6 reasons why recruitment videos should be part of your 2018 HR strategy
As we explored in our recent article “Top HR trends that will shape 2018“, digital technologies are a vast and developing trend in the HR community. For the future of recruiting, efficiently enlisting the right candidate will largely incorporate digital tools with methods like social networking, mobile apps and artificial intelligence. With all these new techniques gaining in popularity, it will be no surprise that a popular trend in the world of recruiting comes in the form of video.
Video is increasingly being incorporated into the recruiting, interviewing and hiring process for many organizations. These companies are creating and posting recruiting videos to platforms like YouTube and other social media sites, or embedding them on their career websites, in order to attract candidates and communicate more effectively who they are, and what they stand for.
Empower and engage your employees – An intranet for HR
Recruitment videos have also risen in popularity due to their ability to attract a broader range of job seekers, especially those in the younger generations. A short recruiting video can do what the more traditional recruitment methods cannot. They capture the look, feel, and authenticity of your company in a way that intrigues potential candidates.
As the saying goes, ‘a picture is worth 1,000 words’. If that’s the case, imagine just how much a recruitment video can say to viewers. Recruiting videos are now a common practice for many companies, and here are just some of the reasons you need to incorporate them into your 2018 HR strategy.
1. You’ll reach and keep the attention of a larger audience
As many organizations have already begun to realize, the traditional approach is no longer enough to maintain a competitive advantage when it comes to recruitment. With all the recent advancements in online and mobile technology, companies need to take advantage of the rise in popularity of these multimedia practices. Here is where recruiting videos come into play.
According to MWP Digital Media, 59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video. The fact that people prefer video over text is becoming more of a common factor in the workplace. Whether it’s to do with the importance of mobile technology in the modern world or the notion that the attention span of the typical person is always decreasing, companies cannot deny the benefit of adding video to their recruitment channels.
Research by Syndacast also reveals that 65% of video viewers watch more than three quarters of a video. Because of the attraction to video instead of text, video recruitment guarantees an expansion in the reach of any recruitment effort.
Individuals can easily access recruitment videos on sites like YouTube and Instagram which also allow viewers to like and share. These interactive features not only engage the viewer but also position them as brand advocates, making sure that they obtain information on the company brand in a way that is appealing and easily distributed.
2. You’ll stay competitive
Videos are becoming increasingly utilized as a recruiting method. This means that if you aren’t incorporating videos into your own strategy, then you are falling behind the organizations that do. Getting overshadowed by competitors causes a lack of popularity, can be damaging to company brand, and ultimately heightens the risk of losing candidates with great potential.
(source: Social Hire)
A study by CareerBuilder found that job postings that were accompanied by or linked to a video received 12% more view than postings without video. On average, employers also receive a 34% greater candidate application rate when they add video to their job postings. With that said, companies that have yet to integrate video into their recruitment are missing out on engaging that 34% of candidates.
Engagement doesn’t only gain importance once the candidate is hired. Individuals need to be engaged and intrigued by the company before choosing to accept a position. This initial attraction ensures that the selected candidate is invested in their role and also in the company vision.
3. You’ll appeal to the newer generations of talent
The future of the workplace is already here. If poaching the greatest and freshest candidates out of the talent pool is not a part of your recruiting strategy, you’ve now fallen behind all the companies that have already begun.
Embracing the benefits of video recruitment is a vital part of this. The 25-34 (millennial) age group watches the most online videos and men spend 40% more time watching videos on the internet than women. These candidates are the tech-savvy and visionary workforce that will expand your growth and drive innovation – if you can capture their attention.
Research on millennials reveals that 54% of US Millennials visit YouTube daily. Combine that with the fact 100 million hours of video content are watched on Facebook daily and that Instagram has more users than Twitter among 16 – 44-year-olds, and companies cannot deny that social media and video recruitment are some of the best ways to attract generations Y and Z.
In just a few short years, millennials will make up nearly half the workforce. By 2030, they’ll be 75 percent of it. Getting the best of these generations will inevitably require the rejection of the old and traditional recruitment styles in favor of more trendy and efficient means.
Empower and engage your employees – An intranet for HR
4. You’ll save money
Investing in the recruitment process has historically been a huge financial commitment. The costs extend to each candidate that is considered and the process, from initial interview all the way to a background check, is not cheap. Traditional hiring methods take 45 days on average to hire a new position and cost $1,500 – $5,000 per hire on average.
There’s no doubt that candidates are expensive; get it wrong, and the costs escalate further still. According to UnderCoverRecruiter, the cost to replace employees can be up to 4 times their annual salary, with bad recruiting costing companies over $50,000 on average.
Attracting candidates that are initially drawn to your company culture, mission, and ethos increases the chances they’ll be a good fit and lowers the risk they will be unsatisfied and leave.
Thankfully, the selection and recruitment process is changing for the better. Some may hear the words “recruitment video” and imagine a fancy hour-long production complete with tons of cameramen and a screaming director. Luckily that is not the case – the process of recording these videos has been simplified with modern technology and costs only a fraction of what it used to.
Although a small investment for a decent camera or videographer can take your video to the next level, it is not necessary.The benefit doesn’t end with its low cost of production. With social media almost entirely incorporated into the workplace, the distribution of these videos has also become easier. Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined. Since these videos are compatible with multiple platforms and employees can share it on social media, it is a cost-effective and robust way to promote your company brand.
5. You’ll find your culture fit
80% of employee turnover can be linked to faults in the hiring process, according to a Harvard study. A majority of these errors happen due to a failure in the interview procedure.
In our article, ‘What skills should we look for when hiring in 2018?‘, we explained that hiring managers must look for a specific skill set when pursuing candidates. However, heavily focusing on technical or soft skills overshadows another essential quality – culture fit.
Hiring employees that fit well with your organizational culture can produce a higher rate of satisfaction in employees, more effective job performance, and improves the employee experience. But how can a video help attract a perfect fit?
The goal of a good recruitment video is to show potential candidates what life would be like if they worked for your company. This is something that cannot be learned over the phone or even in a single in-person interview.
Use a recruitment video to show an authentic portrayal of an actual day in your business. This provides an opportunity to showcase the true feel of the office and turn the location, aesthetics, and personalities that make up the company into selling points.
Show the commute view, the front entrance, a typical desk set up, the kitchen where they’ll have lunch, and places where they’ll hold meetings. Interview staff, the potential colleagues of the viewer, and get their insights into why your business is a great place to work. The easier it is for candidates to visualize themselves at your company, the purer their assessment will be.
Companies that do not hesitate to show their true colors ensure they attract the type of candidate that match that vision and culture.
(source: infographicjournal)
6. You’ll increase your employer brand
Gallup defines an employer brand as “the way your organization’s prospective applicants, candidates and employees perceive you as an employer”. With this definition, it is unmistakable that recruitment videos are the perfect tool to establish and strengthen your company persona and brand.
Although words hold a significant amount of power, they do not possess the ability to reveal the passion and eagerness that transpires at a company the way video does. To showcase a positive brand image companies must present the company culture, its products and services.
Overly scripted scenarios or any unrealistic staging will only fail to give candidates an accurate perception of your brand. Individuals want authenticity and anything false will only serve against your goal.
Highlight the unique aspects of your company such as live clips from company meetings, day to day activities, even personal testimonials – anything that takes your company’s personality and makes it look “real.”
Video Platforms and your HR Strategy
The long-term success of any organization depends on its ability to find and recruit the best new talent. Corporate recruiting videos have proven to be an effective method of doing just that. As we’ve shown above, recruitment videos can capture features of your company that words cannot – the company culture, the look of your employees, authenticity, and much more.
According to some assessments, video content will make up 80 percent of internet traffic in a few years. Which means there is no better time than the present to add video to your recruitment strategy.
Whether it be creating a recruitment video, performing video interviews or taking video-based applications, video platforms will be a useful addition to any HR strategy.
