Tech-enabled learning has become the norm not the exception. And while it has its many benefits - including efficiency and self-guided learning - it also comes with challenges. Written content in any form (and especially a formal curriculum) is hard to make compelling. However, more and more enterprises are using private audio and video podcasting to breathe life back into their corporate training curriculums.

Imagine your employees binging your company training material just like they do for the latest Ozark series. Companies need to opt for modern line training delivered in a Netflix and Spotify-style way that is natural for your employees to receive.

Here are seven ways that audio and video can boost your online training and learning results:

Audio and Visuals Outperform Text Every Time

In a recent Tim Sanders podcast he talks about the well-known Mehrabian study from UCLA, which found that when we read text, we can only decode 7% of the author’s intended meaning, but in an auditory setting, that comprehension increases to 38%. This means that when you switch from an email culture to an audio-based culture, understanding increases 500%.

Further studies have found that just 7 days after training, the average employee will have forgotten 65% of the material covered, and after 6 months the number increases to 90%. However, when you pair relevant visuals with learning information, retention levels rise to an impressive 65%.

And that’s not all. According to Human Capital Media in a survey of organizations with more than 200 employees, a whopping 97% of respondents agree that audio and visual learning channels are more effective in aiding retention.

We’ve come to expect that our tone may be misinterpreted over text as well. If your online courses are text heavy, you’ll see glazed-over eyes, bored participants, and limited learning outcomes. A private podcast requires little effort to engage with. All your employees have to do is hit play, sit back and listen.

Shows Real-World Examples

Most people don’t want to learn just for learning’s sake. They want to see how their newly acquired skills are going to be applied in real life. With a modern video platform, you have unlimited ways to demonstrate the value of each course. Not only can you add video testimonials as part of the curriculum, but you can also drive interaction post-viewing and embed links to downloadable examples or additional videos.

Designed Around the Employee

Streaming audio is incredibly convenient. Through video channels and private podcasting, employees can listen to corporate training material when and where they want, which is great for those who are always on-the-go or in different time zones. Employees can download, listen offline, stream easily in low bandwidth situations, or re-listen as many times as needed to fully understand the material. And perhaps what's most exciting is that an audio-only recorded message frees the listener up to multi-task, so you can reach them when they're doing other things, or what is commonly referred to as "windshield time." By engaging your employees on their own schedule, listening to corporate material will become less of a chore and more of a helpful learning opportunity.

Also, with uStudio’s enterprise-secure solution, audio and video podcasts can be restricted by location, department, seniority and more. One training lesson might be best for only one subset or sales team of your organization. With audience segmentation, employers can make sure they are providing the most targeted and useful training content for their workers.

Promotes Group Collaboration

Private podcasts promote group collaboration and allow employees to download, like and share a podcast episode with their fellow co-workers. Get your employees more excited about their training material by letting them be a part of your strategy, including asking them to submit topic suggestions or questions for an episode host. You could even ask internal champions to host their own episode and share real-life scenarios that they’ve experienced on the sales floor that could benefit others. Not only can you add video testimonials as part of the curriculum, but you can also drive interaction post-viewing and embed links in the podcast episode description to downloadable examples or videos for additional learning. Also, the best video platforms have an interactive layer that you can use to let eLearners work together, immersed in a stream of social discussions, encouragement, and guidance.

Delivers Just-in-Time Training

Private podcasting is ideal for getting important messages out quickly. Contextual content is extremely valuable especially when delivered or triggered in a timely manner. Also, live audio podcasts are a much better way to get remote workers ‘dialed in’ to important company meetings and announcements. Now, your mobile workforce can listen to conference calls, company meetings, and live updates by simply tapping the uStudio app. If there is a relevant live event in progress, they can listen to it conveniently from anywhere. Online video platforms also have direct integration with many systems, i.e. your CRM solution, so that you can serve up real-time videos relevant to either a deal or a current event. This significantly improves views and gets your team on the same page.

Best for Millennials

According to Gallup, 87% of millennials say they see professional development as an important part of their jobs. Millennials feel more digital familiarity with mobile apps, news feeds, messaging, and generally richer audio and video media experiences like on-demand video, private podcasts, and live streams. One thing we also know about millennials is that they love to multitask - it’s very natural for them. Consumer podcasts are already so popular among millennials outside of work, that no habit change is required to also tune-in to their important learning material.

Presents Bite-Sized Chunks

Social media has trained us to consume information in small amounts, i.e. 140-character Twitter posts. Many of us today just do not have the attention span for lengthy content. Video and audio is an easy way to pack a lot of information into a short, compelling piece. And a podcast show with multiple episodes allows you to break up a major concept into shorter features. If you can make content interesting enough, YouTube does have data showing that mobile users average 40 minutes of viewing per session.

Actionable Insights

With uStudio’s private podcasting solution, you can see exactly when, where and how your audio and video content is being consumed — and if it’s effective. This data can help you identify knowledge gaps in your organization as well as behavioral trends in how your workforce prefers to learn. For compliance reasons, named-user data will also confirm that the training material is listened to or watched in general. By always monitoring private podcast or video analytics, employers can continually make changes to produce the best performing corporate training material for their workforce.

All of these points can add to your learning outcomes and make a real contribution to a corporation’s bottom line. After all, 70% of organizations currently cite “capability gaps” as one of their top five business challenges and tech-enabled learning must be laser-focused on filling in those gaps. For quick results, add private podcasting and video to your corporate training strategy.