Can video replace face time for corporate learning? The following are successful examples from the Brandon Hall Research Awards program’s Excellence in Learning Awards.
Calgary Police Service: The Calgary Police Service (CPS) determined that a virtual tour of its Arrest Processing Section (APS) would benefit street officers and new recruits. Live tours are often difficult to plan due to scheduling issues and congestion in the busy APS area, yet new and existing officers need to understand the layout of the APS before bringing in individuals for booking. In place of a live tour, the video helps officers learn directly from APS personnel without physically touring the site. The video tour includes a host who narrates, demonstrations, video, still photographs and printable resources. It also can be accessed from all police vehicles, making it available to all officers at any time — even while driving in a person to process an arrest. According to the APS, “The APS staff sergeant views the virtual tour as being ‘a professional and easy to understand format,’ and ‘the explanations are easy to follow, and the filming [and] editing are professional and focused in terms of clarity and depth.’”
NetApp: Storage management company NetApp and learning management software provider Altus Learning developed a unique training method by digitally recording whiteboards. This type of video training has helped technical sales reps and partners follow a solution selling approach. According to NetApp, “To address this [economic] challenge, we created a learning program that enabled knowledge transfer but used a new delivery vehicle to cope with the challenges of a tough economy and restricted travel. With this new approach, we used video to systematically capture and disseminate training to our sales force. Using video in this way enabled our sales organization to share knowledge, stay sharp, increase their efficiency and maintain sales momentum while reducing expenses.”
Cash America International: Pawn shop retailer Cash America International (CAI) created a user-generated video sharing site, called Youdrive, to train employees on various topics. Examples include testing for fake gold and safely handling firearms. According to CAI, “The mantra has been ‘everyone is an expert.’” Expanding on this concept, CAI said, “Sharing user-created content directly impacts our learners’ needs as they not only created the content based on their needs, [but also] they continue to improve the content by posting comments and submitting additional videos.” The videos are “often used to foster a discussion on a specific topic within the shop and allow for capturing some of the institutional knowledge that is present in a company that has such a strong apprenticeship style of learning.”
Thomson Reuters: Information company Thomson Reuters’ (TR) enterprise business helps financial institutions automate processes using real-time pricing, trading and other corporate actions and analytics. TR developed the Enterprise Connect Session training program, which is “a video-based learning program designed and developed to enable TR sales managers operating across five continents to train their salespeople in the newly released Enterprise Solution Sets.” TR is using video to disseminate messages from senior managers and subject-matter experts and to help local managers provide training at sales meetings. One enterprise sales manager believes that “this is the best sales and marketing initiative I have seen in Thomson Reuters.”
TekSystems: Staffing and services company TekSystems has used video to enrich its sales force production and leadership training. When redesigning its text-based training, the company developed video KnowledgeBites supported by short lessons taught by sales leaders. Christopher P. Harry, director of professional development at TekSystems, emphasized that “video has allowed us to deliver very short, focused messages around key topics that our leaders can use to both reinforce prior learning and drive learning at the local level.” As TekSytems explained, “In sales, one of the best ways to learn is to see it happen, and we’re able to model the correct behaviors through this medium.”
Let these companies spur ideas on how to use video in your organization, enabling employees to learn by “seeing it happen.”
Brandon Hall is CEO of Brandon Hall Research, publisher of the study “Emerging e-Learning: New Approaches to Delivering Engaging Online Learning Content.” He can be reached at editor@clomedia.com.
