How to 10x your training video production

Let's preface this by saying learning and development is no walk in the park. Learning teams are often overwhelmed and under-equipped. 

Around 45% of learning professionals spend at least half their week on training requests, and it takes roughly 130+ hours to create a single hour of traditional eLearning.

And then there's this constant need for more video training. 😰

You know it's super effective, but it's hard to produce quality videos if you're not working with an external video production company. 

Fortunately, there are many new and cost-effective solutions on the market that can help you create more content in video format. 

And they nicely go hand in hand with the latest L&D trends, so let's take a closer look at the problems first, and we'll get to the solutions right after:‍

Traditional training content production is too costly‍

L&D experts focus their time on complex pieces of training that require an instructional background with complete focus.

Suppose the day-to-day is filled with a constant stream of departmental requests. It can be challenging to build or implement an L&D strategy. That's why employee-generated learning strategy is quickly emerging within organizations. Using this strategy, departmental subject matter experts can quickly create and update courses without dependency on anyone else.

And this approach is quickly gaining momentum. Currently, around 60-70% of an organization's learning needs cannot be fulfilled centrally, so organizations can better fulfil these needs by using an employee-generated learning approach.

‍Why is video content such a tough nut to crack?

So - you know you should be making more employee training videos, but that's easier said than done. 😬

Training video production is a lengthy process. Besides that, training video production companies are expensive, and you yourself are not a video production specialist...

The current state of L&D is mainly down to budget, time, and resources shortages, and there can also often be a misalignment between divisions.

These are 6 most common issues in training video production L&D teams face today:

1. It is complex to organize and manage the process of training video production internally.
2. It can also be pretty expensive to work with training video production companies.
3. It requires skills that L&D teams or internal SMEs do not have.
4. It becomes even more difficult when you want to localize your training videos.
5. It’s hard to keep all training videos standardized when using external training video production services.
6. It’s impossible to update a training video after it’s done.

‍And here’s a plastic (and perhaps relatable) example:

Small changes in compliance can significantly impact organizations, and legislation frequently changes.

For example, if an organization has thousands of employees globally that speak multiple languages, that small change in compliance can become disruptive.

A slight change in the way data needs to be handled, and your information security teams would have to speak to the learning and development teams to make them aware of the small change. 🤏

Then, if the learning and development team used an external training video production company to create training videos, they would have to inform the producers, the producers the actors - the friction points add up fast.

But what if the relevant teams could contribute significantly to their departmental needs?

What if any company could create educational videos internally, without having to work with external training video production companies? 

Hint: It is possible. 📹

All you need to get started with your own, in-house video production are some easy-to-use and powerful tools that will help you create instructional videos within a reasonable budget.

‍Transforming into a learning organization

A learning organization facilitates the learning of its employees and continuously transforms itself, which enables it to stay competitive in the business environment. It promotes self-knowledge and cultivates open feedback to see problems and opportunities on all levels. 

And why is it – more than ever – important to make this change? 

1️⃣ People within the organization have a huge amount of niche-specific knowledge and experience. Since specialization is a key differentiator in today's economy, it's time to start sharing this internal expertise.    

2️⃣ When employees are encouraged to share their knowledge, it reinforces a sense of community and ownership. On an individual level, sharing knowledge with others helps improve system thinking and problem-solving skills.

3️⃣ The culture of learning also serves as an employee retention initiative. Employee engagement and retention are typically 30-50% higher in learning organizations than in work cultures that don't support learning.

4️⃣ With Gen Z entering the workforce, the demand for learning opportunities becomes higher than for any prior generation. 84% expect employers to provide learning opportunities through on-demand nano-learning assets. ​​

Why is a learning organization beneficial?

One of the leading competitive advantages in the future will be an organization's ability to learn faster than its rivals, and it's already begun. Manufacturing firms that implement training programs increase productivity by an average of 17%.

‍

The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.
-Henry Ford, Founder, Ford Motor Company.

Learning organizations tend to be successful because of the flexible, adaptive and productive nature to react to and drive change. By democratizing learning and development and letting departmental stakeholders contribute where they can, training culture can begin to change.

‍Scaling training video production with the help of AI

There's a significant paradigm shift happening with learning and development, especially with content creation and delivery.

We've typically thought of video as a very physical process that involves cameras, lights, actors and expensive editing equipment.

Well, not anymore. 

Synthesia allows you to build content directly from your browser and is powered by Artificial Intelligence, allowing anyone from your team to create engaging training and development video with no cameras, lights, or microphones required. 

Think of it as different video production services under one roof.

Or better said, in one tab.

With low overheads and over 120+ languages, creating engaging training videos couldn't be more manageable.

Here are the most notable benefits and key results of using Synthesia for training video production: 

✅ Ease of use

Creating training video content has never been easier. Even people who do not have any video production skills can make professional-looking videos in Synthesia.

✅ Easy localization

Synthesia makes it easy to create training videos in multiple languages and also localize training video materials using different AI avatars.

✅ Standardization

Using Synthesia templates helps maintain consistency and video production quality even if the training videos are not produced by the same person or team. 

✅ Time and cost savings

Teleperformance, for example, saved more than 5 days and $650 per video compared to other video authoring tools. 

✅ Replacing the need for human actors

Not having to record people on camera unlocks many possibilities for Conceptsales. If you want a talking head that will never leave your company, an AI avatar is your go-to solution. 

✅ Flexibility

Once created, a video generated with Synthesia can be easily updated at any time by simply changing the script.

But before we get into video creation and delivery, let’s just quickly go through some current learning trends. As training video production becomes more accessible, new educational ways should be considered and implemented.

5 current L&D trends to consider when creating training videos

Recent changes in the sphere of work also bring new trends in learning and training. Here are some of them you should keep in mind when creating video training:

1. Focus on upskilling and reskilling

It's important to upskill and reskill employees because new jobs are constantly being created that didn't exist before. According to one report, 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet and will require new skills and knowledge.

2. Embrace microlearning

One of the reasons microlearning is getting more popular is that it is an effective way to learn new information. When information is presented in small, manageable chunks, it is easier for learners to process and remember. Short-format content also fits better into busy schedules and can be consumed on the go. 

3. Consider blended learning environments

As remote work becomes the new normal, it’s important to create learning materials for both online and offline training. This type of training can be beneficial to employees because it allows them to learn in a variety of ways and at their own pace. 

4. Plan for peer-to-peer learning

Peer-to-peer learning can be more engaging and motivating than traditional learning methods, and can also promote social and emotional learning. Additionally, it can help students develop critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills, which makes it a great learning solution for the new era of work. 

5. Try to personalize your corporate training videos

By personalizing employee training, companies can ensure that their employees receive the most relevant and helpful information possible – at a specific point in their career and in relation to their particular training needs.

Now that you know how to create good training videos for a great learning experience, you're going to need a system to deliver and measure the effectiveness of your training.

How to effectively deliver training‍

Easygenerator is an e-learning authoring tool that lets anyone create and share interactive content, from e-learning professionals to subject-matter experts. Track results and collaborate with multiple authors in real-time, all within one easy-to-use tool.

Whether you start from scratch or choose from one of their pre-made templates, Easygenerator's drag-drop editor makes creating interactive content seamlessly. Work with your whole team through in-app comments from co-authors and reviewers to craft the perfect training.

You can easily embed your Synthesia videos into Easygenerator and create courses in no time at all.

Now back to you

Now that you know the importance of video in training, are aware of the latest trends, and understand the benefits that AI can bring, it's time to familiarize yourself with the tools mentioned in this article.

Why not start with the most essential one?

Click HERE to create a free Synthesia video and see how it works!