The Value of Training
Training is an indispensable part of employee development and organisational growth. While traditional face-to-face training holds irreplaceable value, especially for hands-on or highly interactive sessions, the integration of video in training presents so many advantages. Video training not only complements physical training sessions but also extends learning opportunities, providing flexibility and a broad range of benefits that can significantly impact a company’s bottom line and employee retention.
Types of Training Videos
Training videos can be tailored to fit a wide array of educational and operational needs within a company. Common types include:
- Induction Videos: Welcome new employees with a comprehensive introduction to the company culture, policies, and expectations.
- Health and Safety Training: Essential for ensuring that employees understand workplace safety protocols to reduce accidents and comply with legal standards.
- Product Use Demonstrations: Show how products work, which is crucial for both sales staff and after-sales support teams.
- Installation and Maintenance Guides: Help technical staff understand how to install or maintain products correctly.
- Customer Service Training: Equip your staff with the necessary skills to handle customer inquiries and issues effectively.
- Conflict Resolution: Provide strategies for managing and resolving conflicts in the workplace, improving team dynamics.
Additional specialised video types can include software training, leadership development, and compliance updates, each serving unique needs but all utilising the power of visual learning.
Impact on Staff Retention and Performance
Training is increasingly recognised as a key factor around employee retention. Here are several compelling statistics and findings that highlight the importance of training in retaining staff:
- Employee engagement and retention: Research indicates that a significant 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. This emphasises the role of learning and development (L&D) in employee retention strategies? (Whatfix)?.
- The cost of employee turnover: The financial impact of not retaining staff can be substantial. For high-level positions, the cost of replacing an employee can reach up to 213% of their annual salary. This underscores the importance of retention strategies to avoid such high costs? (Acuity Training)?.
- Training and voluntary turnover: Employees who perceive a lack of learning opportunities are likely to seek new jobs. Statistics show that employees who feel their company offers positive learning opportunities are 21% less likely to leave for a new role? (Frontline Training)?.
- Onboarding and job clarity: A clear onboarding process can improve retention rates by 23%. Employees who understand their job responsibilities from the outset are more likely to stay with the company? (TeamStage)?.
- Engagement through recognition and empathy: Nearly all employees (96%) stress the importance of empathy for retention, and a culture of recognition is strongly linked to higher retention rates. Employees in companies that recognise their efforts are five times more likely to remain with the company? (TeamStage)?.
- Increased productivity: The Association for Talent Development found that companies that offer comprehensive training programs have 218% higher income per employee than those with less comprehensive training. Moreover, these companies experience a 24% higher profit margin than those who spend less on training.
These statistics highlight that investing in effective training and development programs not only enhances skills but also plays a crucial role in motivating and retaining employees. As the workplace evolves, continuing to invest in and adapt training will be essential to maintaining a committed and satisfied workforce, in a world where they can move with very little friction due to hybrid roles.
Benefits of Training Videos
The benefits of training videos extend beyond just educational outcomes; they have profound operational and financial impacts:
- Cost-effectiveness: Training videos reduce the need for multiple sessions, cutting down on travel, accommodation costs, and trainer fees.
- Consistency and quality assurance: Every trainee receives the same quality of training, ensuring a uniform experience and quality of content each and every time.
- Legal compliance: Videos provide a verifiable method that training was conducted, critical in compliance and legal contexts, for example with health and safety training.
- Accessibility: Adding subtitles or multiple language options can make training accessible to a wider audience, accommodating non-native speakers – again crucial for employees whose first language is not English, as you need to prove you took all reasonable steps for them to fully understand training, especially in health and safety matters.
- Environmental impact: Reduces the carbon footprint associated with multiple members of staff travelling to a central location to attend training sessions.
- Scalability: Videos allow you to train more people in a shorter amount of time, enhancing the frequency and breadth of training sessions.
- Employee engagement: High-quality videos using professional presenters or animations can increase the engagement and retention of content.
- Long-Term Savings: Once produced, the same video can be reused, reducing the cost per employee over time.
These advantages illustrate how training videos are not just a logistical convenience but a strategic asset.
The Balanced Approach to Training
While video training offers substantial benefits, it’s important to recognise that not all training can or should be shifted to video. Practical skills, like using a fire extinguisher or emergency first aid, require hands-on experience that video alone cannot provide. However, for many other aspects of training, videos can significantly enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of training delivery. They make trained employees not just better at their jobs but also more likely to stay, keeping them satisfied and reducing turnover. By carefully integrating video into your broader training strategy, you create a more flexible, cost-effective, and comprehensive training environment that benefits both the company and its employees.
Please feel free to look at some more insights on our training page along with a range of portfolio items here.
