Top Training Video Production Companies (Picking The Right One)

Looking to enhance your team's training video production? Partnering with a video production company that specializes in training and development projects can dramatically increase your team’s capabilities and capacity to help you hit your goals. We’ve compiled the complete criteria to help you select the best partner for your upcoming training projects and beyond.

Why work with a training video production company?

Deciding to hire a trusted partner for training video production comes down to two main reasons—your team has capability issues, capacity issues, or both. The best training video production companies will be able to support you in either area so that your team produces effective training videos and hits your yearly goals.

Capability

If your video content vision is beyond your team’s capability, you’ll need a training video production company that has technological or creative abilities well above your team’s. Examples might be high-end video production, adding interactives through Articulate Storyline, scenario-based learning, VR or 360 videos, special effects, motion graphics packages, AI integrations, and more.

Capacity

If your team is highly capable but is too busy with other projects to create additional training content, find a partner who can match or exceed the baseline quality of your content but can produce that content quickly. Ensure they have a proven training video production process that covers storyboarding to pre-production to post-production and everything in between. Also, ensure they can follow an established brand look so your training maintains a consistent aesthetic.

Bonus: Learning Design Approach

Some teams want a partner who truly knows learning design best practices so the content is both engaging and effective. This is where your team can see huge productivity gains because the partner is equally or more capable of learning design than your team. We’ll cover more on partner alignment later.

One assumption: Strategy

Many training teams can expertly conduct a needs-based assessment, identify knowledge gaps, and determine the right medium for training. Traditionally, training teams will search for a training/learning vendor after this crucial step, but some companies can also assist with the strategy component if need be.

Researching and Evaluating Training Video Production Services

Once you have a clear understanding of your team’s training needs, it's time to research and evaluate professional training video production companies. Start by conducting an online search and exploring the websites and portfolios of various training video production companies. Also, tap into your network and ask peers which companies they would recommend.

At this initial search level, pay close attention to a few key things:

• Portfolio Quality. Watch sample videos to assess their production value, aesthetics, and effectiveness. Do the portfolios showcase different types of training videos or do they specialize in a few types? Step back and ask if any of the video styles would resonate with your target audience. Make note of the specific videos that stand out. (This step will help you later.)

  
  

• Client Type and Solutions. Who has trusted them in the past? Do you respect and appreciate their client mix and how they’ve approached solving their problems? Get a sense of the size and scope of the educational video problems they’ve solved. Remember, each project was tailor-made for that client, but you may share a similar training problem. (Make a note of this as well).

• Video Services. You may already know why training videos are important in education, but these videos serve many purposes and take different forms. Everything from instructional videos, demo videos, social media videos, live-action videos, microlearning videos, employee training videos, and explainer videos, to animated videos, marketing videos, safety training videos, tutorials, case studies, onboarding videos, and subject matter expert videos. There are even VR, interactives, scenario-based, and more. Review the company’s service offerings and decide which most aligns with what you’re looking for. There might even be a video idea you hadn’t considered. 

  
  
  

• Industry experience (when possible.) Do they have experience in creating training and eLearning videos for your industry or an adjacent industry? Many organizations are in niche industries, so it can be difficult to find a 1:1 industry match. Try to identify projects, problems, or styles that give you confidence they produce the video project you envision.

• Read client testimonials. Gain insight into the production company's professionalism, reliability, and customer satisfaction. Determine if they have long-standing clients. This is an indication that they have true partnerships.

• Expert production team. Are they experienced in instructional design, scriptwriting, video editing, animation, Storyline, filmmaking, and multimedia production? Can they own the entire production process, or do only play a specific role? A skilled and knowledgeable team can greatly impact the quality and effectiveness of your training and can also help your team shoulder large portions of the production process.

Once you have a short list of training video production companies, reach out and have an initial meeting. You’ll now use a more focused set of criteria to vet them.

• Competency

• Chemistry

• Timeline

• Pricing

• Measurement 

Your Short List.

Vetting Training Video Production Companies Based On Competency

Learning Design Video Example

Revisit your notes on which quality videos stood out for each of your finalists.

Which pieces of their portfolio, when you look at them in aggregate, give an accurate picture of what they are capable of creating? Remember, they might not have produced training or online videos for say “non-narcotic pharmaceutical compounding clients,” but they do have experience in the healthcare field, distilling complex ideas into understandable and engaging learning segments.

Compare the training content you envision with what the companies are showing they are capable of. Do you like their learning design approach, how they used graphics to pull attention, engaging animation, or how they made a dry subject interesting?

Before the meeting, ask them to show additional examples of the training videos that stood out to you.

Vetting Video Production Companies Based on Chemistry

If chemistry wasn’t on your vendor-vetting bingo card, it’s ok. It’s often overlooked but is overly important. You’re determining if there is a personal and working compatibility. Because competency without chemistry can end in a disaster.

Do you like them? While this may seem warm and fuzzy, you’ll be spending time with this group (and if things go well) even more in the future. It’s fun to do great work with people you enjoy. And if they have passion for your project, even better.

Do they have a proven project process? Ask for specific details on their project management processes, platforms, and teams. Ensure you have a dedicated, experienced project manager. You’re gauging if they have a similar or complementary working style to keep the project on track and on time.

How flexible are they? Sometimes stakeholders want extra approval, a script needs to be adjusted, and a style needs to be changed. Get a sense of how flexible the company is to the unforeseen. You never know when you’re going to prize that flexibility.

Similar learning philosophy? Many experienced learning and training leaders approach learning projects through a framework. This philosophy is often based on their cumulative professional learning experience and helps them stay true to best practices when projects get complicated. Finding a learning partner who shares a similar philosophy can be invaluable because you have foundational alignment on your project approach.

One example may be: Apply the most appropriate learning solution, not the most creative one.

Or another: Ensure the learning metric aligns with the business metric.

When chemistry isn't aligned, the partner may recommend solutions that are counter to your philosophy, making the working process frustrating.

Vetting Video Production Companies Based on Timeline

How long does it take to produce a professional training video? The production timeline can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks depending on the style, number, and complexity of the videos.

After having an initial meeting, the company should gain enough information to provide a video production timeline and scope. If your project needs a quick turnaround, be upfront early so companies can determine if your ideal timeline is possible.

Timelines will change based on many factors, but the best training video production companies will find ways to deliver great work on time.

Production efficiencies: Good companies will provide options that have production efficiencies, like shooting on location vs a studio, having one host instead of multiple, and establishing a graphics package that can be applied evenly throughout. Whatever their solution, ensure they are working to get your video project delivered on time.

Project process: This is where proven processes become invaluable. Ask the companies for example timelines based on other similar scopes as yours. Ask why they were able to deliver on that timeline and what needed to happen to ensure that delivery.

Bottom line: The timeline can be high or low on your selection list depending on your delivery date. Regardless, you want to see that the company you choose has a predictable plan for delivering on time.

Vetting Video Production Companies Based On Pricing

Now to money. How much does a training video cost? Some estimates put the cost at ~$1,400 per minute, but every project varies on dozens of factors that should be determined in the project scope.

While it's essential to find a company that fits within your budget, it's equally important to ensure that you are getting the quality and value you need that is also cost-effective.

When evaluating costs, consider the pricing structure offered by different production companies. Some companies may charge a fixed rate per video, while others may offer package deals or customizable pricing based on the complexity and length of the videos.

Animated videos may have a different cost than live-action videos. Adding interactives like Storyline increases cost, but also increases engagement and measurability.

Inquire about any additional fees or expenses that may be involved in the production process. These can include scriptwriting, voiceover narration, graphic design, or revisions. Understanding the full cost breakdown will help you make an accurate comparison between different corporate video production companies.

A good partner will provide transparent and easy-to-understand pricing breakdowns.

Plus, in true partnership fashion, there are ways for a series of videos to be templatized so that future videos already have key creative building blocks, which require less cost later.

Vetting Training Video Production Companies Based On Measurement

In the age of "measure what matters," measuring the impact of training videos is essential to evaluating their effectiveness and making improvements if necessary. Learning leaders or executive leadership often want to know if there is an ROI as well as baseline improvements year over year. While learning criteria vary, there are four phases of learning that L&D teams generally agree on.

Depending on what level of measurement you want to achieve could dictate the learning partner you choose.

Level 1: Pass/Fail

The most basic is pass/fail and completion rate. You can track completion rates to determine how many employees have watched the videos in their entirety. This indicates employees have been exposed to the content and tested their knowledge.

Level 2: Retention

Another metric to consider is knowledge retention. Conduct assessments or quizzes before and after watching the videos to assess the increase in knowledge or skills. This can help identify areas where further training or reinforcement may be needed.

Level 3: Feedback

Feedback from learners is also valuable in measuring the impact of training videos. Surveys or feedback forms can be used to gather employees' opinions and suggestions for improvement. Their feedback can provide insights into the effectiveness of the videos and help identify areas for enhancement.

Level 4: Observational improvement

Lastly, observe changes in employee behavior or performance after the training. Are employees applying the knowledge gained from the videos in their work? Are there measurable improvements in productivity or quality? These indicators can help determine the real-world impact of the training videos. 

Interested in going deeper into training effectiveness? Review Kirkpatrick's Four Levels. 

How can a good partner help?

Depending on your Learning Management System (LMS), a good training partner creating an interactives project can export SCORM or xAPI packages to be uploaded to your LMS. This will allow your team to track a number of useful metrics to show knowledge retention and areas of improvement.

By consistently measuring the impact of engaging corporate training videos, you can make data-driven decisions to enhance your training program and continuously improve the effectiveness of your training videos.

Takeaways for why teams are partnering with training video companies.

1. Add capability and capacity

Regardless if you are a start-up or a mature organization, creating high-quality training videos requires a significant investment of time, effort, and equipment. By partnering with a corporate training video production company, your in-house training team can focus on other important aspects of the training program. Good partners often have access to a pool of talented professionals, including scriptwriters, animators, and video editors. Their expertise can greatly enhance the production value of your training videos and produce content at a faster, better rate.

Here's a success story: Corporate Training: How One of America's Largest Shipping Company is Innovating Driver Training.

2. Training innovation

An outside perspective can be a game-changer. Partnering with a corporate training video production company allows for a fresh perspective and innovative ideas. These companies have experience working with various organizations and industries, giving them valuable insights into what works and what doesn't. They can guide content development, instructional design, and engagement strategies, helping you create educational content that resonates with your learners.

3. Great pricing, when it’s right

While a video production partner is certainly an expense, you’re supplementing your team’s efforts through a highly specialized partner. There’s no onboarding timeline—simply plug them in and let them run with a project while your team focuses on only what they can do.

Do you have a training project you need help with? Get started in your search for the right partner by contacting NextThought, your custom learning company specializing in engaging video, interactives, and beyond. We have the privilege of partnering with top organizations like Amazon, Cummins, Encyclopedia Britannica, Red Devil, McDonald's, and the US Postal Service.