3 Ways to Integrate Online Videos into Learning Programs

Organizations are constantly seeking ways to make their teams smarter in a short span of time. Accelerated learning programs provide businesses more time to produce results and limit time spent adapting workers to new skill sets or processes.

However, finding ways to upskill employees faster is an enormous challenge—one that online videos can help with.
There are a few things that businesses and other organizations can do to leverage digital learning videos in their current learning programs:

1) Keep Online Learning Videos Short and Impactful

One common issue that keeps a workforce from fully integrating online learning videos is that some webinars/online videos require several hours to fully cover a topic. For workers expected to keep on top of their regular duties and watch the videos, this is a nearly impossible task.
This results in three possible outcomes:

1. Workers skip the videos to focus on primary work duties;
2. Workers reduce productivity to watch training videos on the clock; or
3. Workers spend their own free time to watch training videos—engaging in work-related activity without reimbursement for their time.

None of these outcomes are desirable. The first renders the training ineffective. The second results in lost productivity. The third outcome has employees working off the clock, which can create resentment among workers or even lead to more serious issues later.
There is an easy solution to the above problems. Instead of using hours-long training movies, consider breaking online video training content into shorter vignettes that each focus on a key concept.
This makes the online videos much easier for employees to watch, and also helps make the information in the videos easier to understand and remember.

2) Do Workshops Based on Video Lessons

There’s a world of difference between hearing an idea presented in a video and putting that idea into action at work. While short, easy-to-view online videos can help introduce workers to new ideas and concepts, it’s important to be able to relate those lessons to everyday activities.
Organizing group-based or one-on-one workshops with employees to cover lessons from online training videos can help improve information retention. By simply having employees complete workshops, as well as listen/watch video lessons, training can be vastly improved.

3) Measure Results

One of the greatest advantages of online learning of any kind is the ability to track those learning interactions. Each time a video is played, each time a user on the online learning platform discusses the lesson online, or each time an activity is completed, data about that interaction can be collected and used to gauge the success of the program or identify areas for improvement.
Using this data intelligently can let organizations tailor lessons to the needs of their employees—helping them get better results from their training initiatives through constant research and refinement.
For example, if more than a quarter of employees are scoring 50% lower on one specific evaluation than any other that they’ve taken up to that point, that can indicate an issue with the lesson that needs refinement. The lesson may be too complicated, requiring extra time to explain, or there may be an issue with the test questions.
Post-training, organizations should collect data about overall productivity and effectiveness for employees at work. This can help establish the ROI for the training and even promote buy-in from top-level execs, which can further boost training effectiveness.

Why Use Online Learning Videos?

While integrating online learning videos with your employee training program can take some effort, it’s well worth it for organizations both large and small.
Online learning videos can be accessed by employees any time they have an Internet connection, making these videos very convenient to use for training. Instead of having to set aside dedicated time for sitting through a lecture, employees can simply access the video when they have free time in between work.
Training videos also allow you to continuously share the insights of industry-leading experts featured in the videos without having to constantly rehire them for individual engagements.
Another benefit of using online videos for training purposes is that the ROI for training isn’t dependent on your “class” size. This means you don’t have to worry about cramming as many employee learners together as possible. The short-form videos can convey the lessons that would be given in more traditional lectures to the entire organization. This allows training managers extra flexibility in the training schedule to arrange more impactful one-on-one training sessions based on employee availability.
Learn more about how online learning videos can make your employees better, smarter, and more efficient by checking out a free demo now!