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Post COVID-19 Recruiting Videos

What will recruiting and company culture videos look like in the aftermath of COVID-19?

We all know company culture is more about foosball tables and soda on tap. It’s the full package of compensation, benefits, social action, evaluation process, and so on. Still, recruiting videos still have plenty of footage of folks firing off Nerf guns with puppy in tow and bottles of kombucha within reach.

But what happens when most of the workforce are now allowed to work from home permanently? When the coronavirus lockdown orders have caused a dispersion of employees across the country and perhaps the globe?

There can still be videos about the greatness of the compensation package, but…it just isn’t the same. In a recruiting video, we want to see people. We join and leave jobs because of people. But all of a sudden, our interaction with coworkers have become limited to video chats, email and perhaps a meeting once or twice a year.

It may seem like the end of the recruiting video, but companies still need talent. And they need a quick way to show prospects that your company still rocks.

Here are some ideas on how to make a post COVID-19 recruiting video.

Be Clear about Working from Home

If you’re allowing employees to work from home, you want to promote that as a benefit in the video. Have a concise work from home policy. And by concise, I mean like 2 or 3 phrases at most. Something like:

  • Get the job done, however, whenever.
  • Trust people.

Your policy should be clear, easy and apply to employees and management alike. Don’t just say, “We allow employees to work from home” and nothing else. You need to be clear about what that means. Remove any skepticism.

And then promote the positives of working from home: better work/life balance, less time wasted commuting, better for the environment, less stress, etc, etc. These are things that everyone already knows, but you need to show enthusiasm for it in the video. Best thing to do is to convey it in the video in an interesting or humorous way. Don’t just list off the items – make it fun and entertaining.

Promote Cell Groups

The video shouldn’t dwell too much on the negatives of working from home, but it should address them. For example, the isolation that employees may feel, the absence of a collaborative environment, the lack of opportunities to build strong professional relationships, and of course, good catered food.

For this reason, it may be worthwhile to create cell groups with employees who live relatively close to each other. Promote events like company-sponsored happy hours, baseball games, meals and volunteer opportunities. Depending on the company’s size and location, the practicality of these groups may vary, but the existence of these groups, even with employees from different departments will be a huge selling point in the video, especially if your competitors don’t have them.

Tone and Style

The video will of course address the traditional recruiting items like career opportunities, total compensation, and other selling points. And like in previous videos, tone and style are important factors. But in the post COVID-19 recruiting video, it is more important than ever before. Employees may not physically meet anyone on your team let alone step foot in your facility for many weeks or months after hire. That means, the video is more important than ever in making that pitch to the prospect. Like an explainer video, the video has to hook viewers and hold their interest to the end with the hope they’ll take a positive follow-up action.

Your video should have production value. That means it probably shouldn’t be shot with your iPhone. It should have a good solid script. Visuals – whether it’s live action or animation should be engaging. Use inspiration, humor, something off the wall…. Add some stuffed animals or a pinata in the shot. Use an interesting personality. Use 3D or character animation. Whatever it is that will convey your company’s culture in a positive and captivating way.

The recruiting video isn’t a victim of the coronavirus. But it needs to change now that the working environment has changed.

Picturelab is a video production company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We’ve produced recruiting videos of all shapes and sizes. To learn more on how we can help, contact us at info@picturelab.com.

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