Employer Branding Surgery
Sean O’Grady, US Media Manager, Universum USA (Philadelphia)
A well presented employment brand is an effective tool to attract and even retain the right people, but as with all things recruiting it has to be real; the brand, the message, the images. Your potential candidate is smart and will use his or her social media network and tools to insure your message undeniably represents the real brand.
So, with this in mind how do you use video to convey the employer branding message in the best possible manner?
Here are two commonly asked questions we have tried to answer:
Q: We’re making our first employer branding video this year. What best practices should we have in mind?
A: Focus on characters, think visually and emphasize one clear message per video.
The success of any employer branding video hinges on the audiences’ ability to connect with the video’s subjects – your employees. Therefore, great attention should be paid to who is chosen for your video. We recommend you conduct a pre-screening either in person or over the phone, to test how well the potential video subject embodies your organization’s culture and how his or her personality will look and feel on camera. The more engaging, positive and well spoken the subject, the better your video will be. As a helpful hint – try to leverage your organization’s PR- or media relations team to vet candidates.
Visual thinking also pays enormous dividends. Remember, seeing is believing! If your interview subject volunteers his time with children – it should be caught on film. If your interview subject visits clients as part of her job – it should be caught on film. When preparing for a video, think about all aspects of your subject’s job and personality and how a film crew can tag along to capture it.
Finally, don’t cram too much information into a video. The average recommended online video view time is about 1.5 minutes. That means you have 90 seconds to connect with the audience. It’s better to pick one message and use the full 90 seconds to clearly communicate that to the audience then to try to mash too much information into too little a space.
Q: We picked the perfect person for our employer branding video and the results have been phenomenal. The only trouble is, the person left our company shortly after we finished the video. Do we need to edit this person out or re-shoot?
A: Only if you want to spend money. This is a very common issue with employer branding videos. If the individual left the company due to an inauspicious circumstance then yes – your HR and branding teams should consider if that individual is the right person to represent your firm. However, if this person was an ideal employee during his or her tenure then you should increase your video’s shelf life and the project’s return on investment by sticking with it. Remember – branding videos are about story telling. Is there value to the story this employee told? Does this video accurately and positively describe the work environment and culture of your organization? If the answers are yes, then there is no need to scrap the video.
Posted by Sean O'Grady
on September 6, 2010. Filed under Thought Leadership, Tools.
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Hi! We are a career information and jobs for the global games industry and we believe that now more than ever before there is a need for employer branding videos. Increased competition for the best talent available (or not) has to be balanced with an increased recruitment effort from the employer side. The most talented game developers, designer artists etc. are most probably already employed and may be available as a passive candidate. Employer branding videos are an exceptional way to make someone feel the company culture and its unique values and get them to connect with you on some level. That is what takes you apart from the crowd. We’re launching the content and video section in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out!