Top 7 Types of Training Videos Every Company Needs
Training isn't one-size-fits-all. Different business goals require different types of learning content — whether you're running a healthcare organization in Naperville, a financial services firm in downtown Chicago, or a manufacturing operation in the western suburbs. The beauty of training video production is that it can be tailored to fit onboarding, compliance, leadership, customer service, or even product education.
Companies throughout the Chicago metropolitan area are discovering that strategic investment in diverse training video types not only improves employee performance but also creates a more cohesive organizational culture across multiple locations. From corporate headquarters in Schaumburg to satellite offices in Oak Brook, the right training videos ensure everyone is working from the same playbook.
In this guide, we'll explore the 7 most effective types of training videos that every company should consider — and how professional production ensures each one delivers real results for your organization.
FAQs- Quick Answers
Q1: What types of training videos are most effective for businesses?
A: Onboarding, compliance, product training, customer service, leadership, process/skills, and company culture videos are the seven essential types every company should have.
Q2: How long should training videos be?
A: The most effective training videos are short and modular, usually 3–7 minutes per topic. This length maintains engagement while allowing employees to fit learning into their busy schedules.
Q3: Can training videos be customized for different departments?
A: Absolutely. Each department can have tailored training videos designed to meet its unique learning needs, whether it's compliance for healthcare workers in Downers Grove or sales training for teams across your Chicagoland locations.
Q4: Do I need all seven types of training videos?
A: Most companies benefit from having several types. Start with your most pressing needs — typically onboarding and compliance — then expand your video library as your training program matures.
Q5: How often should training videos be updated?
A: Compliance videos should be reviewed annually or when regulations change. Product and process videos need updates when features or procedures change. Culture and onboarding videos typically require updates every 1-2 years.
Training Videos Your Company Needs:
1. Onboarding Training Videos
First impressions matter, especially in competitive job markets like Chicago and its surrounding suburbs where attracting and retaining top talent is crucial. Onboarding videos welcome new hires, introduce company culture, and outline expectations in a way that's engaging and memorable.
Why onboarding videos are essential:
Instead of repeating the same presentations to every new hire — or worse, delivering inconsistent onboarding experiences across your locations in Naperville, Wheaton, and Rosemont — businesses can provide consistent, engaging introductions that make employees feel connected from day one.
What to include in onboarding videos:
Welcome from leadership: A personal message from your CEO or department heads helps new employees feel valued
Company history and mission: Understanding the organization's journey and purpose
Culture and values: What makes your workplace unique
Benefits overview: Healthcare, retirement, PTO, and perks explained clearly
Workplace policies: Dress code, attendance, remote work guidelines
Team introductions: Meet the people they'll work with across all locations
First-week expectations: What to expect and how to succeed
For companies with multiple locations throughout the Chicago area, onboarding videos eliminate the logistical challenge of coordinating in-person sessions while ensuring every new hire — whether starting at your main office or a remote position — receives the same high-quality introduction to your organization.
2. Compliance and Safety Training Videos
Regulations, health standards, and safety protocols must be delivered clearly and consistently — and documented properly. This is particularly critical for industries common in the Chicagoland business community, from healthcare facilities to manufacturing plants to corporate offices with their own compliance requirements.
Why compliance videos are non-negotiable:
A well-produced compliance video ensures employees understand legal requirements, reducing the risk of violations that could result in fines, lawsuits, or worse. These videos also provide documentation that training was completed, which can be invaluable during audits or legal proceedings.
Common compliance training topics:
Workplace safety: OSHA requirements, emergency procedures, equipment operation
Harassment prevention: Creating respectful workplaces across all locations
Data security and privacy: HIPAA, GDPR, and company-specific protocols
Anti-discrimination policies: Equal opportunity and inclusion training
Financial compliance: For banking, finance, and accounting professionals in Chicago's business district
Industry-specific regulations: Healthcare, food service, manufacturing standards
Ethics training: Conflicts of interest, reporting procedures, corporate responsibility
For businesses operating across multiple sites in Naperville, Lombard, and beyond, compliance videos ensure that regulatory training is delivered identically regardless of location, reducing liability while making annual refresher training far more manageable.
3. Product Training Videos
Sales and support teams often need deep knowledge of products and services to serve customers effectively. Product training videos provide demonstrations, feature explanations, and use cases, ensuring staff — and even customers — are equipped with accurate, detailed information.
Why product training videos drive revenue:
When your sales team across different locations has inconsistent product knowledge, it shows. Customers notice when one representative in your Oak Brook location provides different information than someone at your Chicago office. Professional product training videos eliminate these discrepancies.
Effective product training video formats:
Product overviews: High-level introductions to new offerings
Feature deep-dives: Detailed explanations of specific capabilities
Use case scenarios: Real-world applications that resonate with customers
Competitive comparisons: How your product stacks up (without disparaging competitors)
Demonstration videos: Step-by-step walkthroughs showing product in action
Troubleshooting guides: Common issues and solutions
Best practices: Tips for maximizing product value
Technology companies in Schaumburg's corporate corridor, retailers throughout the western suburbs, and B2B service providers in downtown Chicago all benefit from product training videos that can be easily updated as offerings evolve.
4. Customer Service Training Videos
Exceptional customer service doesn't happen by accident — it requires training, practice, and reinforcement. Roleplay, scenarios, and best-practice demonstrations make customer service training more effective than traditional lecture-style approaches.
Why video excels for customer service training:
Video allows employees to see real-world interactions and model the right responses. They can observe body language, tone, pacing, and problem-solving techniques in action. This is especially valuable for businesses with customer-facing teams across multiple locations, from hospitality operations near O'Hare to retail stores throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
Key customer service training topics:
Communication fundamentals: Active listening, clear speaking, positive language
Handling difficult customers: De-escalation techniques and problem resolution
Product knowledge application: Connecting features to customer needs
Phone etiquette: For call centers and customer support teams
Email and chat best practices: Professional written communication
Upselling and cross-selling: Ethical approaches to increasing customer value
Cultural sensitivity: Serving diverse customers throughout the Chicago area
Service recovery: Turning negative experiences into positive outcomes
These videos can be tailored to specific industries and customer types, ensuring relevance whether you're training hotel staff in Rosemont, bank tellers in Naperville, or support technicians in Downers Grove.
5. Leadership and Management Training Videos
Strong leadership requires ongoing development, not just a one-time seminar. Videos designed for managers cover essential topics like communication, conflict resolution, team motivation, and strategic thinking — skills that directly impact retention, productivity, and company culture.
Why leadership training videos matter:
As companies grow and promote from within, new managers often struggle with the transition from individual contributor to leader. Leadership training videos provide consistent guidance that new supervisors across your Chicago-area locations can reference as they develop their management skills.
Essential leadership training topics:
Fundamentals of management: Setting expectations, giving feedback, conducting reviews
Effective communication: Clear direction, active listening, difficult conversations
Conflict resolution: Addressing disputes before they escalate
Team motivation: Recognition, engagement strategies, building morale
Performance management: Setting goals, tracking progress, addressing underperformance
Coaching and development: Helping team members grow their skills
Time management and delegation: Working through others effectively
Change management: Leading teams through organizational transitions
Inclusive leadership: Building diverse, equitable teams
For regional managers overseeing teams from Naperville to downtown Chicago, having a consistent leadership training library ensures that management practices align with company values regardless of location.
6. Process and Skills Training Videos
Whether it's software tutorials, workflow guides, or hands-on demonstrations, process training videos help employees master skills quickly and correctly. Step-by-step visuals make learning easier and more effective than written manuals or static documentation.
Why process videos accelerate learning:
When Chicago-area companies implement new software systems, update procedures, or introduce new equipment, process training videos dramatically reduce the learning curve. Employees can watch, pause, rewatch, and practice at their own pace.
Common process training applications:
Software training: CRM systems, project management tools, industry-specific applications
Standard operating procedures: Manufacturing processes, quality control, assembly instructions
Workflow guides: How work moves through your organization
Technical skills: Equipment operation, maintenance procedures, troubleshooting
Administrative processes: Expense reporting, time tracking, benefits enrollment
Sales methodologies: Your specific approach to prospecting, presenting, and closing
Quality assurance: Inspection procedures and standards
These videos are particularly valuable for companies with technical operations in the western suburbs or businesses using specialized software across multiple locations throughout the Chicagoland area.
7. Company Culture and Values Videos
Culture videos inspire employees and remind them of the bigger mission. These videos highlight company values, share success stories, celebrate achievements, and help build stronger engagement across teams — especially important for organizations with employees spread across the Chicago metropolitan area.
Why culture videos strengthen organizations:
When employees work in different buildings, cities, or even remotely, maintaining a cohesive culture becomes challenging. Culture videos create shared experiences and reinforce what makes your organization unique, whether someone works at your Naperville headquarters or a satellite location in Lombard.
Powerful culture video content:
Founding story: How and why your company started
Mission and vision: What you're working toward and why it matters
Core values in action: Real examples of employees living your values
Customer impact stories: How your work makes a difference
Employee spotlights: Celebrating team members and their contributions
Milestone celebrations: Company anniversaries, major achievements, growth milestones
Community involvement: Charitable work, local partnerships, giving back
Day in the life: Authentic looks at working at your company
Leadership messages: Quarterly updates, strategic direction, inspirational talks
For businesses competing for talent in Chicago's tight labor market, strong culture videos become recruiting tools that showcase why your organization is a great place to work.
Why Professional Production Matters for All 7 Types
While DIY video tools are available, professional training video production ensures clear messaging, strong visuals, and effective delivery that actually drives learning outcomes. From scripting and filming to editing and motion graphics, the difference in quality directly impacts how much employees engage with the content.
The professional advantage across all video types:
Strategic planning: Professionals help you identify the most important content and structure it for maximum retention.
Scriptwriting expertise: Clear, concise scripts that communicate effectively without overwhelming viewers.
Visual storytelling: Using graphics, animations, and demonstrations to make complex topics understandable.
Production quality: Proper lighting, sound, and cinematography that maintain professionalism and reflect well on your brand.
Editing precision: Pacing that maintains engagement, removing unnecessary content, and creating smooth transitions.
Accessibility features: Captions, translations, and formatting that ensure all employees can learn effectively.
Brand consistency: Maintaining your visual identity and voice across all training content.
For companies throughout Naperville, Chicago, and surrounding areas, professional production ensures your training videos meet the quality standards your employees and customers expect from a leading organization.
Building Your Training Video Library Strategically
Rather than trying to create all seven types at once, consider a phased approach:
Phase 1 (Months 1-3): Start with your highest-priority needs, typically onboarding and compliance videos that every employee must complete.
Phase 2 (Months 4-6): Add product training and process videos for roles that need them most.
Phase 3 (Months 7-12): Develop customer service and leadership content to elevate performance across your teams.
Phase 4 (Year 2): Create culture videos and specialized content for specific departments or roles.
This approach spreads the investment over time while delivering immediate value from your first videos.
Measuring the Impact of Your Training Videos
To ensure your investment in training video production delivers results, track these metrics:
Completion rates: Are employees finishing the videos?
Knowledge retention: Test comprehension before and after training
Time to competency: How quickly do new employees become productive?
Compliance incidents: Are violations decreasing?
Employee feedback: Are learners finding the content helpful?
Performance metrics: Are trained employees performing better?
Training costs: Compare video training costs to previous methods
Companies across the Chicago area that implement comprehensive training video programs consistently report reduced training costs, faster onboarding, improved compliance, and higher employee satisfaction.
Final Thoughts
From onboarding to leadership development, these 7 types of training videos cover the essential learning needs of any business operating in today's competitive marketplace. Whether you're based in downtown Chicago's business district, growing in Naperville's corporate community, or operating across multiple locations throughout the Chicagoland area, a strategic training video library positions your organization for success.
The most successful companies don't view training videos as a one-time project but as an evolving learning ecosystem that grows with their business. By investing in professional production across all seven video types, you create a training infrastructure that scales, saves money, and genuinely improves how your people perform.
Ready to create professional training videos that empower your workforce? Explore our training video production services and let's bring your training strategy to life with content that drives real results for your organization.
Acclaim Media is a Chicago-based video production company helping brands nationwide create high-impact content—from marketing and corporate messaging to training and events. With 25+ years of experience and hundreds of successful projects, we make video production simple, strategic, and results-driven.