Video has been around for more than a 100 years, since the movie camera was invented in the late 19th century. However, the impact and expanse of the medium may not be as impressive as it is right now. According to research conducted by Cisco, in five years, 80 percent of the Internet will be video (the number jumps to 85 percent in just the United States). Though this rise can be mostly attributed to movie streaming and viral clips of people’s cats, video has become the medium of choice to learn something. Need to repair your kitchen sink? Someone has made a video for that. Want to learn to change the oil on your car? Someone has made a video for that. How do you pass a particularly difficulty level in a video game? Likely, someone has made a video for that, too.
This trend underscores how many workers today prefer to learn: visually instead of via the written word. Training employees with video delivers many advantages that companies couldn’t realize even a decade ago. And with tablet-based solutions, videos can be watched conveniently and efficiently—some platforms don’t even require constant streaming to view these clips. Here are four facts on how training employees with video saves time and dollars:
1. More impactful training
Research has shown that 72 hours after viewing a video, people retain 95 percent of the content. That number drops to 65 percent with pictures and just 10 percent with the written word. Applying this statistic to training employees paints a clear picture of what approach will be most efficient for your workplace. Tablet-based solutions deliver video to workers on devices they are familiar with, thus replacing the need to study training manuals. Employees learn quicker and better, resulting in better productivity in less time.
2. Less handholding
A study by ServiceNow discovered that 69 percent of managers onboard at least one worker a year; 93 percent said the process required more than five interactions with the new employee. Developing and guiding hires is important, of course, but it shouldn’t monopolize the time of managers and other workers who have more important tasks at hand. Video reduces the handholding necessary in training employees. On an iPad or Surface, workers can simply rewind footage to develop a better understanding of what they are watching, or the tablet can be brought onto the floor or into the field for practical application.
3. Less paper
Ditching all those training manuals in favor of video yields an obvious benefit: Spending less money on paper, not to mention printing, shipping, and disposal costs. The average American office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper every year, and some of those reams surely go toward training employees. Switching to video not only saves money, but also produces an environmental victory that resonates with many workers.
4. Cost to replace employees
Replacing employees isn’t cheap. The average $10-per-hour worker costs $3,328 to replace; that amount jumps to $8,000 for employees making $40,000 a year. Therefore, retaining current workers is imperative to save money and sustain productivity. Better-trained employees are more likely stay with the company longer and become more invested in their jobs. Video content can achieve this improved level of learning, far beyond what other methods can offer.
How much video content does your company use in training employees?
