Build an employee onboarding video programme around the questions a new joiner needs to answer at each stage. Before day one, explain arrival and access. In week one, show essential systems and help routes. During month one, focus on role-specific tasks, practice and feedback. Keep personal introductions and manager conversations alongside the videos.
What should you cover before day one?
Start with information that reduces uncertainty: where to arrive, who to contact, what to bring and how the first day will work. Use a short welcome to introduce the organisation, then link to the current practical instructions. Check that new joiners can access the material without an employee login they have not yet received.
Avoid putting every benefit, policy and system into the welcome film. Some details change frequently and are easier to maintain on an owned reference page. The video can show where to find that page and who can answer questions.
A before-day-one to month-one content map
This is an illustrative planning template, not a client programme. Replace the topics and owners with your organisation’s approved requirements. A role that involves equipment, regulated work or site access will need additional instruction and review.
| Stage | Video focus | Next action and owner |
|---|---|---|
| Before day one | Welcome, arrival and contact details | Confirm the first-day plan; HR owns the information. |
| Day one | Where to find help and essential information | Locate the help route; HR and IT confirm access. |
| Week one | One essential system task at a time | Complete the task in a test environment; the system owner reviews it. |
| Week one | Approved policies and reporting routes | Find the current policy and contact; the policy owner checks accuracy. |
| Weeks two to four | Role-specific workflow and common decisions | Practise with feedback; a manager or subject expert assesses the task. |
| End of month one | Recap and continuing support | Discuss unanswered questions; the manager agrees the next learning steps. |
How do you turn a topic into an objective?
“Introduce the helpdesk” describes a subject. “Find the correct help route for a login problem” describes an action you can check. Write the action first, then choose the scene, demonstration and follow-up that support it. CDC’s learning-objective guidance, developed for public-health training, explains the value of specific, observable objectives.
Worked example: finding help with system access
In this hypothetical module, a new joiner cannot access a work tool. Show the approved help page, demonstrate how to identify the right contact, and finish by asking the learner where they would go for support. Use a test account and sample information. The IT owner should confirm the contact route and any wording about access; the production team should not invent it.
- Starting question: “I cannot sign in. Where do I ask for help?”
- Visual: the current approved support page, with the relevant route highlighted.
- Narration: explain what information to provide without displaying real passwords or personal data.
- Follow-up: ask the learner to locate the help route independently.
What should stay live or hands-on?
Keep space for meeting the team, asking questions and practising work. A video can demonstrate a process or set up a discussion; playback completion does not show that a person can perform the task. For equipment or high-consequence procedures, the organisation’s technical owners must define supervision, practice and authorisation.
When you use external examples, keep the intervention clear. Our Piramal Finance industry example concerns a broader learning-platform programme. It is not a Probbit project or evidence that onboarding videos alone produced its reported results.
What should you check before publishing?
- Confirm the audience, source documents and named owner for every module.
- Test the sequence on the devices new joiners will actually use, including access before employment begins where relevant.
- Review scripts, screen captures, contacts and policy references against their approved versions.
- Plan captions and text alternatives, and check information that appears only visually. W3C’s media planning guidance explains the relevant components.
- Agree the learning check, manager follow-up and update trigger before release.
Keep a simple register: module, audience, source version, owner, approval date, language versions and review trigger. A changed contact or system screen should lead you to the affected scene. A change in the job itself may require a different learning objective and a larger revision.
How should you evaluate onboarding video?
Decide what evidence answers your objective. Completion can show that an assigned module was recorded as finished. A task check, manager observation or follow-up question can help you assess application. Record access problems and unclear steps separately so a low completion figure is not automatically treated as a content failure.
For production planning, explore employee onboarding video. For platform delivery, see LMS packaging and accessibility. If you already have approved procedures, use the SOP-to-video guide to plan a task demonstration.