Training Pays! 5 things to tell your CFO about the value of off-the-shelf training
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008How can your organization – and you as a trainer – benefit from the use of off-the-shelf video-based training materials? It’s an important question.
Here’s what your colleagues* told us about the value they get from using video-based training programs…
| What Your Colleagues Said… | …How We Do It |
| 1. “Saves me development and presentation time.” |
With off-the-shelf video-based training, you can shorten your design cycle and deliver “just-in-time” training where and when you need it. Most CRM programs have facilitation materials with activities and discussion points that can be used, in whole or part, to create training events that run anywhere from 1 – 4 hours. You get the basic content you need without having to create it yourself. With a little extra effort, you can tailor our scripted activities to your organization’s unique environment. You’ll reduce your “time-to-classroom” development cycle while providing effective and impactful training materials. |
| 2. “Adds variety to our delivery mix.” |
Workshops can get a bit lengthy when they include only presentation and discussion. Video provides a change of pace that supports the topic, at the same time adding a bit of entertainment, humor or reality to the workshop experience. Using video at an appropriate point in a workshop allows you to stimulate discussion, demonstrate things you can’t easily explain, and provide examples of what is being discussed. We learn best when more of our senses are engaged in the content. |
| 3. “Provides a cost-effective way to enhance and supplement our existing courses.” |
Videos can often be used to support more than one of your training initiatives. For example, you can use a program like The Abilene Paradox to augment workshops on decision making, leadership, teamwork or communication. Videos can provide “safe, clean and clear” examples of difficult topics. And, they allow you to bring in a team of content experts at a fraction of the cost of hiring them or sending your whole team to offsite training. |
| 4. “Videos give us highly memorable examples that build learning retention.“ |
It’s a fact of life in our line of work: people remember what they see and hear more than what they are told. It’s often easier to make a point or explain a complex topic – especially one involving interpersonal relationships – when you can show an example on screen. When people can relate to the situations they see in a video, the chances of their behavior changing will increase. |
| 5. “Videos allow us to build a resource library where managers and employees can check out and use programs on their schedule.” |
Building a video/DVD library allows your organization to offer a broader range of training than you can by relying only on custom in-house development or scheduled classroom events. Users can check out a DVD and get basic information on a topic. Managers can check them out and use them to kick off staff meetings or get discussion started at a lunch-and-learn. Now, organizations are moving their video libraries online, and CRM Learning has a variety of ways for you to do that. Access to materials in the office or on the road will increase – it’s a great way to keep your organization learning. |
The bottom line? Video-based off-the-shelf training materials save you and your organization both time and money, they make you (and the organization) look good, and because they help build learning retention, they can improve the ROI on your training investment.
Want more detailed information on the long-term impact of training with off-the-shelf materials?
Contact your CRM Learning Sales Consultant for a copy of one of our recent evaluation reports, which measured the benefit from using three of our most popular titles: 5 Questions Every Leader Must Ask, Positive Discipline, and What To Do When Conflict Happens.
* Source: CRM Learning Customer Survey, June 2008
