10 Benefits of Training with Video Over All Other Training Initiatives

When it comes to training with video there are certainly some profound benefits that you simply cannot expect from other training initiatives. Not only does recent research show that employees and HR staff prefer video content over other training programs such as manuals, emails, or in-person training, as many as 75% of staff prefer video over all other outcomes. If you’re a business owner that’s ready to initiative a training program, consider these 10 benefits of training with video over all other training initiatives.

1. Video Saves Money & Resources

The typical training program that is led by an in-person instructor is a coordination nightmare. There’s travel and lodging for employees to attend the program, there’s the need to hire the instructor and a facility where the training can take place, and there’s the time required for the instructor to pitch the training. All of this costs money and requires substantial resources. In one study, it was found that 85% of every dollar that was spent on training in this model went to the instructor conveying the data. 

With a video, the instructor conveys the data one time and that is used over and over. There is no travel. No lodging. No associated expenses for hall or convention area rental. No food costs. Just think of what you will save!

2. Video is More Engaging 

If you really want your audience to engage, training with video is key! Ask virtually any employee if they would prefer to read a manual or engage in training with video, and they’re going to choose video.  Videos improve engagement substantially over other formats of training. In fact, almost any employee that is offered video training over a book or manual is going to make that choice. 

3. Videos Increase Overall Information Retention

When training is provided via video, the amount of information that is retained is substantially more than if the training is provided in other formats.  If you want your audience to recall what you teach, the best way to do so is by training with video and doing it on a consistent basis. Habitual training is key! Unfortunately, training that is provided in-person, and training that is provided via a manual, has a very low retention rate at 7 days post-training. However, videos allow for re-training with ease!

4. Videos are Flexible 

Training with video allows you to reach your employees anytime, anywhere. Video training is flexible which means your employees can engage on their time. Not only is this good for the overall training scenario, but the flexibility means that employees can go back and re-watch sessions or they can skip around and engage in other training sequences. 

5. Video Training is Easily Accessible

Training with video means that you can make the training easily accessible for your employees.  Instead of spending time trying to coordinate 100 employees or 1000 employees, a trainer, and all of the lodging and other needs for in-person training you can create a training video, host it on your library, and with a single email send it to all employees or even better, just make the content on-demand accessible for employees at their convenience.

6. Video Training can be Shared

You might not think of the typical training video as something that people will share, but you would be surprised! Video training can be shared throughout your workplace. Employees can share with each other and interact while you can share videos as needed, too. For example, you can share a training video that relates to a particular compliance issue with an employee that you notice making a mistake. You don’t have to make a big deal of it, instead you just send them the video to remind them of their needs.

7. Video Training Boosts Employee Productivity

Traditional training takes away from employee productivity requiring large groups of employees to take time away from their position to train.  Training with video doesn’t take away from day-to-day operations. In fact, employees can train in short bursts, rather than in long-winded seminars, which means they’ll retain more of what they learn, they’ll digest the training better, and they’ll be more productive in the process.

8. Video Information is Always Available

If you have an employee that seems to have forgotten their training, you can’t wait 10 months for the next training event to come around. Training with video is key! This way, the information is always available for your audience. Video training provides your employees with the opportunity to re-watch content as needed and you can share content with employees on-demand, too. 

9. Video Makes Complex Concepts Easy to Follow

If you’re training on complex concepts, the in-person training can be incredibly costly and if employees forget what they learned, it could be months before you can re-train. Video makes complex concepts easy to follow and understand, and if employees forget what they learn, they can watch videos at their convenience to relearn important concepts.

10. Video is Preferred by Employees

Ask 10 employees if they want video training or manual training, and you’ll probably have 8 say they prefer video. In some cases, it could be all 10 that say they prefer video. The point is, very few are going to say they prefer to train via a written manual. Training with video is simply preferred and, with so many benefits, how can you go wrong?