Controlling Training Costs with Online Video

Training is an inevitable part of any successful business. Whether it's as simple as teaching a new cashier how to run a register, or more advanced topics like engineering changes to products, it's essential, and sometimes costly.

The use of online video for training purposes can reduce your costs significantly, in terms of both direct costs associated with traditional leader-lead training, as well as indirect costs resulting from lost productivity. Let's look at each type of cost.

Direct Costs

A typical leader-lead course means, at the very least, unproductive time for the attendees. It can also mean direct expenses for each of those attendees in terms of airfare, hotel, and meals. Oftentimes a company will hire an outside instructor, adding more direct cost for travel and per-diem fees.

A live webcast will reduce a number of those costs by allowing employees who are not from the immediate area to watch the presentation at their desk, or in a conference room with other attendees from the same remote location. Attendees can ask questions via email or a phone bridge, allowing for the same interactivity as if they were there in the room. This also encourages the attendee to only view the topics he or she desires, letting them continue their normal duties between sessions.

Indirect Costs

Lost productivity may be hard to measure, but it is definately real. Video-On-Demand, or VoD, can reduce lost productivity costs by allowing the attendee to view the program as it fits their schedule, pausing or restarting the program as needed to fit the demands of their typical work day. No travel, no missed opportunities.

Videoconference vs. Webcasts

You're thinking to yourself that videoconferencing or programs like WebEx can eleviate some of these problems as well...and you're right. There may be times, however, when you either have an audience that is too large for videoconferencing, or you need to control the content being disseminated, such as for an external audience.

What is the Online Video Experience Like?

Online video can take many forms, but for training purposes, the most common is a two-frame version where the video of the instructor appears in one frame, and the PowerPoint slides or other graphics appear in the other. The slides or graphics change on cue, giving the remote viewer the same information as the people in the classroom itself.

How are Companies Using Online Video?

Companies in the area that we service are using online video in a couple of different ways. One company posts videos on their external website for customers to use when using their products. Another company uses them internally for new-hire orientation and training purposes, and yet another company does a regular series of Tech Talks for engineers. Whatever your training needs are, online video can save you time and money.