As many organizations are looking to cut costs, training is often quick to be placed on the cutting block. In the past many organizations transitioned from classroom training to e-learning which promised cost savings in design and delivery time. However, as budgets tighten further, organizations are looking for even more cost effective ways to train their employees. Many are looking into more on-the-job training, coaching and mentor solutions. Napoleon said “Un bon croquis vaut mieux qu'un long discours” which translates into a picture is worth a 1000 words. If this holds true, then a short video is worth millions of words. Video is a great format for delivering training, and production costs have dropped dramatically in recent years. In today's "reality TV" dominated world, expensive training video productions of yesteryear are no longer realistic or necessary. How do we incorporate today’s technology into our training? And how do we "democratize" it from emanating from the training department to a tool the front lines of our businesses can use?
The simple answer is to empower your employees to shoot video and provide them with a platform for sharing it. Using video appropriately enables your employees to contribute to the community that is your organization. It allows those who are best at demonstrating their expertise in executing a business process to teach others and develop these skills in their peers. This way, instead of being paired up with one or two people to deliver on the job training, employees are exposed to the best the organization has from wherever that may be in the organization. The best part of collecting these videos is that over time you develop a searchable archive. Then, as your experienced workers retire or leave, their contributions stay with the organization.
Many are concerned about privacy and security using the public video sharing services. But organizations are finding it very affordable to install their own platform to share, comment and discuss video demonstrations. The first step is to overcome the fear of allowing employees the power to have a voice within the organization. Leverage the power of social learning through employee videos, and you'll wonder why it took you so long to employ this strategy!
____________________________________________________________________- Alex Santos
Alex is a co-founder and Managing Member of Collabor8 Learning, LLC, an instructional design and performance management consultancy. His firm collaborates with organizations to enhance the way they develop their people. To learn more about Collabor8 Learning, click here.
Alex can be reached at 786-512-1069, alex@collabor8learning.com or via Twitter @collabor8alex.