Getting Training Messages to stick can be Tricky. This New Report reveals the Key Factors behind Successful Staff Induction Training and how to implement them.

Melbourne, Australia (July 26,2010) – Digicast Productions, a safety and induction training video production house, today released a new white paper “Optimising Induction Training: Reduce Costs, Improve Quality and Talent Retention”.   Around the world, many companies train new starters and contractors ineffectively often finding it difficult to get training messages to stick inside people’s heads.  This paper outlines the impact of poor induction training, the high cost of face to face training and the growing importance of including visuals in training materials.

Eighty-three percent (83%) of human learning occurs visually, yet the majority of companies produce text based induction training materials that have a 10% effectiveness rate on recall levels.

Smart organisations who regularly need to train contractors and new staff are looking for a more streamlined, engaging and cost effective way to ensure staff absorb training messages.

This exclusive white paper addresses the various pitfalls of a poorly designed induction training process and what can be done about it.  The report looks at:
•    What current induction training programs are really costing companies
•    The importance of avoiding a poor safety culture
•    The emerging trend of using more visuals in communication
•    How to make training messages sticky
•    A little mistake that cost a Quarry $20,000 a year

For a complete copy of the whitepaper, download it now.
About Digicast Productions

Established in 1991, Digicast is an Australian vendor of customised safety and induction training videos.  Thousands of people each year worldwide are trained with Digicast training videos. For more information, visit Digicast or The Workplace Improver blog for training tips.

Contact Marie-Claire Ross
Digicast Productions
+ 61 3 9696-4400
mc@digicast.com.au

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1. Use more Visuals - 83% of human learning occurs visually.  Use lots of photos, videos, diagrams and colour to present training information.  Avoid relying heavily on text based training.  After all, we only recall 10% of what we read compared to 50% for what we both see and hear.

2. Tell Stories – During training, tell stories of exemplary staff behaviour that typify the type of action you want staff to do.  Stories help people make emotional connections.

3. Lead by Values – Let staff/contractors know what your values are.   Using values, empowers workers to make decisions based on company values.  Difficult for staff to make the right decisions if they only have rules to follow.

4. Positivise it – Remove negative language.  Tell people how you want them to behave, rather than telling them what you don’t want.  Remove words such as ‘no’, ‘can’t and ‘don’t’.

5. Involve senior management - Senior management play an integral leadership role in establishing culture.  Effective leadership whether it be concerning safety, a new sales method or business structure must be led from the top.  They must be involved in the induction process.

6. Reduce complication - Get rid of long sentences, jargon and big words in training materials.  Keep it short and tweet.

7. Ask more why questions - Teach people why they need to do something, so they can always figure out the how.  Otherwise, company processes keep getting perpetuated without people ever questioning why they do something.

Think you need help to improve your company induction training materials?  Then, go to the seminar to find out more information.

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According to Steven Bell, senior associate with law firm Freehills, in January 2012 the new Australian OHS laws will expect companies to drive safety management internally and push greater alignment between key messages and action.

The new laws will introduce a level of personal responsibility that will help drive the changes needed for better OHS.  This means that senior managers will be expected to foster a positive workplace culture, receive regular safety reporting and a practical understanding of what is happening on the ground.

This is a great step forward as senior management actually drive the safety culture of a company.

Currently, most companies promote a safety culture, but send out mixed messages when it comes to a safe workplace.  For example: A fairly standard grumble by many workers is that they are expected to work safely, yet at the same time they are told to work faster or in a way that involves safety risks, to drive productivity.

So with the new requirement to promote safety messages and show evidence of a positive safety culture, what is the best way to communicate workplace safety messages?

With any communication program, it is important to take into account that people absorb messages differently and the more they see it, the more likely it will be taken on-board.  Therefore, any workplace safety communication messages need to include a variety of communication approaches such as posters, training videos, staff newsletter and ‘toolbox’ talks.  They all need to be branded with the company’s unique safety messages.

In addition, the workplace safety communication must be personalised to the company.  Generic safety messages won’t cut it.  Instead, it needs to be formulated according to your culture and demographics.  And then it needs to be followed up with action.

A lot of companies that we have worked with have successfully used a customised training video as the main communication medium to drive OHS behaviour change. They have then supported the training video with posters, newsletters and other safety specific materials.

A staff training video is an ideal way to connect with staff.  Made correctly it will positively and believably demonstrate your company commitment to the healthy and safety of your workplace.  After all, research has found that training videos are more persuasive than written material which is perceived as less important and credible.

In order to take into account the new laws, consider creating a customised training video that includes:

• An introduction by senior managers talking about the importance of safety to the staff and company.
• Safety rules/explaining that poor safety effects the viewer and other workers
• Procedures
• Summary

Of course, just playing a training video doesn’t automatically ensure that staff will know your training messages.  It needs to be followed up with a consistent workplace culture that always considers the safety rules/message in every activity.  Not just when played on a training video.

More importantly, senior management must support and agree with all the safety communication tools.  And refer to them often.

After all, staff won’t believe that the company backs its safety messages, until they see the proof of action.

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Do new staff feel undervalued in your company?

When it comes to induction training, common complaints are that it is ‘boring’ and ‘overwhelming’.

Yet, inductions also represent the only first impression that you ever get with a new employee.  Inductions are a great opportunity to align new starters with your company values and processes.

In this interesting seminar, you will learn:

• Five induction trends that could send you out of business
• The benefits of getting your induction process right
• Seven tips to improve your induction process
• How your company can be the industry leader

The details are:

Monday 26 July 2.30 – 4.30pm at Protector Allsafe 41 Greens Rd Dandenong

The cost is free for members; $5 for non-members.

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Truck driver training

Recently, I was speaking to a client about what baseline figures we needed to measure before and after his company induction training video gets released.

What I found interesting was that even though there are some key figures we can measure (eg: trends in customer complaints and accidents), as far as he was concerned the video was mainly a holistic training device to help in a number of key areas that were immeasurable.

In this company, they have 450 truck drivers who do a vitally important job.  Yet, other staff members in different departments and even the truck drivers themselves, do not realise how important this role is to the company success.

The training video has been written to let truck drivers realise how important their responsibilities are and the broader impact on the company itself.  This is part of the all-important introduction which clearly lets drivers know what the company does, who they serve, how their job role impacts the company, the importance of safety and their job responsibilities.

The induction video is a way of connecting emotionally to these truck drivers so they realise the importance of their ambassador role for the organisation while also ensuring the fresh and timely delivery of their milk products.  It also includes procedural tasks.

Interestingly, my client made the remark that the training video was really a different communication medium to ‘put life’  into their induction document.  And while it is important to train on procedures, it was more important to align the truck drivers with the broader perspective of their job and the company vision and values.

What pleases me, is that this organisation understands that training is not just about teaching the right processes, it is also about getting staff aligned with what the company does and why, as well as the importance of jobs.  It’s not just about delivering a product on time, it’s also about the being an important visible representative of the company.  After all, a truck driver that is discourteous reflects badly on the company reputation.  By letting staff know the greater meaning and importance of the job, the more they will see purpose in what they do which will result in better performance, but also better job satisfaction.

After all, a happy team is a productive team.

What can you do to your training materials to provide information about the importance of the job role and its relevance to the broader perspective to your company?

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Those of you who have read my posts know that I’m a big fans of telling stories to indoctrinate staff and contractors (see Telling Stories to improve Company Inductions).

In his book Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership, Harvard professor Howard Gardner wrote, “leaders achieve effectiveness largely through the stories they relate.  Stories must in some way help the audience/team members to think through who they are and frame future opinions”.

One of the best ways to induct new staff is for senior managers to be involved and to be seen getting involved.

The ex-CEO of Virgin Blue airlines, Brett Godfrey, would always turn up to staff induction training to introduce himself.

And while it is important for senior managers to introduce themselves and welcome new starters, they also need to talk about legendary company stories.  It’s a great way to improve the safety culture, customer service and pride in the company.  Also, particularly useful for welcoming staff from a new merger/aquisition.

Film them!

It’s a surprisingly simple, but effective way for new staff to know who the senior staff member is and to feel like they know them.  It also saves the CEO or Executive General Manager a lot of time.

We have filmed many senior managers welcoming new starters and giving their own personal introductions.  It’s warm, funny and believable.  And it’s a great way to start an induction training video.

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Do new staff feel undervalued in your company?

When it comes to  inductions common complaints are that they are ‘boring’ and ‘overwhelming’.

They also represent the only first impression that you get with a new employee.   This is a great opportunity to align them with your company values and processes and make them want to stick around.

In this fun and informative presentation, you will find out what most companies are doing wrong during the induction process and what you can do to make your company a leader in safety inductions.

You will learn seven ways to instantly improve the induction processes in your company.

These great tips will help you to improve your safety culture, productivity and engage your new staff/contractors with clear and consistent training materials.

For those of you serious about improving the quality of safety training in your company or welcoming new starter or contractors, this event is not to be missed.

Wednesday 16 June – GOSH

Royal Geelong Yacht Club

6.30 – 9.00pm

Monday 26 July – Southern Safety Group

3 – 4.30pm

Protector Alsafe Premises at 41 Greens Road Dandenong

To find out more or register, click here.

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Over the last three years, online video has become one of the fastest growing web trends due to the widespread availability of broadband and YouTube.  In fact, one of the most widely used search terms are “how to…” videos.

Now, more than ever before, there are hungry online audiences using video to educate themselves in their own homes.

And for good reason.

Everyone likes Pictures

In 2000, research by Gunter et al found that learners more easily understand and recall new material presented in video that allows participants to both see and hear the information.  This dual-encoding process reinforces information in multiple brain areas which increases the chances of the information being stored in long term memory.

While studies by educational researchers have found that 83% of human learning occurs visually.  Visually rich information keeps the brain busy and alert to learn more information.

You can’t see me

And videos can go where trainers can’t.  It’s fairly difficult to visualise how the back works and what happens when you lift incorrectly.  But clear medical animations can inform the user of how their spine works and what happens when they damage it.

When Trainers go Bad

Training videos also offer consistent training.  When different training facilitators are involved confusion can arise when they teach different processes.  In fact, inconsistent training is common within organisations, with around 54% stating that onboarding is inconsistent within their organisation.  Imagine what effect this has on productivity.

“I need more time”

When it comes to training, often trainers are overwhelmed by the amount of time they spend training and inducting face to face.  The truth is it doesn’t have to be this way.  By converting repetitive training tasks into easy to understand training video modules, the trainer can be relieved of repetitive training tasks.  And they can then spend time doing more important things like managing your site or taking the afternoon off to play golf.

You seem so Credible

Compared to written training materials, training videos actually increase comprehension and retention of subject matter by a staggeringly high 51%.  They actually command the attention of the viewer and motivate them to learn more.  But more importantly, they are perceived as more persuasive and credible than training materials which tend to be viewed as less important in comparison.

Here’s a test.  The next time you have to induct a contractor tell them that you need to sit down with them and read through your training manual.  After they curse and groan, smile and say, “actually, how about you watch our induction video with a small quiz?”  They will love you for life.  Or until the end of their shift.

Reduce Training Time

But the best part about training videos are that they teach information in around 50 – 75% of the time as an instructor.  And if you get an expertly produced training video made, expect productivity to increase also.  So if you are undertaking 45 minute inductions reducing the induction time to 12 minutes is about average.  Think about the cost savings to the trainer’s time and the new starter’s time.   The cost benefits can be quite enormous depending upon the amount of inductions your company does.

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Over the years, I have had the pleasure of revising company induction manuals and what I have found is that just about every company makes the same mistakes in its training materials.

Given that the quality of your induction training can actually determine whether a new starter will want to stay or not, it’s imperative to have the best training materials you can.  So which of these common mistakes do you have in your induction training:

1. Provide text based training - This is when training is from training manuals or PowerPoint presentations that contain mostly text.  Studies by educational researchers have found that 83% of human learning occurs visually.  You can actually help people keep their brain active and alert to new information by providing visual information relevant to the training.  Use lots of colours, photos, diagrams and video content to better explain training concepts.

2. Talk in corporate speak - Avoid formal corporate language in your training manuals.  Workers at different site locations will know if corporate has written the training materials and they weren’t consulted.  This can make the training manuals seem less credible.  Make sure it is friendly and conversational – and welcoming!  Keep sentences short (17 words or less), use short words (5 characters or less) and avoid jargon.  And in this day and age of Twitter, keep it short and tweet!

3. Use negative language - Remove rules that focus on “don’t, can’t, forbidden”.  Remember induction training is you most teachable moment with a new staff member/contractor, so use language that is friendly and warm.  Let people know what they can do, rather than tell them about behaviour that you do not want.

4. Forget the How - This is when staff are told what to do but no explanation is given as to why.   Company processes are perpetuated without people ever questioning why they do something.  Over time, staff are taught processes that solve problems that no longer exist.

In order to boost retention rates and improve productivity levels, inducting right is important to any company who wants to improve the bottom line.

By making your induction training visually appealing and easy to learn, you will be able to improve your staff productivity and safety quite remarkably.

Start adding colour, video and pictures to your induction training materials and keep sentences short.  Where can you convert processes into more visually appealing training videos that will get the messages across better than just boring text?

By fixing these common induction mistakes, you will have people commenting positively on the quality of your induction training.

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Do new staff feel undervalued in your company?

Getting new starters up to speed as quickly possible should be the goal of every company.  Yet, sadly, most companies tend to induct new starters with boring reading materials and little training support.

Making new hires feel welcomed and valued needs to be the principal induction objective for every company.

Why?  Here are five reasons.

1. First impressions count - Inductions represent the most teachable moment you will even have – so use it wisely.

2. Induct well or perish – 25% of new starters make the decision to leave in the first week of work.  Some reasons include “boring”  and ” sink or swim” induction processes.

3. 47% of new employees leave after 90 days – 60% of respondents in the Recruitment Solutions survey indicated that improvements to induction are a priority area to stop new talent leaving.

4. The cost of early leavers is high – It can take as long as six months to get a return on your investment after a new starter leaves.

5. 54% of companies surveyed by Taleo Research have inconsistent induction training.  This has a big impact on productivity and also your safety culture.

The faster new employees get up to speed, the faster they can contribute to your bottom line.

And with a talent shortage forecasted to be at the end of the year, it makes sense for companies to overhaul their induction process now, to ensure that they are the company people want to work for.

And improving your induction process doesn’t have to be difficult.  Sometimes, it can be as simple as introducing formal inductions that includes as much visually appealing training materials as possible, to improve engagement.  This can be as easy as including photos and diagrams in your training, as well as training videos.

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