The remote work model has fundamentally changed how businesses approach team training and development. While traditional in-person training methods are still effective, they don’t work for remote teams. Unless the work is in a specialized field, many employees either can’t or won’t travel to a distant physical location just to receive training for a few days and then head back home.
To train a remote team, you need to provide access to live or pre-recorded content they can view from a distance, and it has to be extremely easy to understand. That’s where screen recording software comes into play.
Screen Recordings Make Concepts Easy to Understand
When you consider the need to explain nuanced procedures and processes to remote employees, it’s easy to see how a screen recording can help. For instance, say you have a custom-built intranet application. No matter how good the user interface is, it’s not going to be completely intuitive right off the bat. Employees will need training to learn how to use the basic functions. When you use a screen recorder, you can perform a live demonstration that explains how to create an account and log in, and then walk the viewer through key areas of the software.
Visual Demonstrations Enhance Clarity
The biggest reason written training materials are confusing has to do with a lack of detail and clarity. Not everyone can read instructions and understand them perfectly because words don’t convey enough information to get the whole picture. Even when written instructions are understood, people will still need to fumble around to get first-hand experience and learn.
While having written manuals and procedures is useful, it’s not always helpful. Considering most people are predominantly visual and need to see a demonstration of what they’re learning, training is almost always more effective through visuals.
What’s special about screen recordings is that they capture precise step-by-step visual demonstrations of processes and procedures that the written word can’t effectively convey. Employees can use a screen recording to follow along and see exactly where links, menu items, and categories are located. This reduces confusion and misinterpretation.
You’ll Get Fewer Phone Calls and Emails
The better your remote training, the fewer emails and phone calls you’ll get from employees who don’t understand what they’re learning. When you incorporate video screen recordings into your training system, people will be less confused. You may still get some inquiries from people who need more clarification, but overall, it will be less.
Live Lessons Are Costly
Using screen recordings for training is cost-effective compared to running live trainings. Even when you broadcast live training sessions, it’s not the same. Not only do screen recorded trainings allow employees to go at their own pace, but live training and replays can be distracting. Often, there’s a presentation being made in the room that doesn’t get captured on video, and that can make it hard for remote attendees to follow whatever’s being taught.
You Can Get Granular
One of the strongest benefits of using video screen recording for remote training is the ability to get granular. For example, say you have a task management application and you want your team to use it in a particular way. Maybe you have a special system for uploading documents or sending communications to clients. You’ll take all the guesswork out of the process by recording yourself using the system while narrating your actions.
There’s no limit to how granular you can get. Virtually anything that needs to be done on the computer can be screen recorded and turned into a training session; if not by itself, it can be added to any other video.
Screen Recordings Are Permanent Resources
Recorded computer sessions can serve as permanent training resources that employees can view anytime, not just during their initial training. With the right resource repository, you can create a full training library designed to help onboard new hires and provide materials to all employees.
Best practices for screen recorded training
If you’re going to use screen recordings in your trainings, here are some best practices to follow.
- Use good software. Invest in a reliable, user-friendly application to ensure your audio is clear and you can produce clips easily.
- Plan your audio script. You don’t have to read a script verbatim, but plan out what you’ll say and how you’ll explain complex aspects before you start to record.
- Create digestible segments. Break lessons and sessions down into smaller segments.
- Make your content searchable with tags. Make your training library searchable using tags and keywords.
Make the Most of Your Investment in Training
With a reliable application and a strategic plan, screen recordings will level up your training system and help you create a more effective remote team.
