As a Learning & Development manager, you already knew about the importance of video and digital learning. As your organisation catches up, responding to the rise in remote and hybrid working, you’re gonna have to resist the urge to say, “I told you so.” What’s important is to embrace this opportunity to update your L&D strategy and place video squarely in the centre.
Mercifully, it looks as though face-to-face learning is returning to the agenda. So, on the off chance anybody thought that shift equated to a sign to ditch digital and video learning content, we are here to provide a friendly reminder of why that would be a terrible idea. The key is with a combination strategy of both digital and traditional learning methods — not an either or. Blended learning remains best.
The ‘New’ Face of Workplace Learning
Understanding the pressing need for digital learning strategies is one thing — creating and maintaining them is another. Let’s take a quick look at some — but not all — of the components of an effective digital learning solution.
- Access anywhere — Empowering employees to learn whenever, wherever is the cornerstone of digital learning. On-premise and off-premise access to materials means staff never have to wait for the answers they seek.
- Knowledge checks — This is not about checking up on staff. There is also nothing that says it has to be a tense affair. An occasional knowledge check helps L&D professionals identify skill gaps and foster progress and learning adoption.
- Interactive online workshops — These are, like their in-person equivalents, a great way to turn theory into practice. They also make employees feel a part of something and prevent digital learning from becoming a lonely endeavour.
- Breakout rooms — Not to be confused with a dedicated area for spontaneous dancing and biscuit bargaining, these are safe spaces that allow employees to talk through pain points and ask questions. As with workshopping, they make digital skills learning a collective pursuit.
- Video material — Video is brilliant at increasing adoption and retention — and the latter also extends to organisations. By moving learning content over to video, institutional knowledge stays put regardless of staffing changes.
Why you can’t exclude video from your learning solution
The thread of our argument is already clear so let’s waste no time with pre-amble. Here are some compelling reasons for why video content has to be central to your efforts:
Reason #1: Unrivalled accessibility
A successful strategy removes the barriers between employees and digital learning content. With the right platform, a move to video puts all your resources and courses at their fingertips. No more scrambling around trying to schedule training seminars. Employees can dip in and out as needed — and on any device.
Reason #2: It stimulates behavioural change
Learning is not just about the transfer of knowledge — it also has to provoke behavioural change. Effective programs have trigger points; video can help employees get there sooner than text. 60,000 times faster in fact.1 What’s more, research suggests most learners forget 70% of what they were taught at a learning session just one day after hearing it.2 With video, a reminder is never far away.
Reason #3: Engagement
According to Cisco, you are four times more likely to look at a video on a website than text and images.3 When you consider the immediacy of the medium and the fact that you don’t have to use your imagination to visualise processes, those numbers come as no surprise. Our recent client survey showed video has become so effective that 85% of L&D respondents already use it; 93% of teachers believe that video improves digital learning experiences.4
Reason #4: It can save you money
Briefly consider the sums involved in bringing people together for classes or small events and you’ll quickly see that digital learning, by virtue of the fact that it’s always ready and available, can significantly reduce expenditure. Microsoft estimates that webcasting (which can also be made available on demand) reduced the cost of their classroom training from $320 per hour, per participant to a paltry $17.5
Suggested reading: keen to take a closer look? Check out this article on the cost of classroom training vs digital learning
Reason #5: Learning autonomy
Give employees the freedom to engage when it suits them and you remove the single biggest barrier between learners and their objectives: time. Microlearning (3-4 minute standalone videos with a clearly defined educational goal) is rocket fuel for autonomous learning journeys. This format is actually proven to boost engagement by up to 17%.6
Reason #6: You stay down with the kids
Sort of. What we really mean here is that it helps you escape the preconception that learning material is dusty and boring. Keeping pace with how content is consumed is good for your strategy. Products including a shiny new LXP, for example, make on-demand learning feel slick and polished. And that will only help in the battle for attention.
Video is key. But it ain’t easy.
The tools you need to create video content have never been more accessible. Just check your pocket. But that doesn’t mean everyone can or should do it. Nobody wants to see a homemade cybersecurity learning video by Steve in IT.
The reality of pairing video with learning is that it requires several complementary skills: subject experts to guide the structure, various technicians to make it look like something worth paying attention to, writers to produce scripts that aren’t, well, painful. And that’s by no means exhaustive (but by most accounts expensive.)
Furthermore, L&D professionals have to consider integration standards. An evening discussing the intricacies of SCORM, anyone? Thought not. But trackability and interoperability (who decided that was a word?) will always be a part of delivering workplace learning.
So how should you approach the problem? Let us put it like this: you need some video learning content employees will actually watch. And guess what? We, at Video Arts, make legit, humorous video learning content starring BAFTA-winning comedians that anyone would watch.
Come on. At the very least, it’s got to be worth an exploratory email (and a pre-order of popcorn?).
1 Video vs Text: The Brain Perspective – WONDERMOUSE INC.
2 4 Facts And 2 Myths You Should Know To Improve Knowledge Retention In Online Training
3 Next Post The science behind the effectiveness of video in learnin
4 Why Videos are Important in Education
5 Microsoft, ROI of Building a Company-wide, Video Podcasting Portal Using Microsoft SharePoint
6 Numbers Don’t Lie: Why Microlearning is Better for Your Learners (and You too)