Your Human Resources should be using great video to teach new hires – here’s why:

Save money and improve results for the company by using great videos!

Your HR Department can use video to teach new hires, save money, and improve results for the company and employees

Remember the pamphlet that your employer handed to you the last time you started a new job? Have you retained any of the important facts that were conveyed in writing and in a discussion about how to go about your work? Can you find that pamphlet?

Stop trying to onboard new hires the way it has been done for the past several decades. Yes, new hires must understand the rules and the culture. And you want to make them feel welcome!

In the past, the only way to do that was to sit them down with someone in the Human Resources Department who would explain the rules and answer questions about how to start the 401(k). (Even worse, everyone might be corralled together in a group lecture.)

Today, video can convey your important messaging in a way that your new employees will remember and can refer to for as long as you employ them.

The HR Department will still be involved face to face, both to make sure the paperwork is signed and to answer those questions. But the meetings will be shorter and the questions more knowledgeable if you first send a video or two to every new hire even before they start.

It will make things easier on those being onboarded, too. 

Research at 3M Corp. concluded that humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.

That means your employees will remember more from the start, and of course, the videos can be posted permanently on your site so workers can refer to them when they need to recall a bit of information. 

The more you can do to make new employees feel comfortable with a series of short videos, providing expert knowledge via infographics, animation, and people — or a combination — the more they will learn and the longer they will stay.

Added benefits: Your employees are very accustomed to learning by video. How-to videos are among the top content categories at YouTube. And for larger organizations, video tutorials are a great way to cut down on travel and training budgets for far-flung sites.

Here is a list of some of the types of videos Pinch can produce for your HR Department.

• Understanding of certain tasks, like computer processes, regulations, and legal matters
• Explanation of insurance, vacation, sick days, and other benefits
• The process for 401(k), Flexible Spending Accounts, paid and unpaid time off
• Safety procedures for specific on-the-job dangers
• The future of the company: New endeavors, recent acquisitions, plans for the future
• Inspiration about careers, illustrated by interviews with founders, long-term employees, or company stars

Pinch has produced a series of videos for customers that explain workplace trouble-shooting specific to each company. 

Microsoft’s legal team wanted to help employees understand the rules and laws that surround offering gifts to government officials who are also customers. Our animation introduces the concept of “Pause, Think and Ask” when confronted with potential conflicts. 

PepsiCo seeks to increase productivity in its warehouses by 5%, so in one video we explained how “column stacking” of boxes improves efficiency and employee safety.

Teck, a natural resources company, strives to prevent employee injuries on the job and asked for a video that would clearly explain the various hazards present in their line of work, as well as how to avoid them. We created a series of explainer videos that went into detail about the differences between a hazard and risk, and all the different dangers present at the work site. 

With each video no longer than 2½ minutes, topics included the correct way to stack product in a warehouse, an introduction of a new electronic system to keep track of shipping and other processes, how to monitor for the illegal use of the software by customers, as well as the basics of hiring, conflicts of interest and how employees can take control of their careers by understanding tracks for growth.

Videos can also introduce new programs or a change in direction for everyone at the company. Even when in-person instruction may be needed for extremely complex procedures, a video introduction can speed the learning process.

Companies are spending more time than ever to help their employees succeed — and that often means explaining how to help customers. As the Society for Human Resource Management says, “American industry requires a culture which embraces values over blind obedience and gives workers the latitude to serve those who really hold the key to the success of the business.”

Your HR processes can work better. Pinch can help with a video that explains, enlightens, and entertains new and long-time employees.

You might even be able to ditch the pamphlets.