How To Recruit and Retain Top Talent Using Video

What is your company’s story?

And the most important question for business owners and recruiters: how are you telling it to job seekers?

As we stated in a previous post about the top trends of 2019, short and long form video content has taken center stage in today’s marketing landscape. The benefits of increased ad recall and brand awareness has many business leaders taking advantage of this dynamic and engaging form of content marketing.

This report from Eyazo states:

“recruiters who engage with prospective employees online do better than those using only traditional platforms… social recruiting needs to be leveraged and optimized, by communicating the company’s mission, purpose and values in addition to posting job ads and responding to queries.”

Have you used social recruiting methods to attract new hires?

THE CASE FOR VIDEO

With the volume of jobs currently available, recruiting top talent has become a crucial initiative for many firms. Many companies, it seems, are forced to compete on a scale of “1 to cool” in regards to workplace culture.

It’s like a menu with too many options— if it’s not a locally sourced, dairy-free, gluten-free, keto-friendly, vegan option prepackaged in a meal kit— is it even worth eating?

Are companies hindered by their lack of differentiation, then? Actually, it’s quite the opposite. With investors on track to dole out more than $120 billion in startup investments this year, there’s never been a better time to be a business owner. The difficult part is, you can’t just tell recruits what makes you different these days. You have to show them.

When so many others recruit from the same applicant pool, the ability to set your brand apart from your competition – in more ways than one – is invaluable.

People want authenticity. They want radical transparency. There’s no better way to provide potential recruits, investors, customers, and even your employees, with a clearer picture of your culture, values, and workplace engagement efforts.

WHAT ELEMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR A GOOD COMPANY VIDEO?

1.Adding value through entertainment or education

What better way for potential candidates to get to know your company culture than through an entertaining and educational video? Chances are, your top candidates have other offers on the table as well. Handing them a neat little infographic complete with growth statistics, graphs, core values, and next year’s outlook isn’t going to wow them anymore. To reach a generation of digital natives you’re going to have to try a little harder.

Check out this conference parody video we created at a companywide sales conference for one of our clients. We pulled people out of a boring conference registration line to do a bad lip sync.

Spontaneous, energy-filled, and interactive skits like this one require minimal planning and can be pulled off easily. You can quickly transform a mundane activity, like waiting in line, into a fun team-bonding activity. Attendees will appreciate the extra thought put into it and be ready and willing to engage in more activities throughout the event.

Something memorable like a dynamic company culture video or short skit piece will capture attention, drive engagement, and call people to action. If you really want to get on a candidates radar, show them something they won’t forget – the fun your company has when you come together.

2.Highlighting Employee Engagement Initiatives

At 9miles Media we experienced just how powerful video is for recruitment during our last hiring round. The majority of our applicants informed us that they had watched every single episode of our agency web series, One More Mile. Some attributed their application submission solely on our unique approach to employee engagement and emphasis on culture.

Being able to introduce new hires to the team and reveal what it’s like to work with us before their first day has been a huge advantage. Capturing company video content doesn’t necessarily require detailed storyboarding, expensive equipment, and complex planning to work its magic. One More Mile is certainly proof that sometimes simplicity really does the trick.

2.Revealing your company’s milestones, strategic goals, and growth projections

Has your company undergone major infrastructural changes throughout the past year? Maybe you’ve seen a wave of new hires, the launch of an internal new venture, or the successful acquisition of another company. All of this should be captured and recorded in your company history, but in a fresh and exciting way.

Remember, radical transparency.

An end of year review is a great way to celebrate all of your major milestones. Thought leadership recaps, employee testimonials, awards receptions, acknowledgment of huge accomplishments, and reminiscing on a year full of big wins (or obstacles) for the company are best shared (and re-lived) through video.

WHAT MAKES VIDEO A BETTER OPTION THAN OTHER FORMS OF CONTENT MARKETING?

Photos don’t do it justice – Video tells the story that photos simply cannot. It’s much easier to develop a storyline through video and make outside viewers feel as though they were a part of all the action. Videos are highly shareable too – they are something you can continually revisit to remember a special milestone or companywide achievement. They allow you to relive what was said and feel the impact of an experience all over again.