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Think training videos are all about bad hair and music?

Find out the science behind why training videos are so effective and why every company needs to use them in workplace training.

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Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV) is a self-funding statutory authority which is responsible for the registration of architects, the approval of architectural companies/partnerships, the investigation of complaints against architects and the provision of  of a tribunal inquiry into professional conduct and accreditation of architecture courses.

There are around 1600 members of the ARBV.  And unlike member associations where members join voluntarily, architects must register with the ARBV in order to be a practising architect.

Alison Ivey is the Registrar at the Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV).  Having previously worked as a secondary school teacher, Alison brings an interesting perspective to training adult staff.  We chat to Alison to find out some of the challenges that the ARBV needs to consider when training a large group of professional architects.

1.      What are the challenges when running a registration board?  What are the implications of those challenges?

Alison: For the ARBV, even though registration is mandatory, we do try to keep architects informed of things that they need to know, and act as quickly and professionally as we can in response to enquiries, aiming to make all of our processes easy and efficient. In other words, we aim to be less bureaucratic and more customer relations focused.

A voluntary association always has to address the issue of whether members continue to find the benefits of membership outweigh the cost and time involved. Ensuring this requires vigilance and good customer management systems.

2.      What are the challenges when training members?

Alison: Training for adults is usually tied to incentives and motivation. A culture of valuing learning and up skilling is of vital importance both within an association and in the workplaces of members which is set and modelled by managers.  If managers don’t want to learn, no one else will want to either.

If training programs are mandatory, implying that the organization regards them as essential, attention should be paid to how well the programs are delivered and the retention rates of the information or skill taught. Follow up surveys and tests provide good information, and also reinforce the importance of the training to the association in the members’ minds.

If the training is voluntary, but recommended, the managers of the association should make it as easy as possible to do, ensure it is interesting, worthwhile, and well delivered, and above all is seen as value for money/time taken.

All of this is common sense. The most important step in adult learning to my mind though is the pretest, and this is often overlooked entirely.

A pretest establishes what is already known, enabling the trainer to determine where the learning is most needed. In addition, the pretest has the huge benefit of engaging the learner from the outset, and increasing the understanding and retention of the material covered.

3.      What training projects have you found to be the most successful in reaching out to members?  What worked/what didn’t?

Alison: People will always want to learn useful, relevant things. Changes in technology, best practice, regulations, and legal decisions will attract good interest as long as the delivery is thought through.  Is on-line delivery appropriate and engaging? Is face to face better?   If so, date, day and time are crucial issues.

What projects get the best recognition from employers/the public/colleagues? What projects coincide with current developments and demand? What projects will sell the service the best and improve profitability?

4.      What tips would you recommend to other associations when it comes to engaging members with training?

Alison: Employ trainers with a sense of humor, who are polished and entertaining presenters.  There is nothing worse than being bored, in fact, boredom is counterproductive to learning. Adults get very resentful of time wasting, can become entrenched in a cynical approach to work place training, and can even develop learning “sulks” where their minds are completely closed to new material as a result of previous, negative experiences.  School students manage this in many different ways, but adults are out of the school habit.  Trainers cannot take their audience’s interest for granted.

Learning is a human activity usually reliant on a relationship. The fastest way of establishing a rapport with an audience is to make them laugh.

5. What is an example of some training that has worked well for the ARBV?

We needed to explain Compulsory Professional Development to our members, as we have been considering introducing it.  A CPD video was created to simplify quite complex information and present it in a clear and logical way.  It’s a short video, but very comprehensive. Architects are visual learners and, like most of us, tend not to be good at reading large chunks of text.  We introduced the concept of CPD in an innovative video format that no other jurisdiction in Australia had done before.  It resulted in our members more easily accepting the proposed CPD concept and ensured that the meetings were pleasant and ran smoothly.

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1. Match the visuals, titles and voiceover – This is a common mistake of amateurs.  Sadly, even  some experienced editors have difficulty with this one.  This is one of the reasons why training videos are so powerful, but so many production houses get it wrong.  Remember, don’t skimp on editing time.  It is worth the time and effort to use lots of titles and to match the vision accurately.

2. Focus the training video on instructional design principles. Producing a training video is more than just editing and filming.  The script must be written in a way so as to enhance learning.  Avoid working with directors whose main desire is to be a Hollywood producer.  While you are getting a training video made, remember it is just another communication tool like a poster  magazine ad.  It is not about amazing pictures with  stereophonic sound.  How it is put together is a necessary requirement, but it is the instructional design principles behind it that make all the difference.

3. Entertaining videos usually don’t work.  Avoid effects that do not add to communicating your message.  Do you really need the paint splash effect title when your company has nothing to do with paint?

4. Change what’s on screen every 5-7 seconds. Use a variety of communication methods – titles, different voiceovers, numerous camera perspectives  and a change in music.  Keep people engaged.

5. Show people as much as you can. People like looking at people. Again, amateurs don’t get this key principle.  I have seen amateur videos where a blank wall has been an unnecessary feature point while the narrator rambled on.  No joke.

6. Linear sequence (Step 1, Step 2 etc) avoid Step 2, Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, Step 5 etc).  Our conscious brain absorbs information in a linear fashion.  Information must always be given from start to end with no confusing jumping back and forth.  With any type of training the structure is crucial to success.  This is the same with an educational video.   In a video, it can be quite boring and annoying to see things twice or in the wrong order.  Makes it difficult to understand.

7. Script - This is crucial.  It must be friendly and  conversational.  Use short words and sentences.  This is not a time to make out your clever because you know some big words.   And don’t get lazy and refer people to a book (yes, some training videos do that!)

8. Segregate the training video into chapters and make these clear. Just like a book, structure the training video into a range of titles and subtitles and make these easy to skip to.  By using titles in the video on the next topic, it helps to focus viewers on what they are going to learn next.

Training videos are an incredibly effective method of training people quickly and thoroughly.  More importantly, they help viewers to retain the information much more than if they were to read the information or even hear it.  But they have to be made right.  By spring boarding off what makes training videos so great and including these components in you training video, you’ll get fantastic training outcomes.

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As a training video production house, we often get calls asking if we have a training DVD that people can buy right there and then.

Given that we only produce customised training videos, the answer is no and we send customers elsewhere.  But what are the pros and cons of an Off the Shelf v. A Customised Training Video?

Let’s take a look at the differences between the two and the associated pros and cons.

Off The Shelf Videos

Advantages - This is an extremely cost effective way of training workers with audiovisual content.

Given that 83% of human learning occurs visually, any training that involves just reading a manual or looking at fairly bland PowerPoint slides with a presenter will always give you mediocre training results.  Humans learn better with pictures.  So just by adding video content to your training presentations will not only engage your trainees, but it will also increase their message recall and retention.

For small businesses, it is a great way of getting affordable video content for your staff.

Disadvantages – While people might initially be interested in watching a video (to break up the constant chatter from the presenter), it has to hold their attention.  Strange looking workplaces, actors and uniforms can start to lose their appeal.  And depending upon the quality of the training video, poor acting, bad hair, different accents and music can start to make the video more of an object to laugh at rather than learn from.  You really need to assess ready-made training videos carefully, as there are some dodgy companies out for a quick buck, that make some pretty horrendous training videos.

Will they or won’t they?

A couple of years ago, a client ‘forced’ me to watch an off the shelf  safety training video that was made in 1985 (it can still be bought today).  The client was still using it and they were thinking about producing a more, shall we say, modern version.

Nearly all of the actors had bad moustaches and the one thing that stands out to me, was that after the video illustrated a bad accident at the workplace, the next scene was a female worker approaching the office of the production supervisor to look at his safety report.  As she approached the doorway, the music changed to well, porno music and I really thought something non-safety related was going to happen (okay, that might depend upon your definition of safety).  It didn’t.  But it just shows how little I was learning.  Needless to say, any video that looks tired and dated won’t be very effective as a training tool.

Customised Training Videos

Advantages – This is where companies can use examples from their own workplace and ensure that processes and language matches what they use in their company.  It also is filmed at the company workplace, with their own staff and uniforms.  Interestingly, staff really enjoy seeing their fellow workers on the screen.  It’s like a bonding experience.  In fact, filming a training video can have the added benefit of boosting staff morale.  Staff love being involved (okay, some don’t but they still like to watch their co-workers).

A customised training video, if produced correctly, can also give you high message recall and retention levels.  Generally, much better than what you’d get with an off the shelf video, simply because your staff can relate to it more.  You own custom made video can also be used for five years plus (depending upon on quickly processes change).

Disadvantages - It is more costly and it takes time to produce.  If done poorly, it can be a big waste of time and money.

Summary

So my advice is if you are about to start training workers in a lecture, jump online and see which off-the-shelf training videos you can purchase to liven  up your training session.

However, if you know that you have a lot of company procedures that are nothing like what other companies do, or you have a large workforce, then you are better off investing the time and money into your own bespoke training video.

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It’s smart for companies to be worried about staff training videos and how to tackle them correctly.  There are so many choices.  Quite frequently, training videos are produced that just don’t get used.  Now, working out what components to include in your training video just got easier.

Melbourne, Australia (August 26, 2010) – Digicast Productions, a training video production house, today released the “Best Practice Guide: How to Produce Staff Training Videos that get Results”.   Developing the right training video for your company isn’t easy.   This guide is a useful resource for anyone involved in the challenging and complex task of producing a company training video that performs.
In this 4 page guide, discover:

• The key components required for the best induction training program
• The causes of a poor performing training video
• Issues to avoid during the production of a training video

This guide is suitable for anyone wishing to produce a company training video that will be used for many years.  It is a companion guide for the Training Video Buyer’s Kit.

For a complete copy of the kit, visit http://info.digicast.com.au/best-practice-guide-to-training-videos

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 at www.digicast.com.au 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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According to Wikipedia, advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience  to purchase or take some action upon products, ideals, or services.  Advertising can change the values, attitudes, and actions of those who see or hear the message.

Think television commercials.  Advertising is a billion dollar industry focused on changing consumers’ habits and beliefs.   And while it is true that television might not be as effective as it used to be, this is only because fewer people are watching it now.  Nevertheless, Government organisations like WorkSafe and VicRoads have used television commercials to successfully change our behaviours and attitudes towards workplace safety and road safety respectively.

In order to market safety messages, it’s time that safety professionals started to think like marketers.  And this might be hard, as let’s face it, they are a strange group to more linear thinkers like engineers.  However, let’s put on our marketing caps and find out how they try to get into our brain.

Key advertising tactics to consider for marketing safety are:

• Consistent, clear messaging (includes branding) – Always promote the same standarized safety message and ensure that all departments are aligned with the message and do not send out conflicting information (eg: safety officer tells people to work safely and cautiously, but production manager pushes for speed).

• Consequences of poor safety – One of they key messages is to get employees really understand that poor safety behaviour puts their health and safety at risk, but also other employees, contractors and customers.  Let them know what effect this will have on the personal life and how it will effect their family.

• Multiple message placement – This means you have a consistent safety message or theme and you repeat it in multiple places.  It is like the glue that holds these tactics together and is essential in successful advertising.  In advertising campaigns, it is believed that people need to be exposed to a television ad six times before they will absorb the message.  This is why frequency of message equals success in the advertising campaign.

Most safety training programs fall short when it comes to frequency of message. Yet, there are many simple and cost effective ways to do this.

By getting workers to engage in your safety message in different ways (watching it, hearing it, reading it), supervisors can better ensure that more workers receive it.  Different communication methods include a training video that is supplemented with matching posters, email newsletter campaigns, key rings, employee handbooks and toolbox talks.

But how do you develop workplace safety communication?  Read How to Develop a Workplace Safety Messages Campaign (Part 2)

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It’s smart for companies to be worried about staff and customer training videos and how to tackle them correctly.  There are so many choices.  Quite frequently, training videos are produced that just don’t get watched.  Now making the right decision has just got easier.

Melbourne, Australia (August 11, 2010) – Digicast Productions, a training video production house, today released the “Training Video Buyer’s Kit”.   Developing the right training video for your company isn’t easy.  Nor is choosing the right company to help you.  This kit is a useful resource for anyone involved in the challenging and complex task of deciding upon producing a staff or customer training video and then how to go about it.

Using a four step process the buyer kit includes:

• A list of questions to decide whether or not a training video is right for an organisation.

• The critical questions to determine what the training video needs to achieve, in order to write the brief and how to best manage the project internally.
• A valuable checklist to evaluate the suitability of a video production house.
• An additional checklist to measure the effectiveness of training videos already produced by production houses.

For a complete copy of the kit, visit http://info.digicast.com.au/things-you-need-to-know-before-buying-a-customised-training-video
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 at www.digicast.com.au or The Workplace Improver blog for training tips, www.digicast.com.au/blog.

Contact Marie-Claire Ross

Digicast Productions
+ 61 3 9696-4400
mc@digicast.com.au

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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.

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