With a large portion of the world now working remotely, it’s been quite a challenge for businesses in the past couple of years to find a Learning and Development strategy that really works for everyone.
Things like Zoom fatigue have become part of our everyday conversations as people express feeling more and more disconnected. And considering that remote and hybrid working is likely to stick around in the corporate world, it’s crucial to come up with new and creative ways to foster internal growth.
Why creating an engaging learning experience matters
There are plenty of reasons why effective personal development at work is important. One of the key things to know is that having a happy and healthy workforce actually fosters creativity, connectivity, and a deeper engagement in their daily activities. When employees feel invested, they put more of themselves into their work and genuinely care about what they do or create. That means you’re more likely to achieve your business goals and objectives.
Let’s break it down with some examples. Hiring new employees is much more expensive than keeping the ones you already have. Plus, a whopping 93% of employees have said that they’ll stick around longer at a company that invests in their development. On top of that, companies using learning technology for their employees have seen a remarkable 16% increase in customer satisfaction. Training not only empowers your staff but also boosts their confidence. And let’s not forget how crucial it is for those with customer-facing roles to have a good culture that fosters self-belief.
Effective personal development also helps attract new talent, especially the younger generations who value faster career progression. This way, you can ensure that your team represents your company in the best possible way, which ultimately boosts your brand’s reputation.
So, you see, investing in personal development at work has a multitude of benefits. It’s all about creating an environment where your employees thrive and grow, which in turn leads to success for your business.
Creating a learning and development strategy in 2023
There are a variety of online tools out there that can give you access to educational content for employee training. You’ve got virtual interactive classrooms, webinars, and downloadable content, just to name a few. But if the content isn’t engaging, your employees wll struggle to retain it.
Investing in bespoke animation as part of your learning strategy will make this content more engaging and help your team to feel connected with their career progression.
With remote working becoming more common, in-person training is getting harder to come by. So investing in online resources like this is a great way to keep up with professional development.
How to incorporate animation
Incorporating animation into your Learning and Development strategy can be truly transformative. Why? Because it allows you to tailor the content precisely to your business’s unique tone of voice and requirements. By utilizing short animated videos, you can effectively engage your audience, delivering information in a captivating and easily digestible manner. With animation, you have the power to convey complex concepts, tell compelling stories, and make learning an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
Examples of animated videos can include:
- ‘Welcome to the team’ onboarding videos outlining important information about the business and its history. This is perfect for employees who are just joining the team and need an in-depth introduction to your brand, strategy, business objectives, and what you stand for.
- New product launch videos for sales and marketing teams which focus on the key selling points of your products or services, or help team members craft easy-to-understand sales pitches.
- Videos concerning the business’s core beliefs and mission to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal.
- How-to or explainer videos on key processes within your business. This can include internal communication guidelines, how to use your company’s HR portal and other best practices that will help them become productive members of your team.
- Videos that help junior or mid-level staff to upskill or develop management skills that can help them move up into more senior roles in the company.
To truly elevate your Learning and Development plan, companies seeking long-term growth should explore the possibilities of character animation.
By incorporating character animation into your videos, you can establish an emotional connection with your audience by giving them a familiar “face” to engage with. This not only enhances their overall experience but also makes the content more relatable and memorable.
Moreover, character animation can prove to be cost-effective in the long run as you can reuse the same character across multiple videos, reducing production time if you’re collaborating with an animation studio. So, consider the power of character animation to create immersive and impactful learning experiences that leave a lasting impression on your team.
Now that we better understand the importance of Learning and Development and how animation can play an integral part in a successful learning plan for employee development, let’s explore an example.
Xaxis – Always Learning
We worked with the Learning and Development team at Xaxis to create animated branded videos and accompanying assets for their global initiative, Always Learning.
We were briefed to create a new brand for Xaxis’s global People and Performance team. It needed to be bright, vibrant and engaging, as well as personable and human, without relying too heavily on photography that might culturally unbalance global assets.
Among the deliverables required was a promotional launch film, a learning and development brochure and assorted graphic assets to allow internal teams the flexibility to create branded emails, intranet pages and newsletters.
Having previously worked with the Xaxis team to develop a kinetic typography style and graphic property assets for their videos, we agreed with our client to build on this graphic package further into a set of characters who could embody the different narrative aspects of the Always Learning campaign.
Our characters were created to represent a wide range of ages, genders, races, and abilities, all while following the Xaxis brand guidelines. We were careful during the design process to make sure these vibrant characters are both enjoyable and professional, so they can engage employees without taking away from the main message.
This was that employees should always be learning and upskilling themselves in preparation for change. For the client, the importance of this campaign grew as remote working became much more commonplace around the world, fostering an appetite for learning which was critical for the success of all brands.
The internal engagement animation branding provided a key initiative for the company to get behind globally. Check out the full video here:
How we can help with your learning & development animation strategy?
At Content Creatures, we have extensive experience creating bright and engaging Learning and Development videos for businesses in the UK and across the globe. If you’d like to discuss an up-and-coming project, we’d love to hear from you. You can reach out to us here or schedule a time to speak to us that suits you best.
Other Helpful resources:
We have some helpful guides for forward-thinking businesses looking to improve their communications.