Hire with Confidence: Using Video to Foster Transparency and Clarity

If you could be totally transparent about your company, and your current job openings, would you be? Would you be willing to share the good, bad, and ugly about that role you so desperately want to fill? If you were that open, would people apply? If people applied for that position, knowing all the "warts" of the job would there be a good chance that you'd find the right person?

My guess is that the answer is yes. So, what's stopping you? Fear that people might find out your company is not perfect? Let's all exhale–none of us runs a perfect company. Period. The key is helping the candidate understand, as best you can share, exactly what the job requires, what your team culture looks like, and what kind of leader you are. If have any glaring flaws in any of these areas, I'll bet you'll have a hard time retaining anyone you hire for that role.

There's nothing like video to bring prospective job candidates into your organization to show them who you are, what you believe, and, yes, exactly what the job you're hiring for looks like. If you're using video as part of the interview process today, good job. According to One Day, 45% of recruiters today are doing just that.

However, keep in mind, that before anyone even applies for a job, they are probably checking you out. And if they're not checking you out while researching before applying, they better be checking you out online once they schedule their interview. If not, you may have the wrong candidate. Nevertheless, using video can make the vetting process easier for the candidate and you may save yourself some time as well.

Save time, let people opt out of your process

The easiest way to bring in a candidate without taking time out of your day is by sharing your About Us video. According to the State of Video in Talent, 93% of job applicants watch an employer-branded video to learn about a company. This could cover everything from what your organization does, to what your culture looks like. Here’s the important part, produce a video that features your team members to introduce your organization to candidates considering working for you. Face it, for most jobs, no one really wants to see the CEO. LinkedIn found that people are three times more likely to trust your current employees than they are “the company.” Prominently feature your employees in this video and consider producing short bio videos, or employee testimonial videos as well. These will give candidates a sound understanding of who you are and what you do–as long as you give people the freedom to share how they really feel about their work and your company. Remember this nugget–watching a 1-minute video is equal to reading 1.8 million words.

Get the right person in the right seat

Speaking of reading lots of words, Big Cloud a recruiting company in the Data Sciences field says that 72% of people choose to watch a video over reading text about a product or service, which tells us people prefer to watch than read. They also found there is a 36% increase in job applications if it is accompanied by a video. This shouldn’t come as a surprise when considering how you prefer to take in information. Mental energy is real and thinking can be exhausting.

A well-referenced 2018 study conducted at the University of British Columbia found that our brains are wired to be lazy. It only makes sense that we prefer to watch a video to see what a job would look like rather than read about it. Especially, when the language that is used is hard to understand and appears to be like every other job in the same category. However, showing a fantasy scenario of what a “day in the life” on the job looks like does no one any favors. Showing what a “day in the life” really looks like for a specific job can help you get the right person in the right seat.

Use Video for retaining new team members

Attracting the right people is the first part of the challenge. Getting those same people on board and committed to your company is the next part. In years past, companies have employed trainers to help new team members learn key aspects of the job. Video is becoming a more cost-effective and flexible way to train new hires. Whether that is on-demand video training or a combination of “real life” training and video training, video provides an option for Human Resources teams looking to train new employees in a fast and cost-effective way.

As a leader of people, it’s important that we constantly remind people that they made an excellent decision to join your organization. After all, in May of 2022, CareerBuilder found that 7 in 10 employed adults are currently engaged in a job search, either actively or passively. Video stories that feature inspirational messages can help reinforce your culture. If your organization is involved in philanthropic activities, capture those moments and use them as a way to show your community stewardship. Remember, in our on-demand world of video content, the more you can produce to engage your new hires the better off you’ll be.

Video won’t solve all your hiring challenges but in this competitive workforce, standing out and providing new employee candidates the best perspective of life in your organization is a good start. Hiring is expensive and hiring the wrong person is really expensive. Do what you can to minimize the mistakes.