Using Video to Enhance Your Learning Strategy

Video is a key part of our learning strategy at Travis Perkins plc. The decision to integrate video into our learning strategy all started with a simple question: “How do you like to learn?”. Video was by far the most popular choice when we posed this to our colleagues, and they told us that the ability to watch something on repeat, to pause and to be able to rewind training content was the most useful way to learn.

I guess this shouldn’t be a surprise to me. I wanted to know how to fit a plug earlier this year so I whipped out my phone and turned to ‘YouTube’ to watch an expert talk me through each step. Suddenly I felt capable and able at the click of a button.

The most useful thing about video is the ability to watch it on repeat

All of our videos are short and bite-sized and, where possible, we try and engage our colleagues in the content. What better way to learn about our business than from someone who actually understands your role? Videos are edited to be light hearted, easy to digest, with headlines on the main ‘themes’ for the session.

We recently launched a suite of videos titled ‘Did you Know?’, designed to pique the interest of the learner.

We’ve had a great response and so we’ll continue to build on this catalogue as the business develops. It’s had a positive impact on our skills agenda too, not just in the number of views that our videos receive, but via the impact upon sales due to engaging staff training.

Positive impact upon sales and staff retention

We want the continued use of video in our learning strategy at Travis Perkins plc to:

1. Become more about User Generated Content; videos that can be freely uploaded by our colleagues to assist with knowledge sharing
2. Challenge the idea of learning in a classroom environment – learning via video before people even attend a workshop making the following sessions more real and widening understanding
3. Use videos in scenario based learning and ways to re enact real customer scenarios without the use of dreaded classroom role play

The L&D professional of the future will need to adapt and change their mindset. We believe it’s not how you learn, it’s what you learn. The classroom can stay where it belongs, as a small part of a learning experience. It won’t be the key to our learning agenda.