Onboarding is the best way to welcome a new employee to your organization and introduce them to their new role. Successful onboarding motivates and ensures that new recruits have all the tools they need to get started. Discover our best practices.
Let's face it, nobody likes reading a manual, and if your HR team has to onboard each new recruit individually, it can take up a lot of time and resources. So your best option is to create a series of onboarding videos that ensure all the important information is available at all times and can easily be deployed as needed. The video format allows new recruits to be trained and informed when they have a slot available, but also to go back if they've missed something or simply need a reminder. It's a great way to provide a smooth, pressure-free landing for new employees.
However, if you want these videos to position new recruits for success, there are a few things you need to consider.
Onboarding videos: what HR needs to know
New recruits can need a lot of guidance. Employee training videos can provide this information while allowing your HR team to focus on supporting employees and growing your organization. Not to mention that these videos can also provide a consistent onboarding process, but also one that's customized so that each employee receives the support they need.
In order for your onboarding videos to achieve their objective, you need to have determined this beforehand.
- Corporate culture: Highlight the company's values, mission and culture to create a sense of belonging. When employees identify with a corporate culture, they feel motivated and are more likely to stay for the long term.
- Policies and procedures: Presenting company policies and procedures in a video ensures that new recruits know what is expected of them. This improves compliance and limits liability.
- Benefits and perks: New recruits may not be aware of the benefits you offer. A video can inform them so they can take advantage of their benefits.
- Product/service overviews: New employees need to understand your company's product or service offering. A detailed overview helps new recruits understand how their work will support this offering.
- Tools and systems: New employees will need to learn the tools and systems you use. For example, they may need to learn how to use your CRM, scheduling system or other software or equipment. A video presentation can help employees familiarize themselves more quickly with their work environment.
- Specific training: Each department has its own processes and scope of action. An onboarding video informs new employees about what you expect of them and how their work fits in with the company's objectives.
- Interactive visits: A video presentation of the work environment and premises for new employees or remote employees is always welcome.
Your integration video script
A good onboarding video script is engaging and entertaining while getting your message across. Rather than simply listing the information new employees need to know, you might consider telling a story and presenting your information in a creative way. For example, you could create a character to present your information, or present your video as a "day in the life" of a specific employee.
These videos are a new employee's first interaction with the company when they start work. They should align with your organization's values and culture, and make the employee feel welcomed and excited about their new position. Think about the tone you want to set. If it's friendly and conversational, it should be reflected in your videos. People tend to absorb information better from shorter videos. If you think your script is getting too long, think about how you could split it into two shorter videos.
Visual elements of integration videos
The visuals in a video present as much, if not more, information than the script. You want to make sure your visuals support your script and keep viewers engaged. Here are a few options:
- Presentations: you can create a presentation to accompany the script to highlight important messages on screen. This could be ideal for an integration video on policies and procedures.
- Animations: animations can be fun to watch and are ideal for story-based narratives. You could consider this to highlight the benefits your company offers, for example.
- Recordings: a recording of your installations, your product or the tools and software you use will help viewers gain a solid understanding.
- Presenter: A presenter helps personalize the script. You can choose a person with whom your employees can identify, or someone to whom they can refer - a member of the Human Resources team, for example. How about an AI Avatar? Be creative.
- B-roll: If you're trying to convey a feeling or support a broad concept, b-roll can help you get your message across. This can be useful when discussing your company's values and mission.
What is B-roll?
It's used for any visual that doesn't come from the main story, but adds context. It's very useful for interviews, for example. Instead of presenting your main subject on camera for 20 minutes straight, you can intersperse the narration with illustrative images.
