How to Capture Systems with Video
When it comes to training your teams such as a junior designer or a project coordinator, you will oftentimes need to transfer information about how you want things done. This is especially important for repeatable tasks that you want standardized. You may even find clients need standardized information.
What if instead of repeating yourself every time you were training a new staff member or onboarding a new client, you had a set of tools ready-to-go you could pass off so they get the information they need, without needing YOU to regurgitate the same information over and over again.
In his book Clockwork. Mike Michalowicz promotes the use of capturing systems as one part of a means to build a business that runs itself. As business owners, we have to be able to delegate to our team members - even if it’s to one person. But if we aren’t confident they are doing things the way we would want them to, we’ll end up taking over the tasks and doing them ourselves.
That leads to burnout...for ourselves and our team members.
When you can leverage your staff’s abilities and trust them to do things the way you want, you will start to experience more freedom to do the things that light you up in your business, while also growing your team’s confidence and independence in their role with you.
You have options for how to transfer information:
#1 - Word of Mouth
#2 - In a written document
#3 - Using a recorded screencast or video ✅
Anytime, I have a process that needs to be done the same every time, my preferred method is with a screencast or video (for action tasks). Why?
It’s visual (Eliminates confusion)
It’s fast (Easy to re-record if changes need to be made)
It’s memorable (Viewers are more likely to retain the information)
Use video and screen-capturing to build a library of content your team can reference whether it’s new team member onboarding, design tips, or giving feedback on something they are working on.
HERE IS A LIST OF SPECIFIC VIDEOS YOU MIGHT CREATE FOR YOUR LIBRARY
(Links below are to past blog topics, not to our specific internal training videos)
How to onboard a client - What are your systems? (Each system might have a different video)
Tour of your digital folder system (i.e. dropbox or Drive) Where do things live?
How to create a product specification sheet
How to use a template you’ve created
How to start a drawing using a template
Review of a drawing set - what is expected?
How to track your time?
How to organize a client binder
How to navigate your project management program
How to prepare a Client Welcome Kit
Offer feedback on designs, drawings, etc.
EXAMPLES OF CLIENT VIDEOS/SCREENCASTS:
Tour of Client Portal
What to expect next videos (Delivered after each major milestone)
How to share their Pinterest or Houzz boards with you
MY FAVORITE SCREENCASTING TOOL
LOOM is by far my favorite screencasting tool. (This is NOT an affiliate program. I just really love this tool!). When you download LOOM, it lives on your desktop. You can click the icon and start recording your screen (with your avatar video on or off). As you record, you can markup and highlight areas you want to draw attention to. You can pause if necessary to gather your thoughts.
As soon as you end the recording, you can share instantly with a link, or use the editing tool. You can rename your video and use the folders feature so you can organize your videos by topic and audience. Viewers can respond to videos with comments and emojis so you can gauge their feedback at certain points in the video.
GETTING STARTED AND TIPS:
If you are ready to get started creating a content library, a little planning can go a long way. Just don’t over plan to the point you never get anything recorded! #guilty
Start by making a list of all the videos you think would make the most sense for your interior design business.
If you have a team, ask them for input on what processes they need more support on.
Don’t overthink/overproduce it. For internal videos, just capture what you are doing WHEN you are doing it. If you overproduce a video, the next time it needs updating, it will feel like a waste of effort. KISS.
For client-facing videos, do a little more preparation by developing your talking points, creating a recording environment that dampens sound, and using a decent lapel microphone.
I hope this post has inspired you to get one step closer to creating a business that offers you more freedom and flexibility so you can spend more time doing the things that light you up and free up time.
Have questions about today’s topic? Drop them in the comments section below!
