The onboarding of new employees is a job that takes time and needs to be done carefully. Especially in these times when working remotely is more common, it has become quite a challenge. How do you welcome a new employee into your organisation? How do you introduce them to their new team, working methods, habits and sector-specific rules?
In this challenge, onboarding videos can play a great role. That’s why I’d like to tell you how interactive video can help you with the onboarding process. I’ll also give you some inspiring examples, if you want to get started right away.
Why onboarding new co-workers is so important
If a job is not satisfactory, over 25% of the employees would like to switch to a new job within three months. This choice is made quickly, often within a week. If the new employee is not properly trained, you may have to look for a replacement within a few weeks or months. It goes without saying that this does little good to the continuity and finances of the company.
A good onboarding period has a positive effect on the satisfaction, engagement and performance of new employees. Employees who have been properly trained are more productive and are more likely to achieve their objectives than employees who did not receive proper guidance at the outset.
A good onboarding programme: what does it look like?
Alas, a printed sheet of text and a pat on the back are no longer enough. Onboarding is not just about passing on information. It’s about making sure someone becomes part of the organisational structure. So that they can quickly make the transition from “new co-worker” to an integral part of the team.
What an onboarding programme exactly looks like differs per organisation, but in any case it covers the following facets:
- Operational: new employees are provided with the right materials and knowledge, such as role clarity and company jargon, to do their job properly;
- Social: New employees should feel welcome, quickly build valuable relationships with colleagues and superiors and feel part of the organisation;
- Strategic: new employees gain knowledge about the organisation, such as its structure, corporate culture, vision, mission and current developments, and are able to identify with it.
Using interactive video in onboarding
A tool that can be used very well for the onboarding of new employees is video. Catchy onboarding videos help new employees to familiarise themselves with the culture, working methods and knowledge about the company.
Video is many times more effective than the use of, for instance, text documents, because visual content is processed faster and remembered better. About 10 percent of a read text is remembered, compared to about 50 percent of information where a combination of sound and image is used.
If you make the video an interactive experience, the information is processed even more actively and remembered better. The percentage of information that is remembered during active processing is no less than 70 to 90 percent. Moreover, you create a much more intense feeling of involvement with the viewer; exactly what you want to achieve when you are onboarding a new colleague.
Need some inspiration? Here are 5 onboarding video ideas
Although a video to introduce the team is a great start, the possibilities are endless with interactive video! In various ways you can highlight all aspects of your company, the team, the industry and target group or the working methods:
1. A day in the life…
What will the new employee’s working day look like? Give them a little sneak peek into a typical day at work. Tip: this type of video is also good to use as a recruitment video.
- How to make it interactive: Start the day with coffee or tea? Have a chat with that colleague or not? Staying for the nightcap or going home early? This video invites you to be playful with interactivity. But adding a quiz element also works well: for example, test the new employee’s knowledge of software or working methods used by the team company.
2. A detailed job description
Define in detail what is expected from the new employee. What are their core tasks? With whom will they be working together? What specific tasks are involved?
- How to make it interactive: For example, visualise how the employee’s role relates to the other roles in the team. This makes it clear with whom he or she will be working closely together. Have each colleague tell how and how closely they will work with the new colleague.
3. Showing a realistic picture of team projects or working methods
Recordings of team meetings, projects, briefings or presentations give the new employee a good idea of your way of working and the current projects.
- How to make it interactive: Give the viewer the possibility in the video to steer the meeting and influence the outcome. Or, for example, give the viewer the opportunity to study certain parts of a presentation that apply to him or her.
4. Video about company culture
Have the CEO explain the history and culture of the company to help new employees gain a better understanding of the company they are becoming part of. Also give current employees a voice in this video. This will give the new employee an idea of how everything is interpreted in a practical sense.
- How to make it interactive: In the video, for example, place links to more extensive information on the website or on the company intranet. Or visualise the organisational structure and let the viewer discover the organisation layer by layer.
5. Showing the organisation’s impact on the community
It is a good idea to show how the company contributes to society. Cover community-based activities and the overall mission of the company in the video. This creates a sense of meaning and involvement with the new employee. Tip: This video also lends itself well to recruitment, as well as branding.
- How to make it interactive: For example, let the viewer choose between different storylines, each highlighting a particular aspect.
Are you on board?
The use of effective onboarding videos has a major impact on the integration of your new employee in the organisation. Interactivity reinforces that effect even more. Are you planning to try onboarding videos? Hopefully we have inspired you!
For more inspiration, check out this onboarding video of GVB, which was developed with Ivory Studio software.
