How Video Helps Solve Today’s Top L&D Challenges

Here’s a 15-word horror story for every L&D professional out there: The average employee only spends 1 percent of their work week on training and development.

Courtesy of a Deloitte study, this statistic has come to symbolize the difficulties of running an effective and evolving L&D department in today’s world.

In today’s world, L&D is still playing catch up. Many of its challenges stem from the ever-evolving landscape of today’s businesses. Old training methods don’t work on newer employees, active participation and follow through are still sparse, and the list goes on.

This same world, however, has given us the technology to combat these challenges. The brightest of these is video. A Towards Maturity study shows that that 7 in 10 are already using video in online learning. However, 64% use resources such as YouTube and TED talks rather than capturing and sharing their own capabilities, skills and knowledge. This lack of original content signals a lack of understanding of how much video can accomplish — from creating a knowledge base for the company to boosting employees’ engagement with the company’s goals, video is a dynamic technology that will help L&D thrive and evolve.

It is time to take the big leap forward into video. Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Capturing Organizational Knowledge

Organizational change within departments, or even the company, is not uncommon. But given that these changes are often unpredictable and business trends forever changing, it makes it somewhat of a challenge for an L&D department to create and cultivate their own knowledge base.

Video, in this case, is not only a better way to dispense information but also to store it. By creating video that can be consumed in small chunks, and storing it all in the same place, L&D can start to build a library of material to support people in their everyday growth. This library becomes the foundation of a knowledge base for the company. Employees know where to look for and update information.

Beyond that, a strong company knowledge base also helps solve a lot of other issues, simply because it eliminates a lot of ground difficulties. A company that has offices in multiple countries, for example, will face many hurdles in keeping its learning content consistent. Apart from geographical limitations, there are also issues of increased costs, cultural and language barriers, and translation problems. A video library might not solve these problems right away, but it sets up a foundation to make the solutions easier and quicker.

2. Engaging Learners

Too often, L&D takes a back seat with employees. Other priorities win out. L&D professionals struggle to communicate the value of learning and development. It becomes difficult to get learners to attend and actively participate in learning initiatives. Always relevant, the issue has taken on renewed importance as many companies face a transitional workforce comprised mostly of millennials. Engaging employees in learning is as difficult as it is important.

Video can help. A study showed that sharing knowledge through videos creates an informal learning environment which helps people identify and engage better with the content. A review of the same study, while acknowledging the benefits of video learning, posed some questions: How would such informal practices help align and measure ad hoc learning with organizational goals? What if the employee doesn’t recognize these practices as learning and is thus unable to translate it into the workplace?

Video technologies today have evolved beyond YouTube and can solve both these issues. Not only do these newer technologies let you measure the performance of your videos with detailed analytics on who, where, what and how much, but also help you bridge the gap between hierarchies in the company (more on that below.) Moreover, these technologies also let you play with your video content like never before — you can add quizzes, polls and surveys and make your videos as interactive a learning experience as you want.

3. Learning, Anywhere and Anytime

One of the biggest challenges that L&D departments consistently face is access. Employees today are used to a world in which they have instant and mobile access to everything. This means that access is inevitably a big issue for a company whose training tools and materials are still dispensed in a classroom setting. This situation begs the question: How can this company help empower its employees with greater access? And how can it enhance learning outside of a classroom context?

Video is your go-to weapon for both these problems. Today’s video platforms have every tool you could possibly need: providing the ability to record, edit, search, share and store video within an integrated software. More importantly, they give you access to the same content on various devices. This means that regardless of the original format of the content, it is available and accessible to learners no matter from where and when.

With video learning, your L&D department ensures that no learner is left behind. When learners have greater access, they are able to learn according to their own needs and capabilities. Learning is never one-size-fits-all, and neither should your medium of learning be so.

4. Strategic Learning

One of the foremost questions driving L&D professionals is how to make learning content meaningful and relevant. Beyond the manuals, memos and monthly presentations, L&D is about understanding how the employee can learn in a way that makes them a better employee to the company.

A great way to do this is to get the senior leadership of the company involved, both in creating the curriculum and in giving it their vocal support in the form of a simple, concise video. What could be more impactful and inspiring than watching a leader speak directly to you about how your learning goals fit into the big picture? Using short videos with testimonials and infographics to track and acknowledge progress in the initiative can cement these strategies and make them accessible.

Beyond connecting employees across hierarchies, the upside of this strategic goal alignment is that it turns L&D into something more than an afterthought. As we have seen, L&D tends to be pushed to the side in favor of other work goals that seem to be more relevant to the organization. Video bridges this gap by bringing L&D initiatives to the forefront of an employee’s idea of success at the workplace.

5. Social learning

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing L&D professionals is that of forming a community of learners within the company. A community where everyone is encouraged to share skills and knowledge with each other goes a long way towards building harmony across hierarchies within the company. The accountant has as much to add to the discourse as the CEO does.

Video technology today has made such a community achievable. With easy recording options that allow anyone to record and upload videos from anywhere at any time, sharing of experiences is quick and easy. Videos are consolidated into a single portal, making them accessible and shareable. Social learning is easier than ever.

The biggest boon that video brings to L&D is that of relevance. Video technologies are undoubtedly a product of our changing world, and they help L&D departments become the same. With the aid of video, L&D will be able to establish their importance in the workplace, actively work on solving challenges across departments, and build a wealth of knowledge for their workforce to dip into.

With video, L&D professionals can stop playing catching up and just focus on moving forward.

kPoint is the go-to video platform for businesses. To learn more about how we can help you achieve your L&D goals, contact us at marketing@kPoint.com.

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