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New staff onboarding is a very exciting time for any organization. There are opportunities for growth, learning, and cultural development that are very valuable to both individual staff members and the broader team as a whole. As every manager can attest to, onboarding the right hires can make a world of difference in how a team operates, their efficiency, and impact on the overall bottom line.
In a world of ever-increasing turnover and job vacancies, retaining good staff should be among the highest priorities for any successful organization. According to Glassdoor, structured onboarding programs can boost employee retention by as much as 82%!
Ordinarily, new staff orientation will present a lot of important information that will be relevant to everyone who enters the organization. These can range from payroll concerns, to frequently asked questions about vacation and sick leave, pension details, health insurance, and much more. Needless to say, it can be quite a lot to take in at once.
Compounding this data absorption issue is the continuing trend of shorter attention spans in the workforce. Google still dominates the search industry, but nearly half of Gen Z-ers turn to Tiktok and Instagram for important information before Google. This trend is unlikely to abate anytime soon as short-form social media content continues to grow in popularity.
As time passes, more and more human resources departments are relying on video to impart these important pieces of information to new staff, and for good reason. Videos can be paused and rewound to reabsorb critical details, and they can be easily edited in most cases to add or change information as needed. In addition, studies show that about 90% of absorbed information is visual.
Step by step video for onboarding is a great way to get new staff acclimated to their new environment. But what makes for a great onboarding video? How do you hold your new hires’ attention so that they grasp key concepts and understand which questions to ask? Let’s examine these questions and answer them with a few helpful pointers.
But before we continue, consider guidde when starting to make your new onboarding video. guidde’s free browser extension is a great way to begin learning just how easy it can be to create high-quality, engaging videos with absolutely no prior expertise. Check out how simple it can be to create captivating videos here.
Tips for Creating a Great Onboarding Video
1) Keep videos as short as possible, and remove any unnecessary information.
People tend to get distracted easily in new environments where there is a lot of new information to absorb in a short period of time. Remove those distractions by having laser focus on what information you want your new team members to absorb, then deliver it with clarity and precision.
2) Start from the beginning.
This tip may seem to conflict with the first, but giving new staff a quick briefing on background information helps provide context for everything that comes later. This helps ground them as they prepare to become strong, committed participants in your organization.
3) Make the video engaging and interesting.
Everyone wants to be entertained while they learn if possible. After all, most people learn better when they’re having fun! There’s no need to become a world-class comedian or actor to accomplish this. Just keep in mind that levity can be a great way to balance what can be interpreted as rote or otherwise boring information. Just be careful not to overdo it.
4) Show off your best side.
Check out this video from BambooHR. In just two minutes, this video shows new and potential staff just how important work-life balance is to their mission and goals. Whatever it is you think shows your organization in the best light, use it to your advantage and advertise just how amazing an opportunity it would be to join and make a difference.
5) Offer staff opportunities to continue their engagement and growth.
Many organizations offer training and development opportunities that would be worthy of their own videos. Make sure to highlight these opportunities for staff so they can continue to investigate them on their own. People develop more loyalty to an organization when they feel supported, and offering staff chances to develop skills is a great way to support them.
6) Consider carefully the type of onboarding video you need, and adjust your strategy and script accordingly.
We’ve discussed new staff onboarding for the most part, but there are various types of onboarding functions and videos that could support those functions. Several questions must be answered before the script is written to have an effective presentation.
What is the purpose of your onboarding video? Is it for new staff orientation? What would you change if the video was meant for transferring staff from other departments? Is the video’s purpose to retain and transfer knowledge to existing staff? Is it for skill training?
The way you answer these questions will determine many creative elements you choose in order to impart knowledge to others. A thoughtful creator will be able to change existing materials to suit other functions in many cases. However, if this is impossible, keeping the tips listed above in mind will go a long way towards guiding people to the discoveries and insights you wish them to understand.
Conclusion
It should be clear by now that video is very important to a successful onboarding strategy, and your key to video success is guidde. This amazing software is designed to take the guesswork out of creating great and appealing content. It’s a fantastic information delivery tool dedicated to helping your organization retain and transmit vital information in just a few clicks.
Your workflows have never been easier to capture and share across multiple platforms. guidde is ready to enable your organization to make the fullest use of its most precious commodity: its proprietary information. Add voice overs and record your on-screen actions to create seamless videos that are impossible to misinterpret. Click here and make your first guidde today.
