“There is a huge spike in video usage among recruiters and HR professionals!”
The best way to describeTalentLyftis as a software that helps companies of all sizes optimize their talent acquisition strategies. It helps HR professionals streamline their hiring efforts, find, attract and hire talented people to fill their job openings.
We had a talk with TalentLyft’s Head of Marketing Kristina Martić who is informed about all the recruitment trends across the globe.
COVIDEO: What are your responsibilities in TalentLyft? How does your day look like?
I am Head of Marketing at TalentLyft. Therefore, my main duty is to promote TalentLyft to its potential users. Sounds simple, I know. However, to do my job successfully, I have to do a lot of research. Also, I have to stay up to date with the latest industry trends and best practices. That’s the only way we can create content that our HR audience finds interesting and useful.
COVIDEO: Besides your primary business function in TalentLyft, you also run a blog. What are your readers like?
Yes, we love our TalentLyft blog, and we are so proud of it! Recently, it was named for one of the world’s leading HR blogs! Thousands of HR professionals, Marketers, CEOs, Recruiters and other professionals visit our blog on a daily basis. On our HR blog, visitors can read about the latest industry trends, HR best practices, real-life examples and success stories from the industry leaders. Also, we have free HR resources that our followers love! HR professionals can find there useful HR guides, free job description templates, survey question templates, interview question examples, email templates for recruiters, etc.
COVIDEO: What are the biggest challenges within the recruitment industry today?
In the past few years, the labor market has been going through some major changes. Consequently, adjusting to these changes is very challenging. The talent shortage is definitely one of the biggest recruiting challenges. The emergence of new technology, lower unemployment rates, workforce structure, millennials’ characteristics, expectations and behaviors, competition for talent have all reshaped the way we recruit people. In my opinion, the biggest challenge for employers is to differentiate themselves from competitors and become the “employer of choice.” “The War for Talent” is more intense than ever before, and candidates are definitely in the center of everything. On a daily basis, companies have to think about the ways to promote their Employer Brand and EVP, develop and implement Recruitment Marketing strategies and improve Candidate Experience (CandE).
“The emergence of new technology, lower unemployment rates, workforce structure, millennials’ characteristics, expectations and behaviors, competition for talent have all reshaped the way we recruit people.”
COVIDEO: Do challenges differ within recruitment agencies and companies?
Honestly, we don’t work with recruitment agencies that much, but I believe that the situation is very similar. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised
if recruitment agencies face even bigger challenges. In other words, candidates like to talk with people from within the company that they are considering as their new employer. This is why personalization and transparency are so important in recruiting nowadays. Since external recruiters are often not the company’s employees, candidates tend to trust them less than existing employees.
COVIDEO: Are there any preferences that candidates have within the hiring process?
Yes! And this is a question every HR professional should ask himself/herself. Candidates expect timely, relevant and personalized communication with employers. Moreover, they expect user-friendly and mobile optimized application forms. They expect optimized career sites with tons of useful and relevant information. They look for information on Social Media. Employers who can see through candidates’ eyes, understand their needs and expectations and produce high-quality recruitment content are much more likely to attract high-quality candidates.
COVIDEO: What are the biggest communication issues recruiters have when communicating with candidates?
Unfortunately, many employers still use generic messages to communicate with job candidates. This is one of the biggest causes of negative Candidate Experience that directly hurts the company’s Employer Brand and reputation.
Modern HR professionals whose goal is to improve Candidate Experience have started using video emails to communicate with job candidates. This is a great example of how to make recruiting more personalized and candidate-centric. Video helps employers build strong relationships with candidates at every stage of the recruitment process. I absolutely love this approach, and I see the video as the future for every successful Candidate Relationship Management strategy.
COVIDEO: Do communication preferences differ within different generations (millennials, baby boomers)?
Actually, it depends on many different factors: geographic location, use of technology, industry, etc. In general, baby boomers who are more tech-savvy will probably have similar expectations like millennials. While baby boomers may prefer email as the main communication channel, millennials may prefer text messaging or video communication. However, since millennials are the majority of today’s workplace, employers have to think about how to satisfy their needs. Don’t forget about the generation Z! The future is on them! Their wants and career goals are even more unique and very specific. To attract them, employers really have to think of new ways to communicate with them and personalize their messages as much as possible. These people are aware of all the new technology available, and they expect you to use it!
“Don’t forget about the generation Z! These people are aware of all the new technology available, and they expect you to use it!”
COVIDEO: There is a rise in the usage of video communication in the recruitment industry. What opportunities do you think this trend brings currently and to the future of this industry?
As previously mentioned, I see the future in the video as the best way of improving Candidate Experience. Many industries have been using video communication for a while now. Fortunately, recruiters have also recognized all the benefits of video communication. We can definitively see a huge spike in video usage among recruiters and other HR professionals.
I have many ideas about how video can be used in recruiting, and here are some of them:
- Thank candidates for applying
- Inform candidates about the next steps
- Reject candidates and give them the reasons why
- Invite candidates for an interview
- Make a job offer to a candidate
- Welcome new hires
- Invite candidates for an open career day
- Invite candidates to a local event
- Send candidates video employee testimonials
- Tell candidates about the industry news
- Ask previous candidates to apply again
- Ask employees to refer someone
- Inform employees about the new job openings
- Ask candidates for feedback about your recruiting process
With this in mind, imagine if candidates could actually see you every time you deliver these messages. Therefore, there is definitively no better and more personalized approach than this!
COVIDEO: How do companies and candidates react to video?
There’s no secret: video is the most engaging type of content you can create. They are much more personal, fun and way easier to absorb. Did you know that using the word “video” in an email subject line boosts open rates by 19% and click-through rates by 65%? This is very important for recruiters who proactively source job candidates for their job openings. Trust me, the video is the way to go! Also, the video has become absolutely necessary when it comes to Social Media Recruiting. Facebook and other Social Media platforms love videos much more than images and text. Then, it’s not a surprise that videos tend to get way more impressions, views, and higher engagements. So, if you are using Social Media as a part of your recruiting strategy, video can really take it to the next level.
COVIDEO: What do you predict the recruitment industry will look like in 5 years?
The recruitment industry is shaping into something that looks very much like marketing. In other words, marketers’ and recruiters’ job duties are becoming very similar. While marketers sell products and services to potential buyers, recruiters sell open positions to potential job candidates. Recruiters have started using marketing tactics and methods to sell their job openings and present their Employer Brand. In the future, I believe that recruiters will have to develop some marketing skills or simply collaborate closely with their marketing departments. This is how a new discipline has emerged recently, and it is called Recruitment Marketing. For example, I am a certified Recruitment Marketing professional, and I am applying marketing methods into recruiting for more successful talent acquisition.
Of course, all these new trends are impossible to implement without the right technology. There are so many various tools available to recruiters. Unfortunately, many of them are stuck with Applicant Tracking Systems thinking they are enough. Therefore, recruiters who want to stay competitive and be head-to-head with industry leaders understand that HR technology does not replace the human workforce but ads value to the company and serve as a huge competitive advantage.
Covideo provides video email software that helps businesses and individuals communicate more effectively, build relationships faster and reinforce their brands with easy-to-make personalized videos.
