Eight reasons why Video Training Manuals fail and how to fix them

Did you recently invest a massive chunk of money in a Video training manual for your corporate house, only to see it bomb? Too bad! Now the question is, why are your training manuals failing? Why are you not getting the desired result from your Videos? If Video training manuals have become an ineffective iterative process for you, then this blog is for you. Here we will discuss eight common reasons why video training manuals fail and how you can fix them.

1. Lack of clear Objectives
For where there is clarity, there is no choice.- Head, 1968 Movie
Unclear objectives leave room for confusion and doubt in the video-making process. It would be best if you had clarity about your target audience and goals, viz. What would you like to achieve from your training module? Is it for new joiners or already existing employees? What specific goal do you want to achieve, learning and developing new technology for any department or all employees? Make a step-by-step guideline clearly defining your objectives to be achieved.

2. Lack of ownership

Another major challenge is the need for delegation of responsibility among the team. The video manual-making is a people-driven process; many from the organization and outside, viz., production team, contractual employees, etc, are involved. There needs to be more clarity in understanding the right person to contact. To make your video shoot streamlined, create a dedicated team assisting the production crew during the entire video-making process.

3. Video Unpreparedness
Another significant challenge is that the subjects involved are often unprepared for the video shoot. Sometimes the key member is missing, or the venue is not adequately ready for the shoot. It creates a stressed BTS environment, leading to a last-minute panic shoot with unprepared resources, compromising the delivery quality of the video manual. To avoid a half-prepared attempt, designate accountability for all the tasks involved in the video shoot.

4. Lengthy Video
We understand that staff training modules have specific objectives that sometimes require detailed explanations, such as software testing, equipment handling, product placement, etc. Tech Smith’s survey of video viewer habits, trends, and statistics shows that over 50% of people prefer 3-6 minutes instructional videos. We highly recommend making four micro-videos with a specific purpose rather than one twenty-minute-long video.

5. No Human Element
Your video training manual is not only a guide but also a successful branding tool. Rather than adding professional VO delivery, we highly recommend including one or two representatives from your organizations as part of your video training. This will make the video more interactive and welcoming, and a familiar face or voice will add more impact to your video content.

6. Poor structuring of Visual elements
Your training video should not be plain and boring. It should have material that makes people consume content. Make engaging content, and include personalized animations and graphic designs in your training video. As per a Hubspot study, animated content can grab consumers’ attention in less than 1/10th of a second. A pro tip: you can create a Manual template beforehand for your script and gather all the necessary visual ideas required for your training Manual.

7. Repetitive training content
Your training manual should be regularly updated; repetitive content can be a real thumbs down in achieving the desired outcome. Your staff’s regular R& D helps you identify and understand the right training objectives with updated content. Include updated content; otherwise, the whole process will fail.

8. No follow up
Even an effective video manual will fail if there is no follow-up. Include feedback as a critical element of your video training. It would increase your viewer’s engagement and also help you evaluate the outcome of your training program.
Whether an employee training manual or customer training, the overall purpose is to educate viewers on a topic, teach them a new skill, or enhance their knowledge of a subject. Your video training Manual should be the solution to the Business Problem.
Leap ahead, and create a video training manual for your business. Contact us now to make one for you!