Corporate training videos can be a great, cost-effective way to onboard your employees. Not only is it something that can be used every time you have a new employee, but it will also ensure that each new team member is given the same training.
If you are embarking on a journey to create corporate training videos, it is important to be aware of a couple of things. Make sure that you read through our list of common mistakes below so that you can avoid making them in your training videos. That way, you can feel confident that your videos will be both effective and stand the test of time.
1. Not Engaging Viewers
Corporate training videos have a reputation for being boring, so it is imperative that you capture users’ attention right away. More often than not, though, the information you’re sharing in your training videos isn’t the most exciting. So how do you engage the audience while still making sure you get all of the important information across?
One way is through visuals. Using high-quality animation to illustrate a concept or scenario is a great way to not only keep viewers engaged but also help them to visualize more complex topics.
Another simple but effective way to keep your audience paying attention is to switch up your shots every so often. Obviously, you don’t want to change the camera angle constantly, but switching between different shots periodically can help to re-engage users who may have zoned out.
2. Not Considering Your Audience’s Prior Knowledge
First and foremost, we need to determine who is the audience for this corporate training video. Is it only new hires? Will it be shown to the entire company? Is it just for a particular department? Whoever the audience may be, it’s extremely important to understand what prior knowledge they have before viewing the video.
If your video will be shown to a larger audience with varying levels of knowledge about the topic, it’s important to cater to the viewer with the least amount of prior knowledge. Make sure that the least knowledgeable viewer will be able to walk away with a clear understanding of the information portrayed in the video.
3. Making the Video Too Long
This is a mistake that many companies make when putting together corporate training videos. Don’t make your videos too long! That is a surefire way that viewers will lose interest and stop paying attention.
So what is the right length for a corporate training video? Unfortunately, it’s not one size fits all. The ideal video length is going to depend on the topic, your audience, and even how/where the video will be shown. If you plan to have new hires watch it in a conference room after a long week of onboarding, you may want to keep it on the shorter side and follow it up with some interactive discussion. If your employees will be watching it at their desks whenever they have the time, you may be able to extend the length a bit knowing that they may watch over the course of a few days. The topic of the video plays a part in determining the length as well, so don’t forget about that!
4. Including Too Many Topics
Don’t make the mistake of including too many topics within your training video. Reducing the number of topics in your video will not only help to keep your video from getting too long (see above), but it will also make it easier for your viewers to retain the information that you’re trying to share. If you include too much, it will be hard for them to remember everything.
5. Forgetting About the Takeaways
Speaking of remembering the information, it’s important to remember the purpose of your video. You’re trying to train your employees on a particular topic. Make sure that you focus on what the viewers should come away remembering.
At the beginning of the video, list the main things that you will cover in the video. Doing this visually onscreen as well as through voiceover allows viewers to see and hear the important info. Then, at the end of the video, be sure to cover these main takeaways again. You want to be sure that even if they missed something during the course of the video, your employees will get caught up by the end.
Now that you know the top mistakes to avoid when creating your corporate training videos, it’s time to get the video production process started! Send us a message or give us a call at 831-824-9660 to get started today!