With budgets becoming increasingly restrictive in the current climate, training managers are under mounting pressure to demonstrate a return on their training program investments  While new digital tools are being introduced to make working lives easier and improve productivity, it's also hard for employees to keep up-to-speed with new software programs that are rolled out across their company. 

While new software provides the capacity to improve business efficiency, initial staff training can be an intensive and time consuming process. Aside from the time spent away from desks, additional costs may be incurred when hiring external consultants to run multiple training sessions.

While training employees in the use of new software is important to a company’s efficiency, spending a significant proportion of the HR budget on this is not best practise. HR managers need a solution that allows them to roll out the new solution in a cost-effective and timely manner.

Ideally, new software should be intuitive enough that employees can start using it immediately. However, this is not always the case. Employees tend to develop their own way of performing tasks and breaking these habits to encourage use of the software is difficult. When a new and more efficient system is introduced it can initially reduce worker efficiency, as it takes time to get to grips with the new interface and functionality.  

Effective training should always be conducted in small groups to allow for individual learning needs. Training should also be held in short ‘bite-size’ sessions to avoid overwhelming staff through information overload. Staff also need regular ‘refresher’ sessions to ensure information is retained.  

This often means a trainer has to hold several sessions on the same topic. Additional refresher courses may also be required on some of the more complex tasks in the future.

A screencast is a recording of a computer’s on-screen activity, which is accompanied by an instructional audio track. Trainers can use the tool to create a tutorial explaining how to use the company’s new enterprise resource software, for example. With screencasting the instructor can create a series of short tutorials focusing on a specific aspect of the software. The ability to add a commentary to the visual demonstration allows tutorials to act as a walkthrough for employees, as if a trainer were giving instructions over their shoulder. Trainees can also complete the tasks alongside the video, pausing or keeping up as they go.

Once the video content has been created, it can be exported to a central system, such as a company intranet, to be viewed by employees on an on-demand basis. Additionally, screencasts can be created in a variety of formats, compatible with a range of devices such as iPods and able to be uploaded to sites such as YouTube. This makes it possible for employees to access them at any time.

Using screencasting for IT training can provide numerous Benefits to a business’s training programme. Firstly, training walkthroughs can be held on a one off basis, then recorded and distributed across a company’s network. Recorded walkthroughs can be accessed by all employees, eliminating the need for time consuming individual training sessions.

If the screencast has been uploaded to a networked resource, the content is accessible to all employees. This can include an office with a workforce of thousands or employees working across a global office network. This provides the capacity to train staff across the world though a single application, once content is localised for international recipients.     
Uploading screencasts to an online resource reduces the need for HR managers to find a shared convenient time for all employees to attend a single training session. Instead, they can view the training in their own time, and plan around their own workload.

Finally, screencasts allow companies to create a digital library of training content. When new employees join the company they can view all the training content required for their role immediately, rather than waiting for training to be scheduled over a period of several months. This allows employees to be more productive over a shorter length of time.

In addition to the business Benefits, screencasting can also help with employee development. Short tutorials focusing on one specific topic, rather than one long session, allow employees to learn at their own speed. Tutorials can be paused and re-examined if not fully understood after the first view. The tutorials can also be used as a refresher on aspects of software that are not frequently used.

There will often be one or two employees in a company, and particularly within SMEs, who are regularly sought whenever an IT question crops up. These ‘tech guys’ have the capacity to direct fellow workers to training content, minimising disruption (and annoyance) to their daily routine.

With increasing pressure on companies to become paperless and more unified in their communications, screencasting is an ideal method of developing and distributing training content. It provides a resource that allows all employees an equal chance to be trained rather than a few being prioritised over others, as well as eliminating the need for employees to  reply on ad-hoc training resources.

The use of a visual demonstration for training is also a more engaging way to learn. This is especially so for those with only a basic level of technological understanding. Seeing a programme in action allows employees to cut through the jargon of a training document, improving the accessibility of the training content.

With the next generation of office workers being born into a digital world, it will soon become the norm for content to be delivered digitally and on-demand. By building up a database of training content now, HR managers can ensure they are preparing their business training for tomorrow’s world.

• http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp