Tag Archive for 'induction training videos'

The Importance of Using Visuals in your Training Materials

In a recent AFRBoss article, it was cited that an important trend over the next decade will be the shift from words to images in communication.

Rather than bombard people with an avalanche of reading material, people will prefer visual representation of data.

This isn’t a surprise given our time-poor, attention-scarce, give-it-to-me-now lifestyle.

So to future-proof and update training materials, now more than ever, there is growing importance for companies to use visuals to aid in learning.

After all, we remember:

10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we both hear and see

In fact, studies by educational researchers found that 83% of human learning occurs visually. Visually rich training materials keep the eyes busy and therefore, the brain more alert and active to learn information.

Yet, I often get amazed when I go through company training manuals how so few of them include pictures or even colour for that matter. And of course, very few of them use video as part of training.

“Something is happening. We are becoming a visually mediated society. For many, understanding of the world is being accomplished, not through words, but by reading images.”

Paul Martin Lester, “Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication”

What can you do to start making your training materials more visually appealing?

What is inconsistent training costing your company?

Published on January 21, 2010 in company induction training, customer training videos, induction videos, staff induction videos, staff training videos, training videos and workplace performance. 0 Comments Tags: company inductions, improving workplace performance through video, induction training videos, induction videos, staff inductions, staff training videos, workplace performance, workplace training.

It goes without saying that staff training is incredibly important for continual company improvement.

In Chet Holmes book The Ultimate Sales Machine, he talks about the Tribal Method of Training. This is where information gets passed person to person by word of mouth, like the cavemen might have done (informal training).

Newcomers work alongside another staff member to learn what they are meant to do. There is no formal classroom training, no formal methodology and no training manuals.

This is the worst type of staff training. Mainly because the training is inconsistent and if the staff member is having a bad day they will just teach bad habits.

Another style of staff induction or staff training is the formal classroom style. Of course, while the training materials might be consistent different trainers will often teach different things.

And if you need to undertake sales training, take a look at Paul McCord’s blog post called ” Consistency in Sales Training relates directly to Consistency in Production”. It’s a real eye-opener about the costs of inconsistent training to a company’s sales process.

Good training ensures that all staff work in harmony.

How consistently trained are your staff? To find out how well you are faring write a T or F against the following questions:

1. Each training facilitator teaches the same procedures, so that staff walk away knowing exactly what to do

2. Every staff member would provide the same answer for one of our processes.

3. All of our staff members perform their job at a high level of excellence.

4. Results in our company are predictable because of consistent training and skills.

5. All employees know what the company considers as a good attitude or performance.

6. Customer complaints are always dealt with in the same way, no matter which department the customer complains to.

If you have answered false to any of these statements, you aren’t serious about the calibre of your training.

With consistent training, every staff member will know your procedures so that customers are dealt with in the same manner and all procedures are done in the most productive, correct and safe manner. Productivity is high.

And remember, you can’t get more consistent training than a properly made staff training video.

How to Improve On-Site Inductions

Published on December 8, 2009 in OHS videos, company induction training, improving safety standards, induction videos, safety videos, staff induction videos, staff training videos and training videos. 0 Comments Tags: company inductions, improving workplace performance through video, induction training videos, induction videos, safety training videos, staff inductions, staff training videos, video production.

For many companies, both large and small, new contractor or employee orientation is a perfunctory process. It usually involves a manager who might prefer to be working on other jobs talking through a PowerPoint presentation or checklist. This is usually followed by introductions and a tour of the premises. Then, the new hire is thrown into the workplace with little consideration for the confusion that comes with commencing a new job or the site-specific hazards that may exist.

Improving the Induction Process

Successful companies understand that that a well-oriented employee will approach a new job with heightened confidence resulting in better performance and productivity. They are also more likely to be committed to the company reducing high employee turnover costs.

According to Randolph Cirilo & Brian H Kleiner from Management Research News 2003, they found that effective orientation programs provided more substantive content, face to face learning, utilized vivid presentation techniques, participative learning methods and involved management.

While XpertHR UK in April 2009, found that highly successful inductions were structured and formal.

So what is a Better Induction System?

The good news is that the best induction process will not only cost you less to train staff, but will actually improve your training outcomes.

And yet the answer is one that is often overlooked by companies – an induction training video.

A custom made training video for your workplace:

Teaches the same amount of information taught by instructors in half or a third of the time.
Increases comprehension and retention of the subject matter by approximately 50% over printed material alone.
Commands the attention of the viewer and motivates them to learn more.
Is more persuasive than written material which is perceived as less important and credible.
Provides faster rollout and take up of training.
Ensures consistent training messages are communicated.
Relieves the trainer of repetitive tasks.

How does it work?

A well-planned induction video provides structured training that can even include introductions from senior management, freeing up their time.

While using visuals to communicate is also another major advantage as it makes difficult processes easier to understand.

Tom Kerr, the OHS Manager from Conundrum Holdings explains how a customized induction training video has simplified the induction process of contractors and staff across their work sites.

“We were finding that delivering individual inductions for all contractors and staff working on our sites was taking up a lot of management time. We also didn’t have any real evidence that each induction was consistent or that everything was getting covered, “explains Tom Kerr.

“Now that each person signs off they have watched the video and are tested directly on their knowledge learnt from the video, we can be sure that they have been made aware of all safety hazards and controls. The training is now more engaging and has the advantage of putting visual cues to the site rules and procedures. Given the inherent dangers with working in a quarry it is important that we train our staff and contractors to work safely. It also imparts our company culture really well. Another benefit is that we can refer staff back to specific areas of the video for more employee specific refresher training”.

For companies looking to improve their induction process, a custom made training video for their workplace can provide successful learning outcomes, reduce incidents and injuries, while decreasing training costs.

Telling Stories to Improve Company Staff Inductions (Part 1)

Published on October 28, 2009 in OHS videos, company induction training, improving safety standards, induction videos, safety videos, staff induction videos, staff training videos and workplace performance. 0 Comments Tags: company inductions, induction training videos, induction videos, staff inductions, training videos, video storytelling.

Company induction training is all about communicating the company’s core values and its nature, in order to motivate new employees to adopt behaviours that translate into action on a daily basis. It is about shaping staff’s work values and sense of identity with the company.

Typical information includes a company introduction, history, nature of the business, organisational philosophy, human resources policies and procedures.

In a Management Research News article (August 2003), Cirilo and Kleiner found that highly effective induction training painted a vivid and detailed picture of the firm and used corporate story-telling techniques.

In “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits” author Verne Harnish also concludes that corporate storytelling is crucial for successful staff indoctrination. He believes that a little bit of story and legend is needed to cement the bond between the CEO (or other senior manager) and employee.

For example, US company Nordstrom is renowned for its customer service. Their orientation of new hires consists of telling stories about heroic customer service (e.g., the employee who ironed a shirt for a customer who had a job interview on the day of the purchase).

Effective induction training allows for the new employee to possess a good sense of what actions are valued and how they can manifest it in their own behaviour.

Rather than just telling staff what to do or giving vague parameters, corporate story-telling raises the bar further and encourages staff to undertake exemplary behaviour. Or just understand the company history and values in a more detailed way.

And of course, corporate story telling comes to life in video format.

Stories can easily be incorporated into induction training videos. The story can be told by senior managers or those involved with the story. This only involves a small amount of time to be filmed which can be used to show many staff across many locations for years to come. Reenactments can be filmed to make the story come to life.

Can you think of ways to include storytelling in your inductions?

Tag Archive for 'induction training videos'

The Importance of Using Visuals in your Training Materials