centralized video library.

SproutVideo makes it easy with our hosted Video Websites, which include a suite of video hosting tools. Create a professional video portal and use privacy tools to control and monitor access.

Common privacy measures include login protection and single-sign-on (SSO). Both options allow you to track the viewer’s email address in engagement metrics. Use this data to audit viewer access and review employee video engagement. We discuss how here. 

You can also add dynamic watermarking to deter screen recording theft. 

Company Intranet

Another option for sharing employee video training is your company intranet. Use it in combination with SproutVideo privacy measures to ensure private content stays internal.  

Here’s an example of how to secure video content embedded on your company intranet when using SproutVideo:

• Leave your videos set to private and embed them on your company intranet. 
• Use allowed domains or signed embed codes to prevent video sharing.
• Add dynamic watermarking to deter screen recording theft.

You can still display individual engagement metrics. Use embed code parameters to track viewers by email address through your company’s intranet.

How to Track Individual Employee Video Training Engagement

How to evaluate training video effectiveness or maintain compliance with regulations? Track individual viewers using video engagement metrics on the SproutVideo platform. 

How to Track Individual Employee Video Engagement 

Video heat maps visually represent viewer engagement with a single video. 

You can use heat mapping to determine what parts of videos employees watch and rewatch. When viewers rewatch part of a video, the content may be confusing, worth repeating, or especially engaging. 

Heat mapping is a granular way to:

• Ensure individual employees are gaining the necessary insights
• Determine what topics an employee is struggling to learn

If employees skip parts of a video, the heat map reveals what sections they overlook.

When this happens, review the video and determine why. It may be that the video is redundant, loses viewer attention, or doesn’t relate the information’s importance to the employee. 

Heat mapping insights can help you improve and update your content. Use this data as a before-and-after test to measure the effectiveness of your changes.

How to Track Employee Video Training Completion 

Track if an individual completed the video using engagement metrics. Within engagement metrics, click on a viewer’s email address to review:

• All past videos accessed
• The percentage completed for each video session
• Heat maps that indicate viewing behavior

You can also access individual viewer data from Viewer Logins when using login protection. 

Learn More: Video Analytics

Employee video training provides businesses with a tactical advantage in more ways than one. It increases productivity, morale, and retention—all of which lead to more gross profit. Video training makes it easy to gain these benefits while providing flexibility to employees. 

Check out our related content to keep learning: 

• How to Create a Video Website in 10 Easy Steps
• Best Practices to Securely Share Corporate Video
• 10 Strategies to Grab & Hold Viewer Attention

The post Employee Training Videos: How L&D Experts Make Engaging Content appeared first on SproutVideo.