When people think of creating employee training videos, immediately they envision a top-of-the-line video.
They imagine their training videos as the next Star Wars blockbuster or a Planet Earth 4K masterpiece.
But that would be overdoing it — especially if you have no experience creating videos and just need to get started.
The thing is people try to make it more complicated than it needs to be. Video is meant to introduce your employees to concepts so they can receive further training and experience.
When I started creating training videos for ScreenSteps — a knowledge base software and training solution — I was overwhelmed with all of the options available. There were so many ways to do videos and so many tools to choose from.
I learned that you don't need to make those 4K videos when you create training videos. You just need something simple that gets the message across. The easiest thing you can do is a screen recording with a voiceover.
Use this list of tools to help you start building employee training videos. These cover different areas of video creation.
Screen recordings
- Camtasia
- Screenflow
- QuickTime
- Vimeo
- PowerPoint
Microphone
Your video can stink, but if your audio is good, they will stick around. The microphone should not be overlooked.
- HEIL
- Rode microphone
- Blue Yeti (most affordable at around $80)
- Computer microphone will be fine if that’s all you’ve got.
Video hosting service
You need a place to host your videos. If you are using an LMS, then they may have this already. If you are NOT using an LMS, then you will need to find a service to host your videos so you can embed them or send the video links.- Microsoft stream
- Vimeo
- Wistia
- VidYard
Video editing software
Note: Screenflow and Camtasia already have video editing tools. So if you’re using those, then that’s probably all you need. HOWEVER, if you want more options for editing videos and making very high-quality videos, I recommend the following:
- Adobe Premiere ($20/month)
- Final Cut Pro X
- Davinci
Tools for presenting concepts
Not everything needs to be a screen recording of you clicking through applications. Sometimes, you just need to record yourself going through a slide presentation- Keynote
- PowerPoint
- Google Slides
- Vyond (create cartoon explainers)
- Pow Toon
- Prezi
Cameras
There are plenty of high-end cameras on the market, but if you are just starting out in creating employee training videos, you probably don’t need those. You can get away with simple tools, especially since most of your video is not recordings of you the whole time.
- Built in web cam
- Logitec web cam (has HD)
Create a training curriculum with videos and beyond
Training videos help prepare your new hires for further training and role-playing exercises. However, video isn't the complete approach to training employees.
With ScreenSteps, we recommend companies use the Find & Follow Training Framework. It helps companies build a comprehensive training program that creates more knowledgeable, consistent, and efficient employees in 30 days to less.
See how employee training videos fit in with your larger company training and onboarding plan.
Download our new hire training eBook to help you build a comprehensive training program that helps you train your employees in 30 days or less.
