Recruiting and retaining phenomenal people is hard.
Research from Gallup shows that half of all employees in the U.S. are job searching. And only about 1/4th would recommend their current organization as a good place to work. We have a retention problem.
You’d expect this to make things easier on the recruiting side then, right? Yes and no.
Modern applicant tracking systems and sites like LinkedIn certainly make it easier to find potential candidates. However, convincing them to join your company over all other options is difficult.
Knowledge workers, especially, can now apply to roles all over the world. Remote and hybrid setups mean that employers are no longer limited to talent in their local geographic region. And organizations with more resources can easily outbid competitors for the best jobseekers.
(check out this post for a full discussion on how to engage remote employees well)
So, it’s challenging right now to both retain and replace your best employees when they leave.
Fortunately, it’s not all bad news.
Recruiters and HR teams can distinguish themselves with the right strategies and technology.
Video messaging, in particular, is the key to standing out. Using video messaging as a recruiter is one of the best ways to make positive and lasting impressions with people you want to hire.
Video messaging also helps when it comes to creating strong teams and cultures that make people want to invest in your organization over the long term.
In this article, we discuss different hiring tips and ways to use video messaging to improve employee retention and recruitment. Implementing these tactics today will make an immediate impact.
How to Hire Great Employees with Video Messaging
The same people you want to hire are likely hearing from other companies and recruiters as well. Chances are, though, that those recruiters are relying on traditional, plain-text emails and messages to get attention.
By sending personalized video messages instead, you can create a better overall recruiting experience. You can express emotion and authenticity in ways that written text can’t.
And because most HR teams aren’t using video messaging yet, simple video-based outreach is novel to a majority of job seekers.
Below are some of the best ways to recruit staff with video.
Recruiting Cold Outreach
One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in recruiting is engaging potential candidates during the outreach process. Think about it — they don’t know anything about you or your company. So why should they listen to you out over another recruiter? What makes you different?
Much like trying to make a sale, you have to convince them that what you have to say is worth their time. Using video for recruitment outreach — whether it’s on LinkedIn or via email — can help you do this.
With video, you can show them that a real person with a real opportunity is on the other side of a message.
Here’s an example of what this looks like in practice…
With this kind of video, it’s important to share information about the open position. Explain why this candidate might be a good fit for the job description.
And be sure to include personal details about the candidate (such as information from your prospect’s LinkedIn profile) to showcase that you’ve done your research.
Tip: To really grab attention and get your video played, use a whiteboard and write a greeting with your candidate’s name to kick off your video.
Interview Request
The interview process can be intimidating for job applicants. Help your top candidates feel more at ease — so they can perform their best — by using video to request an interview.
Again, a video gives you a chance to infuse your message with positive emotion and energy. It makes the candidate feel more comfortable with you and more excited about the prospect of joining the company.
Here’s another example of the same recruiter above using a video to request interviews…
Hiring Process Update
To create the best hiring experience possible, you should let candidates know where they stand in the recruitment process. According to Glassdoor, 58% of job-seekers find clear and consistent communication to be the most important aspect of the hiring process.
This is true even when the final result is a rejection. Treating candidates with respect and sharing personalized videos as opposed to templated email rejections helps maintain your employer brand.
For candidates still in your pipeline, send video updates letting them know you’re having conversations with others but that they are still in the running. Use empathetic language that demonstrates you understand the interview process is stressful and that waiting is hard.
Going this extra mile shows that you (and your company) really care about people. They’re not just resumes you want to plug into a job opening.
Here’s an example of this…
Extending an Offer
Another great opportunity for a video message is when you extend an offer. You can portray genuine excitement and share reasons why the candidate is a great fit for the role.
Most companies are still extending offers over emails or phone calls. And while it’s possible to be enthusiastic on a call, it’s even better to have your smiling face give the good news to the person on the other side of the camera.
Imagine your ideal hire has two other offers in addition to yours. But you sent your offer with a video, perhaps with several other happy team members in the frame — how might this impact the candidate?
Your video message could be what tips someone to choose you over a competitor because they feel truly wanted by your organization.
Response to an Accepted Offer
Finally, when someone accepts an offer, why not send another video expressing your gratitude and excitement? This helps people feel like they made the right choice and puts them in the best mindset to begin their professional transition.
Nailing the Onboarding Process
Video can also help accelerate the onboarding process. Creating a great onboarding experience lays the foundation for long-term success (and retention).
We wrote a dedicated blog post about onboarding with video messaging here. Read it to learn how to get people excited and integrated into your team quickly.
Innovative Employee Retention Strategies with Video
Now that you’ve made your new hire and onboarded them successfully, it’s time to think about their long-term engagement. Many factors contribute to how engaged a person is at any point in time.
(we wrote a full blog post on the topic of improving employee drive here)
At the end of the day, it comes down to understanding what people want professionally and then consistently fulfilling those needs.
Again, videos can help in this area. Below are two ideas on how you can implement video messaging today to re-engage employees who are slipping.
Company Updates
People value clear and open communication. But one-on-one meetings to share company updates is an unsustainable approach for most businesses. And mass emails are often dissatisfying. They can feel cold and leave room for misinterpretation, especially when leaders are delivering bad news.
Video addresses both issues — it’s scalable and personable. Leaders can match their emotion to the tone of the message and add as much context as needed to ensure total clarity.
Videos are also a great way to disseminate administrative updates to broader groups, like:
- Time-sensitive information related to open enrollment
- Major website changes or new product launches
- Changes in team structure or personnel
Here’s an example of HR team leaders sharing complicated and time-sensitive insurance information…
Professional Development
Most professional development conversations are best done live. However, a screen recording or video message could be useful for talking through a professional development review in advance.
Employees may also appreciate having a video they can go back and reference to understand why they scored the way they did in a certain category. And seeing the manager’s nonverbal cues along with his or her tone of voice also helps people receive the feedback well.
Operational Flexibility
Building a video messaging habit across the organization also improves efficiency. People start to learn when they can send a quick screen recording or video message in lieu of a meeting.
In addition, team members can consume video messages when it works in their schedule. And because videos are a better way to communicate complex ideas, there’s less back-and-forth about the content. This works well when people watch videos after-hours or when others aren’t available to discuss immediately.
Employee Appreciation
Use video to congratulate employees on promotions and important milestones. This type of video can be used by individuals to congratulate peers one-on-one or by leaders to share the exciting news across the entire organization.
You also don’t need an excuse like a promotion to show appreciation. Short and sweet video messages are a fantastic way to let people know you value them and their hard work. It also promotes more productivity and retention.
According to Forbes, when leaving a job, 79% of employees reported a “lack of appreciation” as their reason for quitting. If you want to retain employees, you have to let them know you appreciate them.
Here’s an example of this done well over video…
The Secret to Improving Recruiting and Retention
Beyond the examples provided here, there are many other ways you can use video messaging when hiring and retaining employees.
A good rule of thumb is to start by taking stock of where you rely on text-only communication exclusively today. Then ask yourself:
- Would a video improve the recipient’s experience?
- Is there room here for misinterpretation or confusion?
If your answer is “yes” to one or both questions, consider adding a video to that outreach. You’ll see the results immediately. People notice the difference video messages make and they happily share that feedback.
If you aren’t using video as part of your recruitment process or in your employee engagement and retention strategies, give it a go with a free 14-day BombBomb trial here.
