By Adam Turteltaub, Chief Engagement & Strategy Officer, SCCE & HCCA
This is a blog post about compliance, dirt and rugs. It’s not, though, about sweeping dirty compliance problems under the rug.
It’s about rug cleaning videos and what they can teach us. If you haven’t discovered them yet, there are gobs of videos online showing horribly, disgustingly filthy rugs being cleaned and returned to like-new condition. Here’s a short one to start with. And here’s another, and another, and another. I can’t stop myself from watching them.
They also have cousins: car and minivan detailing videos. And before you write me off as some nut job, that minivan video has a million views.
There is something mesmerizing about all of these videos, which is why they are so popular. And there’s something very instructive about them, too. They have lessons for how to make compliance training better.
Like compliance training, rug cleaning is not a topic most people would seemingly rush to embrace as a form of entertainment. But, internet users are gobbling it up, and here’s why, I think, they are so compelling and contain lessons for us:
They are relatable. We’ve all had that rug or carpet that has gotten disgusting and is seemingly beyond hope or had a minivan where the carpet is more Pepperidge Farm Goldfish than anything else.
They tell a story. Humans love a story, and each of these cleaning videos is a story with a beginning, middle and end. We begin with an object beyond hope. We then see a gradual transformation, and then finally we see it restored to its glory.
They are oddly inspiring. Maybe we can get our own carpet looking new again. Maybe we can sit in the minivan without sticking to the seat.
They contain an element of surprise. The design of the carpet isn’t shown in advance. It is slowly revealed to us.
They offer quick hits and deep dives. You can watch a short one or a thirty-minute video based on your desire.
They are emotionally satisfying. There is something, and I don’t know what it is, that is somehow invigorating and rewarding about watching them.
So, as we develop training, we should consider how we can embrace some of these same elements. Look to tell a story. Tie it to people’s lives at work. Give them hope of how things can be better. Don’t foreshadow how it will end. Offer options for learning, and look to touch them emotionally.
It may not make your training as popular as these videos, but it will make it better.