More than 50% of businesses that use video see a decrease in the time it takes to a fill a position and almost half experienced an improved cost per hire, according to a recent white paper “Video Technology and the Modern Recruiting Process”. It’s no surprise then that most companies are choosing to use video as part of their recruiting process. Having recently finished a number of recruitment videos we thought it would be a good time to share some of our best practices for creating these types of corporate videos.
Understand The Goals Of Your Recruitment Video
Start by understanding the audience you want to target, the perception you want to install and the actions you want them to take after watching your video.Maybe the existing perception of the video is that you company is perceived as old-fashioned and you want to appear hipper. Or maybe you are happy with your company’s employee brand but you want to attract more employees of a similar calibre to your existing workforce.
If you are not looking to change your employee brand, then you can start by showing your video production partner your old videos, and discuss what elements you want to keep and which you will change moving forward. If you are looking to completely change the perception of your business, then you will probably want to take a completely new approach to the way that you present yourself in video. A good corporate video production agency will be able to bring creative ideas about how to reinvigorate your employee brand to attract the type of employees you want to bring into your business.
Highlight The Unique Selling Points (USP) Of Your Organisation
You need to understand the USPs of your organisation and if these USPs will work on video. Although a company’s offices might be perfectly nice they might not be visually interesting or particularly different from anybody else’s. From a visual perspective there is nothing in the office that’s going to stand out on video.
In this case it might be that the USP is the people who are already working in the organisation and the positive work environment that they have established. Personal stories from existing employees are often the best, and most genuine, recruitment tool a company will have available.
The fact that everyone loves staying at the company for many years and they are really happy tells a lot about that company. A company where people stay for twenty years and the employees have gotten married and had kids, and have sent their kids to Uni and are still working at the same place because they love it. Things like that can give you a real feeling for what that company is like to work for. To get that kind of information you have to interview a lot of people, right from the very top to the very bottom of the organisation.
Choosing Who To Feature In Your Recruitment Video
When choosing subjects for a recruitment videos we will select everyone from the company’s CEO to the interns who have only been there for a month. Because interns are new they are often the best authentic voice of what people think internally about the company. From interns you want the overarching takeaway to be that it is a really good place to work and that they are excited to be there.
For a recent recruitment video one of the people in one of the interviews we filmed mentioned going down to the pub with the interns. Co-workers would go out for drink on Friday. Because this showed the personal side of the business we decided to film this ritual. We shot scenes with people having a pint and playing Pokemon Go. From this footage we were able to show the genuine interaction between employee outside of the office.
Showing the interns like this make potential employees think, they have only just come to work here and they already feel comfortable enough to have a drink and have a nice jolly time. We balanced this with other people who have been there nine years or more. We showed how they have gone from interns to head of department showing the progression that is possible within the company.
Asking The Right Questions
When you are looking for interesting information about the company you need to ask the right questions. Good questions to ask might be, what are your favourite things about working here? Or what is one thing this company does that no one else does?
With questions like that you will often elicit interesting and quirky responses. Responses like those are good to include because it shows potential employees what the work environment is really like and whether it would be a good fit for them.
Making Your Video Visually Engaging
Video is a visual medium and so along with good quality content you also want the video to be visually engaging. This will increase the likelihood that potential employees will watch the entire video and absorb your key messages. In our recent recruitment videos we did this by exploring different kinds of framing. Usually you would have your focal point on the top half of the two lines and to either side of your image. To switch thing up we framed the focal point with a lot of surrounding negative space. If your focal is a person this technique makes it so their eye-line is actually on the bottom line. From a visual aspect this states that this video is going to be a little different, and the implicit message is that the company is also unique.
While the framing choice is creative because we are still delivering high production value, potential employees will understand the value that the company places on recruiting new employees.
We also aim to use shots where the interviewee is moving to make the film more dynamic. In order to capture interesting camera angles we like to use Movi and Gimbal shots. We also use radio mics when the interviewees are walking and talking.
Making Strategic Use Of Cutaways
We also try to strategically use cutaways of relevant content. It’s all about having that balance of interesting footage without being too arty and still having high production value. Our goal is to ensure that no one shot looks too much like another so as not to be repetitive.
For some interviews we will feature two people in shot and then in other scenes only have one person in shot. Some interviews depict people sitting down and some are filmed outside and in corporate offices. We try to have variety so that when you cut the footage all together into sound bites it will feel like there are lots of colourful locations.
You want to send the message that the company hires people of all different ages and walks of life. Ultimately you want your ideal employee to see your company as having a place for them, as being a place where they will be happy to work, and somewhere they can continue to grow and evolve with time.
REFERENCES
Video Technology and the Modern Recruiting Process. Retrieved from https://www.icims.co.uk/resources/white-paper/video-technology-and-the-modern-recruiting-process