Introduction
If you work in the pharma or manufacturing industry, you know how important it is to keep up with the latest trends, regulations, standards, and technologies in your field. You also know how challenging it can be to train and develop your employees, who are the backbone of your business. You want them to be skilled, knowledgeable, and competent in their roles, but you also want them to be engaged, motivated, and innovative. How can you achieve both goals without breaking the bank or wasting time?
The answer is simple: training videos. Training videos are the best way to deliver effective and efficient training and development for your workforce. Unlike written manuals, which are often dull, outdated, inaccessible, and confusing, training videos are dynamic, current, easy to access, and clear.
Why Use Training Videos?
Training videos use visual, auditory, and interactive elements to enhance learning outcomes, capture attention, stimulate emotions, and provide feedback. They also save time, resources, and space by reducing the need for printed materials, travel expenses, and storage facilities. Most importantly, they foster a culture of learning and innovation by enabling knowledge sharing, collaboration, and creativity among your employees.
In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of training videos for pharma and manufacturing in more detail. We will show you how training videos can help you overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities in your industry. We will also give you some tips on how to create and use training videos effectively for your training and development needs. By the end of this post, you will be convinced that training videos are superior to written manuals for pharma and manufacturing.
1. Training Videos Improve Learning Outcomes
One of the main advantages of training videos over written manuals is that they improve learning outcomes. Training videos use visual, auditory, and interactive elements to enhance the comprehension, retention, and application of information. Let’s see how each of these elements works.
Visuals
Visual elements are images, animations, diagrams, charts, graphs, and other graphical representations that illustrate complex concepts, processes, and procedures in a clear and concise way. For example, a training video can show how a drug is developed from the discovery stage to the clinical trial stage using animations and diagrams. A training video can also show how a chemical reaction occurs in a laboratory or how a machine operates in a factory using images and graphs. Visual elements help pharma and manufacturing workers learn by making abstract ideas more concrete, reducing cognitive load, and increasing attention span.
Audio
Auditory elements are narration, music, sound effects, and other sounds that reinforce verbal information, emphasize key points, and create a sense of immersion and realism. For example, a training video can explain the regulatory standards, safety protocols, and product specifications for pharma and manufacturing using narration and sound effects. A training video can also use music to create a mood and tone for the learning content. Auditory elements help pharma and manufacturing workers learn by enhancing memory, motivation, and emotion.
Interactivity
Interactive elements are quizzes, simulations, scenarios, games, and other activities that test knowledge, skills, and abilities; provide feedback; and encourage active participation and practice. For example, a training video can assess how well pharma and manufacturing workers understand the learning content by using quizzes at the end of each section. A training video can also provide realistic scenarios or simulations that require pharma and manufacturing workers to apply what they have learned by solving problems, making decisions, or troubleshooting issues. Interactive elements help pharma and manufacturing workers learn by increasing self-efficacy, retention, and transfer.
Studies and Learning Outcomes
The effectiveness of training videos for learning outcomes is supported by various studies in the field of educational psychology. A study by Mayer and Anderson found that learners who watched an animated video with narration performed better on a transfer test than learners who read a text-based manual on the same topic. According to a studio by Fiorella et al., learners who watched a video with music and sound effects showed higher levels of interest and motivation than learners who watched a silent video on the same topic. A third study by Sitzmann et al., shows that learners who completed interactive simulations showed higher levels of self-efficacy and retention than learners who completed passive simulations on the same topic.
As you can see, training videos improve learning outcomes by using visual, auditory, and interactive elements that enhance the comprehension, retention, and application of information.
2. Training Videos Increase Engagement
Another benefit of training videos over written manuals is that they increase engagement. Engagement is the degree of involvement, interest, and motivation that learners have in the learning process. Training videos increase engagement by capturing attention, stimulating emotions, and providing feedback. Let’s see how each of these factors works.
Attention
Attention is the ability to focus on the relevant information and ignore the irrelevant distractions. Training videos capture attention by using dynamic visuals, sounds, and movements that appeal to multiple senses and cognitive processes. For example, a training video can use color contrast, zooming, highlighting, and other techniques to draw attention to the most important parts of the screen. A training video can also use sound effects, music, and narration to create a rich and immersive learning environment. Attention helps pharma and manufacturing workers learn by increasing concentration, alertness, and awareness.
Emotions
Emotions are the feelings and moods that learners experience during the learning process. Training videos stimulate emotions by using storytelling, humor, drama, and other elements that create empathy, curiosity, and interest in the learners. For example, a training video can use characters, scenarios, and feedback to make the learning content more relatable, realistic, and relevant. A training video can also use jokes, funny anecdotes, and dramatic twists to make the learning content more enjoyable, entertaining, and memorable. Emotions help pharma and manufacturing workers learn by enhancing memory, motivation, and emotion.
Feedback
Feedback is the information that learners receive about their performance and progress during the learning process. Training videos provide feedback by using quizzes, scores, badges, and other elements that give learners immediate information about their strengths and weaknesses. For example, a training video can use praise, hints, corrections, and other techniques to guide learners through the learning content and help them improve their skills. A training video can also use badges, leaderboards, and other elements to reward learners for their achievements and encourage them to continue learning. Feedback helps pharma and manufacturing workers learn by increasing self-efficacy, retention, and transfer.
Studies and Learning Outcomes
Various studies in the field of educational psychology have shown that training videos can enhance engagement among learners. One study by Guo et al., found that learners who watched videos with high production quality (e.g., high-definition images, clear audio) reported higher levels of satisfaction and engagement than learners who watched videos with low production quality (e.g., blurry images, noisy audio). According to a study by Kapp et al., learners who watched videos with humorous elements (e.g., jokes, funny anecdotes) reported higher levels of enjoyment and interest than learners who watched videos without humorous elements. Another study by Clark et al., showed that learners who received feedback from an animated agent (e.g., a cartoon character, a virtual coach) reported higher levels of confidence and motivation than learners who received feedback from a text box.
Training videos certainly increase engagement by capturing attention, stimulating emotions, and providing feedback that enhance the involvement, interest, and motivation of employees.
3. Training Videos Reduce Costs
A third benefit of training videos over written manuals is that they reduce costs for pharma and manufacturing businesses. Training videos save time, resources, and space by allowing learners to access, review, and repeat the content at their own pace and convenience; by reducing the need for instructors, classrooms, travel, and materials; and by eliminating the need for physical storage, distribution, and maintenance of manuals. Let's see how each of these factors works.
Time
Training videos save time by allowing learners to access, review, and repeat the content at their own pace and convenience. For example, a training video can use indexing, bookmarking, speed control, and other techniques to help learners navigate through the content easily and quickly. A training video can also allow learners to watch the content anytime and anywhere, without having to attend scheduled sessions or travel to specific locations. Time helps pharma and manufacturing workers and businesses learn by increasing efficiency, flexibility, and productivity.
Resources
Resources are the amount of money or materials that learners and businesses spend on the training process. Training videos save resources by reducing the need for instructors, classrooms, travel, and materials. For example, a training video can use cloud storage, streaming, downloading, and other techniques to help learners access the content online or offline, without having to purchase or print manuals. A training video can also reduce the need for hiring or training instructors, renting or maintaining classrooms, paying for travel expenses, or providing other materials. Resources help pharma and manufacturing workers and businesses learn by increasing affordability, accessibility, and sustainability.
Space
Space is the amount of physical area that learners and businesses use for the training process. Training videos save space by eliminating the need for physical storage, distribution, and maintenance of manuals. For example, a training video can use digital formats, online platforms, mobile devices, and other techniques to help learners store, share, and update the content electronically, without having to use shelves, boxes, or folders. A training video can also reduce the need for shipping or delivering manuals to different locations or repairing or replacing damaged or outdated manuals. Space helps pharma and manufacturing workers and businesses learn by increasing convenience, security, and quality.
Studies and Learning Outcomes
Training video effectiveness for cost reduction is supported by various studies and reports in the field of business and education. According to a report by Bersin by Deloitte, companies that use video-based training can reduce their training costs by up to 50% compared to traditional classroom-based training. A second report by Cisco found that companies that use video-based training can reduce their carbon footprint by up to 40% compared to traditional classroom-based training. Thirdly, the training video experts at Speach state that companies that use Speach software can create, edit, and share training videos in minutes without any technical skills or equipment.
Training videos clearly have the ability to reduce costs by saving time, resources, and space that enhance the efficiency, affordability, and quality of pharma and manufacturing training.
4. Training Videos Foster a Culture of Learning and Innovation
The benefit we will discuss of training videos over written manuals is that they foster a culture of learning and innovation for pharma and manufacturing workers and businesses. Learning and innovation are the processes of acquiring, creating, and applying new knowledge, skills, and ideas to improve performance and productivity. Training videos foster learning and innovation by facilitating knowledge sharing, collaboration, and creativity. Let’s see how each of these factors works.
Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge sharing is the ability to create, upload, and share one’s own videos with one’s peers and managers. Training videos facilitate knowledge sharing by allowing learners to demonstrate their expertise, share their insights, and receive feedback from others. For example, a training video can use comments, ratings, recommendations, and other techniques to help learners interact with each other and exchange information. A training video can also allow learners to upload their own videos to a common platform or repository where they can be accessed by others. Knowledge sharing helps pharma and manufacturing workers and businesses learn by increasing retention, transfer, and innovation.
Collaboration
Collaboration is the ability to work together on projects, tasks, and challenges using video communication tools. Training videos facilitate collaboration by allowing learners to cooperate, coordinate, and communicate with each other using video conferencing, screen sharing, chat rooms, and other techniques. For example, a training video can allow learners to work on a video-based project with their peers where they have to solve a problem, make a decision, or troubleshoot an issue. A training video can also allow learners to communicate with their instructors or managers using video calls or messages where they can ask questions, receive guidance, or report progress. Collaboration helps pharma and manufacturing workers and businesses learn by increasing problem-solving, critical thinking, and teamwork skills.
Creativity
Creativity is the ability to experiment with different formats, styles, and features of video production and editing. Training videos facilitate creativity by allowing learners to express their individuality, originality, and imagination using filters, transitions, effects, and other techniques. For example, a training video can allow learners to choose from different video formats (e.g., animation, live action) and features (e.g., narration, music) that suit their preferences and learning styles. A training video can also allow learners to edit their own videos using various tools (e.g., cropping, trimming) that enhance their quality and clarity. Creativity helps pharma and manufacturing workers and businesses learn by increasing cognitive flexibility, metacognition, and self-regulation.
Studies and Learning Outcomes
The effectiveness of training videos for learning and innovation culture is supported by various studies in the field of educational psychology. A study by Boudreau et al., shows that learners who created and shared their own videos with their peers showed higher levels of knowledge retention and transfer than learners who only watched videos created by experts. According to a report by Gress et al., learners who collaborated on video-based projects with their peers showed higher levels of problem-solving and critical thinking skills than learners who worked individually on text-based projects. A third study by Kalyuga et al. found that learners who experimented with different video formats and features showed higher levels of cognitive flexibility and metacognition than learners who followed a fixed video format and feature set.
All evidence considered, we can concurr that training videos foster a culture of learning and innovation by facilitating knowledge sharing, collaboration, and creativity that enhance the acquisition, creation, and application of new knowledge, skills, and ideas for pharma and manufacturing workers and businesses.
Conclusion
This blog post discussed evidence-based reasons why training videos are better than written manuals for pharma and manufacturing training. We talked about how training videos can help learners understand, remember, and apply information better; how they can make learners more interested, motivated, and satisfied; how they can save time, money, and space for businesses; and how they can promote a culture of learning and innovation among workers and organizations.
Training video tools, such as the Speach software, can offer significant benefits for the pharma and manufacturing industries. We have recommended that these industries promote a culture of learning and sharing among their employees by encouraging them to create and distribute their own training videos. We also identified some potential opportunities and challenges for applying training video tools in various contexts and scenarios, such as remote work, cross-cultural communication, and compliance training.
Create your own training videos today at speach.me!
