The Top 10 Employee Videos to Attract & Engage Talent

We know that video is booming in organizations around the globe, but how is it actually being used? This article explores the top 10 use cases for talent acquisition videos, along with tips to help you bring the topics to life.

It’s not quite Hollywood, but video is booming in the talent acquisition space. In companies worldwide, recruitment professionals are transforming into amateur film directors, and employees are becoming the stars of employer branding productions. 

According to VideoMyJob’s State of Video in Talent (SOVT) 2021 report, 68% of survey respondents use video as part of their recruitment strategy, with a further 21% planning on giving it a go in the future. 

And it’s not hard to see why, with survey respondents identifying benefits that include increased employer brand authenticity and awareness, improved candidate experience and engagement, greater social media reach, job ad amplification and improved candidate quality. 

But what kinds of videos are they creating to reap these benefits? According to our respondents, these are the top 10 videos they use:

1. Employee stories: 42% 
2. Video job ads: 39% 
3. Recruitment process: 34% 
4. Employee value proposition: 31% 
5. Day in the life: 29% 
6. General communications: 25% 
7. Learning and development: 24% 
8. Executive communications: 22% 
9. Professional bio: 18% 
10. New hire offer: 18%

If you’re looking to start creating your own videos, we’re here to help. We’ve outlined the key benefits of each video, along with best practice examples and questions to get you started.

1. Employee stories

Employee stories are the most popular video type created by our survey respondents. They’re considered an essential tool used to build employer branding. 

Why are employee stories so compelling? One word: authenticity. 

In a period dubbed “the age of cynicism”, fewer than half of brands (47%) are seen as trustworthy. One way to rebuild that trust among job candidates is to create authentic videos using real employees. 

Want to see how it’s done? Here’s a showreel of employee stories from VideoMyJob: Employer brand showreel

Questions to ask employee story video participants

• Can you describe the thing you enjoy most about working here? 
• Why did you decide to get into this industry? 
• What does a typical day look like for you?

Tip: Encourage employees to be as authentic as possible. Forward planning is important, but try to avoid scripting entire answers.

2. Video job ads

Videos amplify job ads and improve their effectiveness. Don’t believe us? Check out these quick stats from our SOVT 2021 report:

1. For companies that reported an ROI on video, 68% nominated content engagement (clicks, shares, views) as an area where they saw the most value. 
2. When we asked about their most popular video strategies, 35% reported amplifying job ads with videos that featured a recruiter or hiring manager.
3. 86% of respondents identified “job ad reach or views” as a key benefit of using video.  

Here’s an example of a job ad for a role in the education sector: St Andrews College Preparatory School - Team Leader

Questions to ask video job ad participants

• Can you briefly describe the opportunity?
• What are the top benefits of the role? 
• What are the essential skills or experience you are looking for? 

3. The recruitment process

Creating videos that show candidates what to expect in your recruitment process benefits everyone. Candidates will appreciate knowing what happens in the interview process, for example, and may be encouraged to apply when they see that your recruitment process isn’t that scary. 

For the hiring organization, keeping candidates informed of next steps will cut down the number of queries by phone and email, and will help make the end-to-end hiring process run more smoothly.

Here's an example from The Star Entertainment Group about preparing for in the job interview stage: What to prepare for interview

Questions to ask recruitment process video participants

• What is the next step in the recruitment process? 
• How can you help set candidates up for success? 
• What actions are you asking the candidate to take? 

Tip: Rather than attempting to summarize your end-to-end process in a single video, consider creating a separate video for each stage of the hiring funnel. For example, create a video that congratulates candidates when they’re invited to interview and lets them know what to expect at the interview stage.

4. The Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Your EVP shows a candidate “what’s in it for me?”. It dives into who your company is, and heroes what your employees experience on a day-to-day basis. 

Depending on your company, it could explore things such as compensation, leave, flexible working, work-life balance, team culture, company values, personal development, career growth opportunities and more.

This example from Orica asks employees the simple question: “Why did you join the team?”. It’s a powerful approach because different employees prioritize different elements from Orica’s EVP: Why I joined the team

Questions to ask EVP video participants

• What’s the best thing about working here?
• What excites you about the work you are doing?
• Why do you think a potential candidate should choose this company over a competitor? 

Tip: Different candidates value different things, so interview a range of employees with a variety of experiences and be sure to showcase a range of responses.

5. Day in the life

Day-in-the-life videos boost employer branding, demonstrate authenticity and are loads of fun to make. The most relatable and most effective day-in-life videos are employee-generated videos, typically filmed informally using smartphone cameras. Add color to these videos by referencing non-work-related activities – for example, an employee having breakfast or getting ready for work, taking the bus, or socializing with teammates at lunch or after work. 

Here’s a day-in-the-life example from the New South Wales Graduate Program: NSW Government Graduate Program: a day in the life of Matt, a data analytics graduate

Questions to ask day in the life video participants

• What does a typical work day look like for you? 
• What is the favorite part of your work day? 
• What hobbies or activities do you enjoy outside of work?

Tip: Be sure to include subtitles or closed captions, as they support accessibility and allow people to watch with the sound off.

6. General communications 

General communications (that is, internal communications) are a top employee video type because they quickly relay the business’s daily internal messages. By using video instead of the usual text-based email, organizations boost engagement and get their message noticed by busy employees.

Some examples? A message from the CEO, an explainer video about a new initiative, and how-to videos for common tasks. 

In this video example, the employee sends out a friendly reminder for contractors to complete their timesheets and takes the opportunity to wish them the best for the upcoming long weekend: Internal communications timesheet reminder

Questions to ask general communications video participants

• What is the key message you want to get across? 
• Why is it important and what’s in it for them? 
• What actions are you asking people to take? 

Tip: Keep these messages short and sharp – it’s the most potent way to get your point across and helps keep people engaged too.

7. Learning and development 

Video helps create exceptional learning and development outcomes. It keeps costs down by reducing or eliminating the need for in-person training. Significantly, video increases knowledge retention, which means your employees are less likely to forget the information you’ve taught them. 

Check out this video from Enterprise, where Rachael and Lauren deliver basic OH&S training in a fun, enthusiastic style: Health and safety toolbox talk lifting and carrying

Questions to ask L&D video participants

• What are the main points you want viewers to understand? 
• How can you demonstrate these points visually? 
• Can you break the training down into key steps?

Tip: A clear course structure supports the learning process, so a key step will be planning out how you want to structure your video.

8. Executive communications

One of the top ways to build employee engagement is to increase trust in the leadership team. In addition to using email to communicate with employees, executives can also create short videos – these not only get the message across but help showcase their authentic selves and build a better connection with employees.

This example from US retailer Kroger shows the CEO thanking staff for their hard work during the pandemic and announcing a bonus payment and expanded leave options: Thank you team – a message from our CEO 

Questions to ask executive communications video participants

1. What are the main points you want the team to understand? 
2. Is there anything you want to thank the team for? 
3. What actions are you asking people to take?

Tip: People want to work for companies that understand and value their employees. When you create video content featuring members of the leadership team, it’s important that the speakers demonstrate empathy and emotional intelligence.

9. Professional bio

Almost all companies have an About Us page with staff headshots and written biographies, but few amplify these with video-based professional bios. Doing so is a great recruitment marketing strategy because it helps prospective candidates get to know who you are, understand your skill sets, and see your team members’ personalities. 

Check out this bio video example from VideoMyJob’s very own Bodin Pollard and Daniel Aitken. As seen in this video, a two-person format can be a great option, as it facilitates a naturally flowing conversation that creates a sense of authenticity: Bodin Pollard, Head of Customer Success, and Daniel Aitken, Implementation Manager

Questions to ask professional bio video participants

• What skills or attributes do you bring to the team? 
• What do you love about your job? 
• What problems do you help clients solve? 

Tip: Don’t be boring! Showcase your personality by chatting about things you do outside of work, like your hobbies, pets, aspirations and more. 

10. New hire offer or welcome to the team video

Video-based new hire offers and welcome-to-the-team videos are a time saver and are particularly useful when hiring at scale. For example, if a retailer opens a new store and needs to hire 200 staff at once, it would be time-consuming to have a one-on-one conversation with each new candidate. 

Of course, for every new hire offer, there are also dozens of rejections. A video message can be used to soften the blow, show empathy and encourage the candidate to keep trying. 

Here’s an example of a personalized welcome video from VideoMyJob: Welcome to VideoMyJob, Lauren!

Alternatively, this universal welcome to the team video from VideoMyJob has more longevity, which is a great option for organizations that are hiring at scale: Congratulations from all of us!

Questions to ask welcome-to-the-team video participants

• What was it about the candidate that impressed you most? 
• What projects are you excited about working on with them? 
• What can they expect to happen on their first day? 

Tip: Remember, this is a super-exciting moment for candidates, so be enthusiastic and energetic! Provide your new employees with the warmest of welcomes and help them feel part of the team.

Explore more

There are plenty of popular employee video topics and recruitment marketing video examples in VideoMyJob’s HelpHub, including employee stories, onboarding videos, videos celebrating a work anniversary, and new team member video introductions.