Safety – is something that every employee, manager, and business owners should have on their mind. No one should be discharged from the hospital in a worse state than how they were admitted.
It is a fact that can be well understood that nothing can be more effective than video production when it comes to educating and informing. Video production caters to the visual and the auditory learners.
With safety videos you are able to educate, save the instructor’s time and train in a consistent manner. A frequent concern we get is, “We want to use video for training, but how do we start making safety training videos?”
It can be quite confusing at times but do not worry. This guide simplifies it into easy to follow steps that anyone can follow. Thus, following the steps outlined above, you will be on the right track to developing a safety training video.
Here are the steps that can be taken to ensure success!
1. Promote safety effectively
In simple terms, what is the goal of your safety video? Most of the times when we have the initial consultation with a new client, the purpose of the video is not defined.
What is the need to create a safety video?
Corporate mandate, recent injury or to offload your HSE staff for other tasks. Consider this as the target of the video.
This is the stage where you are to generate the answer to the question, “What are we hoping to accomplish by creating this video?” Clearly state your goal.
Example: This paper aims at creating a safety video that will help in training the ever-changing employees on the right way to lift objects.
2. How can your viewer assist you in achieving a “safer” company?
People matter a lot because they are your target readers. The audience that you are targeting has to be spoken to in a language that they will understand and relate to.
What is the target market of your safety video production?
We can also make employee personas – fictional and rather stereotyped characters of your target group. This is your employee avatar in a sense. This allows you to ask critical questions such as:
- What are we actually telling the viewer in this case, what are we attempting to teach them?
- Is this person an expert or do they speak for the whole company’s employees?
- What is my persona’s reason for watching this video?
- Is the language of the viewer of our video English?
- What is the purpose of our safety video production? Yes, I understand that you ask this in an earlier step but still, ask it again. Please, stay on the topic!
Such questions will assist you in comprehending the kind of video you need to develop and the manner in which you should present your message.
3. How can you get more “buy in” for your messaging?
One must begin with the research and the idea of what one wants to express. Most firms attempt to convey as much as possible in one video and in the process, they convey nothing of value.
You have to decide what exactly you want to convey to the students.
Then, it is necessary to identify the key points of the message. What has to be conveyed to transfer your information to your audience?
This may sound very basic, but it is a fact that many a times people get so engrossed in the ‘format’ of the safety video that they are making that they forget the basic purpose of it. The simplest way to control the information overload is to identify three (or at most three) major points that need to be made. If you have a long list of other goals, maybe, they should be discussed in your next safety video production.
These are the messages that you should jot down and remember. This should assist you in the remaining steps.
4. What’s a Reasonable Timeline?
This question seems obvious. Actually, it is two questions in one.
How quickly does this need to be done AND what is the video production schedule?
Some of the most important aspects of the safety video production are often not included in the schedule of the people involved in the process.
Is there an all-employee meeting this is to be shown at? Or, is it for new employees that are onboarded in the course of the year? Set a deadline, THEN WORK BACKWARDS.
For instance, it is late May and you want the safety video to be shown at the 3rd Quarter kickoff meeting that is scheduled for the beginning of July.
Reasonable? Perhaps.
Haven’t you take into consideration that one of the Principal players in this project will be off for two weeks on paternity leave? With this information the five weeks you thought you had, really turns into only three. It would be best to begin now, or at least hold off on the big reveal until the 4th Quarter kick-off meeting.
Another thing that people seem to overlook is the time it takes to actually shoot a safety video.
One of the clients we had was expecting us to conduct 40 interviews in a single day. The aim was to get basic ideas of what is safety for the front line employees.
It is possible to estimate how a video shoot day may look like using simple math. With forty people to interview and a ten hour work day, that means a new interview every fifteen minutes. supposing there is no lunch break, everyone will be punctual and it will take less than one minute to move from one building on campus to the other. Can you see the fallacy in that argument?
It may be more advisable to spread the shoot over 2-3 days to factor in flexibility into the video shoot timetable.
5. What’s your presentation style?
What will the video be like? Is it just a recorded interview with your HSE lead? Is it capturing a HSE seminar and adding some graphical contents in it? Or is it a more of a ‘drama’ to show an accident and actions to be taken?
It can be these or a number of other styles.
Think about how you want your safety video production to be like.
More often than not, one can find examples of style in the usual places. YouTube is a very useful tool, however, it is possible that the company does not upload this training to the internet as it is rather specific.
Have you been to a plant where you have to first watch a video before you are allowed into the plant? How did you find that safety video that you watched?
However, the last but not the least, discuss it with your colleagues. If you are a member of a HSE professionals group, you can ask them; they may be eager to demonstrate their company’s videos. As for the “sharing of ideas”, many people communicate in online professional forums, ask your peers.
If you do decide to opt for a more theatrical safety video- for that scene on forklift safety- then who is going to be operating the forklift? Is this what ‘Murray’ from the loading dock has been waiting for? Will you have to find someone to do the acting for you? The actor will have to be trained on the forklift, though, you will have to confirm with Murray’s supervisor about his availability. Is this permitted in your Union contract?
Ensure that you include this as one of the activities to be done in your projects timeline as indicated in the fourth step.
6. How to keep your audience from getting distracted?
This is usually the most critical question we ask our clients and probably the one they struggle with most.
What is the duration that you would like your safety video production to be?
It is impossible to state the right answer, however, it is a fact that video length does influence the viewer’s retention. The short answer is, KEEP THE VIDEO SHORT. There, I said it.
Of course, this is the opposite of what you would expect to hear from a company that offers video production services. The facts, however, do not lie, and our task is to offer our clients effective safety videos.
This is true for all the videos that we create, but even more so when the lives of people depend on it. Here is the chart by Wistia and you can make your own conclusion.
“But we wanted our safety video training to be an hour, are you saying this won’t work?” I’ll give you a firm “maybe.” It might work if the safety video is designed right and visually interesting.
Perhaps, it would be more effective to create six videos that are 10 minutes long each but are independent from one another. This will keep your audience more engaged and also provides you a chance to remind the training in the previous module.
Remember the goals that you have set in Step 1 for your video. Do you have what seems like an endless list of things to do? Is this one video too much to request? Should the fire safety aspect be discussed in this video and the evacuation in case of fire and rally points in the following video?
Is this to mean that no video that you create should be more than five minutes? Maybe. What do you intend to do with it? Is your company using the format like lunch and learn, team meetings at the beginning of the shift, or quarterly meetings with the employees? What is the implication of the answer to that question to your plans for your safety video production?
We will discuss this in the next step, Step 9. One thing for sure is that, respect your audience and your audience will stick around and watch more of your content.
7. How are you going to gain the buy-in from the management team?
What are the main actors in your organization? Whether you are employed in a small family business that manufactures goods, or a large corporation that is listed among the Fortune 500 companies, management will have its say.
In this manner, the management will be included early in the process so that they will feel that this project is theirs.
If you don’t, my experience shows the revisions will be more extensive, as you may not have all been on the same page.
It is crucial to establish the people who will be involved in the review and revision of the safety video before you begin the production. If you work in a big company where approval is required from several managers, it is better to plan several extra days for this.
It is advisable to have one person who will be in charge of editing throughout the project. Only one person should send all the revision notes, not revision notes from 5 different people for instance. This can be useful in avoiding confusion on which of the revisions are most significant.
8. Does your safety training video work?
This is always challenging to control. But if you prepare for this in pre-production then you can at least come up with a metric that will be somewhat helpful.
Realizing the way you will be measuring the success of your video will enable you to fine tune the the video in order to meet the intended objectives.
The majority of organizations record and document cases of injury. You can look at monthly comparisons, but this logic is often wrong. Perhaps this June you have 10% of the employees that you had in the previous June. If the same or fewer cases are reported, it can be concluded that your training is effective. Perhaps your company has moved that fatal production to December or you just got lucky.
As for those who apply the management by walking around approach, I believe that the results will be more noticeable. There will be better adherence to the proper measures that are being taken in order to avoid the spread of the virus. Where before one person would be expected to lift a box, now two people are lifting the box.
Check your list of goals with the changes you have identified in your business after the training. Schedule a ‘review’ session after three months of the training.
This is because the nature of video training is that it is consistent in the message that is being passed across. The message will be relevant today and three months from now when you will be employing four new workers.
9. How do I get my message across?
Step 5 will assist in this or at least point you in the right direction. But the goal is to make the information as easy to consume as possible, which is why the information is presented in the form of a list.
Express yourself in the language that the audience would understand.
Does your facility use only English as the mode of communication? For some firms it is yes while for others it is no. Will you be requiring the presentation to be translated into Spanish or French? Voice and/or graphics? Both?
One of the Fortune 300 companies we created safety video content for has the content translated into seventeen different languages. We collaborate with a firm that deals with language translation services. What is important to note is that sometimes different languages do not take as long as in English. It may take seven seconds to say in another language what can be said in English in five seconds. This presents a problem in the over-dubbing edit because now we need two more seconds of the video to cover the language dub. Your company may not have such a requirement, but plan for it if you can.
10. Ways to get more ‘views’ for your safety video
The intended use of your safety video should be considered in the planning stage.
Now, how are the people going to play your video?
Consider this:
Physically, how are you planning to disseminate this? In a memory stick in a smart TV, on your company server, via the learning portal, for instance? In what manner are employees going to be able to physically see your safety video?
What can the safety video be used for or at least the edited version of the safety video?
You have decided to create your safety video; how do you ensure that those who require the information get to watch it? Certainly, at the company safety meetings, but many people do not go beyond this.
FAQs:
1. What is the key to making a corporate safety video engaging and memorable?
The key to making a corporate safety video engaging and memorable is to use storytelling techniques, such as real-life scenarios, relatable characters, and a clear call-to-action. This will help employees remember the safety messages and take action to prevent accidents and injuries.
2. How can I ensure that my corporate safety video is concise and easy to understand?
To ensure that your corporate safety video is concise and easy to understand, focus on key safety messages, avoid unnecessary information, and use clear and simple language. Aim for a length of 5-10 minutes, depending on the complexity of the topic and the attention span of your audience.
3. What is the importance of visual elements in a corporate safety video?
Visual elements, such as footage, animations, and graphics, are essential in a corporate safety video as they help to break up the narrative, illustrate key safety concepts, and make the video more engaging and memorable. Use high-quality visuals that are relevant to your industry and audience.
4. How can I make my corporate safety video more interactive and participatory?
To make your corporate safety video more interactive and participatory, incorporate elements such as quizzes, games, or challenges that encourage employee participation and engagement. Consider using virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) technology to create an immersive experience.
5. What is the best way to evaluate the effectiveness of my corporate safety video?
The best way to evaluate the effectiveness of your corporate safety video is to track employee engagement and feedback through surveys, quizzes, or focus groups. Monitor safety metrics, such as incident rates or near-miss reports, to evaluate the video’s impact on safety behavior and culture. Use this data to refine and improve future safety videos.
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