HR training videos for employees: the evolution of e-learning in the enterprise

Summary

Digital transformation has revolutionized the way we teach and learn, including in the workplace. For some time now, trainings, courses, and seminars have no longer necessarily been confined to a classroom or conference room. In fact, trainers and employees have a digital toolbox that includes mobile devices, virtual learning systems increasingly powered by artificial intelligence, online courses in streaming or recorded video, and applications for remote testing in total autonomy. Of all the tools available, training videos for employees are particularly powerful. Their technical and design features make them flexible and adaptable to the transmission of highly informative content and therefore perfect for integration into human resource training plans.

What are employee training videos? What are they for? Why are they essential for the HR department? We’ll try to answer all these questions in this post.

A booming industry: let’s look at the numbers

To understand video training for employees, let’s start from today’s context where e-learning is now an established reality and take a look at some numbers.

• From the first forms of digitalization (beginning of the new millennium) to today, the e-learning sector has increased its overall value by 900% (source: Skillscouter).
• According to predictions reported by globenewswire, the global e-learning market will be worth $325 billion by 2025, and the corporate market could increase by $38 billion between 2020 and 2024.

Therefore, e-learning, despite its powerful growth over the last 20 years, still offers enormous margins for expansion and it continues to grow rapidly and constantly. But the prospects for development are not limited to the general dimension of the market, they’re also about achieving training objectives.

• A study by Brandon-Hall just a few years ago highlighted that employees who follow a virtual e-learning program spend 40% to 60% less time grasping concepts and notions than their colleagues in a traditional classroom.
• The Research Institute of America found that e-learning increases retention rates from 25% to 60%, compared to the much lower percentage (8% to 10%) achieved with in-person training (source: shiftelearning).

Easier access to knowledge, the ability to independently manage the training process, and a higher level of engagement (+18 boost in employee engagement) – all practical benefits of e-learning enjoyed by enterprise employees – seem to translate, for most companies, directly into productivity growth.

• According to 42% of U.S. organizations in 2017 (as part of the Ambient Insight Premium Report 2012-2017), e-learning had contributed considerably to revenue growth in previous years.
• According to a TechJury.net survey of 2,500 companies, thanks to comprehensive training programs, revenue per employee had increased by 218% and profit margins by 24%.

These are just a few of the impressive statistics that describe the current state and future prospects of online training. These numbers provide a quick overview of a booming industry.

From slideshows to training videos for employees: the reasons for an overwhelming success

The term “e-learning” was coined in 1998. This means that the e-learning market is now 25 years old, a quarter of a century where, in the wake of the transformations created by digitalization, we have gone from rigid and static slide shows to rich distance learning platforms – enriched by the first forms of interactivity – to training videos that are designed for employees, and which are increasingly tailored to the real needs of each user.

But why have online training tools been so successful? The answers to this question are varied and all equally valid.

1. Let’s start by identifying one that actually also represents a general premise for any reflection on the subject: e-learning is able to create complete and engaging learning experiences because it is based on the collection and analysis of data from each individual user. This ability to organize and interpret a huge amount of information (quantitative and qualitative) allows us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a very large and differentiated audience with greater accuracy. Starting from very profiled “classes,” the approach can be personalized so as to render the process of learning more interesting, useful, and without friction.
2. The social distancing we’ve experienced over the past two years has inevitably affected in-company training as well. Employees have had to climb steep learning curves as they become more familiar with digital tools and get used to working almost exclusively remotely. It was also a challenge for companies as a whole and, within them, for human resources departments, which had to rethink recruitment and onboarding flows. They found video to be not only an indispensable support to giving operational continuity to their work but also new possibilities to establish a connection with candidates and new recruits.
3. With e-learning, courses can be followed asynchronously, whenever the student needs them. In this way, the workflow is not interrupted and the employees can adapt the training to their own pace. The time saved does not affect the quality of learning because understanding the content is more immediate and consequently, user satisfaction with the experience increases. In addition, students have more control over the learning process. For example, they can go back to review more difficult concepts as needed.

Employee training videos represent one of the most successful outcomes of the evolution of e-learning. They are the result of a series of technological and methodological innovations that have made it possible to move from a type of digital content that was still inflexible, such as slideshows, to personalized and interactive videos. These are the types of videos you can create using the Babelee platform.

Babelee’s automated videos can provide a solution to companies’ growing need to produce and distribute quality informational and educational materials. Before explaining how, let’s pause for a moment and provide a clear definition of what constitutes a training video.

What is an HR employee training video?

In the corporate world, a training video is a type of content that is provided to employees (both new and existing) to help them learn a particular skill or to deepen some aspect of a certain process or area of expertise. Training videos (and their quality) can contribute to defining a company’s culture. In general, the better the training, the greater the adherence to the company’s value system, and the more likely it is that staff will feel engaged and satisfied. That’s why it’s increasingly important for employees to participate in company training projects. This is also confirmed by Wyzowl with its Employee Training Statistics:

• 93% of people say employee training makes them feel more satisfied at work,
• 96% of people say it’s important to them that their employer offers training and development opportunities,
• 88% of people would stay with a company longer if the company offered greater training and development opportunities.

HR employee training videos generate more conversation and interest. The language they use – moving images, sound design, voiceovers – also makes it easier for the viewer to retain information. Watching something as it happens, rather than simply listening to or reading a description of it, promotes mnemonic activity. Evidence of this cognitive mechanism, whereby audiovisuals make us better learners, is reflected in The State of Video Marketing 2022:

• 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
• When asked how they’d most like to learn about a product or service, 73% said they’d prefer to watch a short video. This compares to 11% who’d rather read a text-based article, website, or post, 4% who’d like to view an infographic, 3% who’d rather download an ebook or manual, 3% who’d rather attend a webinar or pitch, and 3% who’d like a sales call or demo.

So far, we’ve listed how HR can benefit if they systematically employ video training in their internal training.

Let’s now review the main critical issues that human resources departments may face, which could have a negative impact on how the company is perceived:

• More than half (56%) of people rate the training they receive at work as “average” or “poor”.
• 44% of people believe their employer should invest more in training (0% said they should invest less).
• 15% of employees say they have NEVER reviewed or updated their training.

As we can understand from the data, although the vast majority of people interviewed by Wyzowl consider the integration of video in training programs to be extremely positive (89% of people feel video is an effective tool for training), and a significant number report a situation that is far from optimal: they would like more content, of higher quality, and more often.

There may be several reasons why companies have not yet decided to invest in this type of content – or are still investing very little: from a cost-benefit assessment that tends to minimize the role of training, to distrust in training methodologies up to that point, to the simple desire to maintain the status quo. These are all understandable attitudes, but if they give the impression of preserving the business from possible risks, they can also freeze skills and enthusiasm, limiting the creative potential and the possibility of experimentation.

The solution: Choosing Babelee’s automated platform

Creating HR training videos for employees can seem like a daunting task when you consider the many aspects of the production process: writing, storyboarding, filming for live-action videos, creating and animating illustrations for motion graphics, editing, recording voice over and sound design, and converting to formats for publication on various channels.

Optimizing video creation so that it’s truly effective while keeping costs down can be a challenge if you don’t have specific training and haven’t mastered the right tools. To make up for the lack of a dedicated team that can handle video production, more and more companies are opting for automated video creation and distribution platforms. These solutions, in their most advanced version, such as the Babelee Video Automation Platform, make it possible to develop videos that are tailored to the specific needs of the individual employee, and adapted to their training plan, their study habits, to their gaps. Each video is built based on the user’s profile and proceeds by taking into account his weaknesses and progress. It can contain test results, reminders, and interactive calls to action.

Babelee has developed technology that automatically transforms data and insights into highly dynamic and communicative videos. Personalized videos, video feeds, and large-scale video bots are created instantly by simply connecting scenes with any type of database.

The learning experience becomes more useful and relevant because it matches more accurate user profiles. At the same time, it returns an authentic image of the company because it incorporates its language and values.

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