Why HR professionals NEED to be using video and more importantly HOW they can use it.

We can not deny that since the pandemic, the world of work has drastically changed. With flexible working becoming a key part of many organisations structures. On top of this, attaining and retaining the best talent out there is becoming increasingly difficult for U.K. businesses. With the power shifting back to the employee looking for companies that offer a greater set of benefits as well as a brilliant culture. In this new hyper competitive environment, HR professionals need to be looking at ways they can communicate with employees, and improve engagement across business. Video provides a way to do this as part of a wider strategy. It offers a purely unique way to speak to an employee. Of all the information transmitted to the brain, 90% is visual, whilst 65% of the world's population are classified as visual learners. By using a text only approach, a business is effectively failing to communicate to the majority of its employees.

Video is also something your employees want, with research showing that 79% of employees believe using video or screenshots would improve their business. But how can video content be used across an organisation? Well we’ve put some examples below of how we’ve used it for businesses previously, as well as a few stats here and there to help show the value of using it in this space. Recruitment This is an easy one. Ads with a video attached to them on LinkedIn receive 800% more engagements. Whilst recruitment videos specifically, receive 34% more applications than those without. Whilst 82% of candidates look for jobs on mobile, and 87% of mobile traffic online is video. Now that communicates the statistical value. But why does this work? Well video allows you to communicate something more than the simple benefits of a ride to work scheme, or flexible working. It can show your culture as a businesses, and the benefits of working in an industry in a visual way. We’ve worked on campaigns to attract talent to an entire industry, or simply for a business looking to attract better talent in their sector. And the power of having a member of your business talk about what it’s like to work there can be huge. Whilst it can also break down stereo types in your industry at the application stage. Helping increase the variety of people from diverse backgrounds applying to your organisation.

There is a huge amount of value in this space, making your recruitment campaigns more competitive in the hyper competitive world of recruitment.

On-boarding new employees and staff engagement. How long does the On-boarding process take in your team? And could this be reduced by the introduction of video to help with part of this process? We’ve found for companies across the board, and of different sizes this is a resounding yes. A video element of the on-boarding can allow you to maximise your HR teams time, by allowing more generic information to be provided to a potential employee before they even sit in the office for the first time. In a hybrid working environment this can be huge to help employees feel engaged with before they even step into the office. Whilst a video can also save your HR team a huge amount of time across a year, by decreasing the amount of time they have to spend on the on-boarding process. We’ve even had one client who we did a full office tour for, along with an animated floor plan, so new staff could find there way around the office from day one without any concerns. There is also an increased element of accessibility with this as well. As we’ve already indicated most people are visual learners. And you are providing information in a way that is visual, and going to allow them to get on board with what your company is doing from day one. We can add subtitles as well as well as text graphics and animations if needed. So you can communicate with different learning types through one piece of content in an accessible way. We can even do audio descriptions if required. And its not just new staff. Video can be used in the same way to update newer staff about new parts of the business. Say you are moving office and want to do a tour to all your employees. Video can provide a way to do that. Or a new policy has been put in place, rather than filling in small groups at a time when they happen to be in the office, you can send something to them that they can engage with around their working day and yours. And yes, we do have a vested interest in convincing you of its value. But let me be very clear, this doesn’t always need to be professionally shot. For a quick policy update, or something relatively simple, capturing something on a phone or through a webcam, or even a recording of a video call, can go a long way to help communicate and engage new policies and ways of working across the business. But of course, professional is always a bit better when budget allows.

General Corporate communications But it isn’t just for new staff. Any key information about your brand can be conveyed through video. With video providing a way to get key information across, and moving away from the often skim-read (and occasionally ignored) emails. Say you have a CEO update to the company, well video can provide a way to create something that you can make sure a team are watching. Or you have a new working group or diversity scheme set up and you want to show people across the organisation their is a safe space they can be a part of.

For announcements, we usually recommend they should be kept between 1 to 2 minutes to allow for them to be easily accessible and bite sized. But there is a still a place for longer content when required.

And finally engagement… How many people go to work each day and feel detached from the organisation they work for? We’d guess quite a few. Video allows for better communication. And with that comes increased staff engagement. Say your organisation has a brilliant outreach programme for the local community. Well video can show your staff exactly what you are doing in this space. It can help you show your organisations goals are aligned with your employees and their job has a greater purpose to it. But it’s not just situations like this. It can be a training tool to up-skill your current workforce. It can even be a friendly weekly vlog full of company updates keeping people informed. We have one client who does a monthly rewards scheme with the reward announced through a video sent to all staff at the end of each month, with employees recognised for their work. HR is all about people… Well, so is video. At Recut we are geeks. We love our jobs and making great film and video content. At the heart of this are people. People are what make videos great. Yes we do animation too, but we have always found people centric video, and a focus on storytelling, is the key driver to making great video for all audiences. And internal comms in a HR environment is no different. It’s this people centric approach that makes video something that should naturally become part of a Hr strategy. The Hook… If this has peaked your interest, get in touch with our team! We will happily put together an entirely non-committal Audit of what we think would work for your specific business, and where we can help drive change across your content strategy with better video comms. As well as including a few ideas that could benefit your video output. Reach out to us at info@recutcollective.com