How to Use Video throughout the Employee Lifecycle

video throughout the employee lifecycle: Introduction

It’s not by chance that the employee lifecycle model resembles that of a customer’s journey. Both models identify the different stages of their users, from start to finish. Another resemblance is that both aim to attract prospects’ attention as the first step, prior to any further interaction.

Video is a remarkable tool that can turn both a customer journey and an employee lifecycle into an engaging experience with increased retention rates. Let us shortly go over the different stages of video throughout the employee lifecycle and name a few examples of videos you can use for each.

Attraction

Video-brand your company.

Attraction is the first stage of the employee lifecycle, sort of like your virtual business card.

At this stage, you should draw attention to your company and provide the audience with a sneak peek into its cause. Remember: there is no second chance to making a first impression. Your audience is likely to make up their mind about your product within seconds. Make sure you leave a positive impression by using a short preview video that will pique people’s interest and help you stand out from the rest.

Tip: Promote an inside-look video that showcases your company, its values, vision, and mission. Such a video will resonate better with your audience than any written message you could come up with. According to Forbes, viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in a text[1].

Video types you can use for attraction:

• Branding videos
• Marketing videos
• Public, live-streamed company events

Recruitment

Attract top talent with video ads.

Recruitment is the second stage of the employee lifecycle. By now, you’ve already managed to draw your prospects’ attention.

Next, you need to actively engage with the right candidates and motivate them to apply. Why should they choose your company? What is the job description, and what will their work routine look like? Help your candidates visualize the process for better results.

Tip: Since the recruiting process is competitive, and in order to increase your brand’s visibility, we recommend incorporating videos into job postings. We recommend using a video that showcases your company’s benefits and culture. Studies confirm that job postings with video icons are viewed 12% more than postings without video and, on average, receive a 34% greater application rate[2].

Video types you can for recruitment:

• Branding videos
• Employee-testimonials

Onboarding

Help newcomers adapt to their work environment with video tutorials.

Onboarding is the third stage of the employee lifecycle.

By now, you’ve recruited candidates and need to help them acclimatize to their new role and company culture. This step is crucial to employee retention and is, subsequently, of great significance. If you do it right, you’ll win loyal, motivated, skillful employees for the long-term. Research by Glassdoor found that organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%[3].

Tip: Establish a role-based video onboarding program to support new hires and help them learn the ropes. Studies show that a structured video employee onboarding plan increases by 50% the likelihood of employees remaining with the organization after two years[4].

Video types you can use for onboarding:

• Video tutorials (how-to)
• Video webinars

Development

Foster employees’ professional development with video learning.

Development is the fourth stage of the employee lifecycle.

At this stage, and by encouraging your team members, providing them with constant, constructive feedback, and fostering their professional skills, you allow them to understand how to perform better against their goals and contribute to your team’s success. Investing in professional development can even motivate employees to move up within the organization.

Tip: Provide team members with regular feedback through virtual performance reviews and check-ins. We also recommend that you create a “how-to” video portal to introduce employees to new programs, software, and technical solutions. Studies confirm that online instructional videos enhance the learning of practical skills.

Video types you can use for development:

• Video tutorials (how-to)
• Video webinars

Retention

Retain top talent by sustaining transparent video communication

Retention is the fifth stage of the employee lifecycle. Though a step in and of itself, retention begins, in fact, with recruiting the most fitting candidates. The process continues by providing these candidates with the appropriate toolkit.

Nurturing a supportive work environment pays off, both in terms of increased productivity as well as reduced turnover. Key terms that are relevant for retention are, therefore: evaluation, recognition, and training.

Tip: Hold a live-streamed video session to foster an inclusive, open work environment and recognize employees for their milestones. You can also create a video succession plan—a plan designed to accommodate employees who have just been promoted. Keep in mind that retention can save any organization tremendous costs. According to Deloitte, the total costs associated with employee turnover can be as high as 150%–200% of an employee’s annual salary[5].

Video types you can use for retention:

• Team video sessions
• Internal, live & on-demand company events
• Video-streamed quarterly/annual reports

Separation

Create a structured, video-enhanced off-boarding process.

Separation is the sixth and final stage of the employee lifecycle. Every employee leaves the organization at a certain point. Whatever the reason may be, make sure you manage their separation strategically via a systematic offboarding process.

Apart from conducting an exit interview and asking for feedback, try to capture the employee’s professional knowledge, insights, and work processes as best as you can.

Tip: Create video documentation of departing employee’s work routine to help their successors understand the work duties. It’s been shown that companies with formal offboarding programs demonstrate higher retention rates than those without them.

Video types you can use for separation:

• Video tutorials (how-to)
• Video documentation
• Recorded Q&A

“In our experience, videos are performing much better than any other media and improve the candidate’s/employee’s experience throughout the whole employee life cycle,” concludes Ksenia Baranova from People Operation department at movingimage, “From the initial response rate to our recruitment campaigns, to familiarizing new joiners with our products and systems, to sharing knowledge throughout the organization and facilitating remote working. This is beneficial in terms of organizational learning whilst supporting our company culture.”

Sources:

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2017/07/13/how-to-incorporate-video-into-your-social-media-strategy/
[2] https://hiring.careerbuilder.co.uk/hubfs/Resources/Downloads/Whitepaper_-_Peak_posting_performance.pdf
[3] https://b2b-assets.glassdoor.com/the-true-cost-of-a-bad-hire.pdf
[4] https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2011/03/08/994239/0/en/New-Hire-Onboarding-Standardization-and-Automation-Powers-Productivity-Gains.html
[5] https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1079541.pdf