How to Create Engaging HR Video Content

Video has become an increasingly powerful tool for human resources (HR) teams that are looking to engage employees and candidates in new ways. 

HR video content is a dynamic medium that can capture attention and share important messages, from recruitment and onboarding to training and communication, with employees across your workforce. While HR videos have traditionally focused on dry policy reviews or stiff workplace conduct training, creative HR teams are finding new, innovative ways to use video to their advantage. 

With the right vision and execution, HR videos can boost employer branding, simplify complex topics, and foster a positive workplace culture. In this article, we'll explore five inventive approaches for HR teams to leverage the power of video.

5 creative ways to use video in HR

These days, anyone can create a short video—HR teams included. But it takes intentional creativity to make videos that truly engage employees and get them excited about what’s happening in their organization.

But don’t worry—no need to start brainstorming just yet. Take a look at these five creative ways that HR teams currently use video content to get their messages across:

1. Onboarding and orientation

One creative way that HR teams can use video for onboarding new employees is through welcome videos. These videos can talk about key topics like company culture to smooth the onboarding process. Because they go beyond a typical dry presentation of company policies and procedures, these videos provide an immersive look into an organization’s values, people, and working environment. 

But how can HR teams ensure that these video clips aren’t cookie-cutter productions?

To start, engaging HR video content should focus on the employee. A well-produced employee onboarding video provides new hires with an authentic peek into what their new workplace is really like. It can introduce the leadership team, highlight outstanding team members, and showcase the facilities and amenities. Rather than just convey facts, these videos provide a lasting impression and help new team members feel an immediate sense of belonging.

For example, an HR video that introduces the company could start with the CEO greeting new employees and sharing the organization’s mission and core principles. It could then transition to a montage of diverse employees describing in their own words what company culture means to them. 

Ultimately, skillfully produced company culture videos provide valuable context that written materials alone can’t deliver. If you want to onboard employees the right way, you need to start leveraging video content.

Skills training

HR teams can also create engaging training videos to teach their employees new skills or reinforce existing knowledge. Well-produced professional videos, like on-demand webinars or video series, allow HR to capture all the details of a training topic and share them with employees, who can then review the content at their own pace.

For example, instead of running multiple live sessions of a software training session, HR could invest in a high-quality video series. Breaking down the training into short, focused chapters makes it easier for employees to understand and retain the material. Additionally, HR can add screen recordings, animations, and an instructor’s voiceover to their videos to provide a truly multimedia experience that won’t make employees’ eyes glaze over during mandatory workplace training.

Having these training resources in a video format also offers numerous benefits that traditional in-person group sessions don’t. For starters, employees can rewatch videos as needed until they fully grasp the concepts, which ensures that they understand how to execute their tasks and responsibilities. Current employees can also easily refresh their skills through HR's video training library instead of scheduling new live training sessions.

Internal communications

HR departments may produce short, engaging HR videos to streamline internal communications and keep their employees up-to-date on what’s happening across their organization. Video is an excellent medium for HR teams to capture attention and convey messages, from reminders about new initiatives to important details on changing company policies.

One creative example is using animated videos to share company updates or announcements. HR departments could even work with designers to craft a branding package that uses company colors, logos, and visuals to create an immersive experience.

For instance, if an HR team needed to communicate a new time-off policy change, they could create a one- to two-minute animated video. An AI narrator could open the video by acknowledging the previous policy, follow with an explanation of the new rules, and close by emphasizing how the change benefits employees. Unlike a dry email or PDF that employees may skim or forget, a dynamic video has a better chance of grabbing and holding employees’ focus.

Video is also perfect for HR teams to comprehensively address employees’ frequently asked questions. An HR team member could sit down for an on-camera interview to provide answers about benefits, 401k details, time-off procedures, and more.

Employee recruitment

HR teams can leverage the power of video to amplify their recruitment efforts and attract top talent. After all, HR video production opens new creative possibilities to showcase employer branding and entice potential candidates year-round. 

Here are a few engaging video ideas you can use as inspiration:

Job posting videos: Instead of a basic text listing, HR teams can create short, high-impact videos that highlight individual job openings. These videos provide a sneak peek into a day in the life of that role through authentic footage of employees in action. Hearing from real team members adds personality and realism that static job descriptions lack.

Recruitment video series: An episodic series could also pull back the curtain on a company’s culture and work environment. Each video episode could spotlight a different team, workplace perk, or employee value proposition angle. Seeing the office vibe, meeting employees from diverse roles, and understanding the company’s mission makes it easier for potential candidates to see themselves working there.

‍Behind-the-scenes looks: Videos help companies showcase what makes them unique and stand out from competitors who are also vying for top candidates. HR departments can create tours of amazing office spaces, highlight fun team outings, or give glimpses into exciting new initiatives and innovations that are happening behind the scenes.   

Employee recognition

HR teams can boost employee satisfaction and engagement by using videos for creative employee recognition and appreciation. By going beyond just an email or certificate, videos allow HR teams to forge an emotional connection while celebrating their team members’ hard work and achievements.

One idea is to create custom video vignettes for work anniversaries or major milestones. HR teams could gather testimonials from managers, colleagues, and leadership, along with congratulatory messages and specific examples of the honoree’s contributions. Weaving those clips together with footage of the employee at work creates a powerful, personalized tribute that highlights their unique impact.

For broader employee recognition, HR departments could even produce monthly or quarterly video recap reels that applaud teams’ recent wins or give shout-outs to standout individuals. Having leaders record introductions and conclusions, interspersed with montages of employees in action, reinforces a strong culture of appreciation.

Videos are also effective for peer-to-peer recognition. HR teams could launch an initiative for employees to easily record and submit short video kudos that they then compile and share internally. Hearing authentic praise directly from coworkers provides an extra morale boost.

Trends in HR video content

Now that you have a few ideas to run with, it’s time to ask how exactly HR teams use video content today. Here are the current HR video trends we’ve seen in workplaces:

Company culture showcases

Employee testimonial videos have become a powerful way for HR teams to capture and share what it’s truly like to work at their company. Having real team members discuss company values, work environments, career growth opportunities, and team camaraderie adds tremendous authenticity. These videos reinforce the organization’s culture and employer branding.

Creative recruiting videos

To attract top talent, HR departments produce lively, creatively-executed recruiting videos that go beyond dry job descriptions. These videos might provide an inside look at the company’s mission and vision, highlight outstanding team members, give office and facility tours, and showcase exciting new initiatives. Compelling storytelling helps potential candidates better understand workplace culture.

Personalized video welcomes

Making new hires feel valued and excited to join the team is easier with personalized video welcome messages. To create these videos, HR teams have the new employee’s manager or team members record brief video introductions and words of welcome. Receiving these friendly video emails builds rapport and appreciation from the start.

Comprehensive onboarding videos

Instead of overwhelming newcomers with paperwork, HR teams use easily-digestible videos for more engaging onboarding. These videos can comprehensively cover policies, codes of conduct, benefits, facilities, processes, and other need-to-know basics in a dynamic way. Videos also allow for standardized and scalable onboarding messaging.  

Leadership video messages

Maintaining a strong executive presence and transparency is critical for HR teams. Having leadership deliver video messages about key company updates, future plans, motivational talks, and more helps employees feel connected and informed. These video communications build trust and improve engagement.

Social responsibility videos 

Capturing a company’s social and environmental impact through video storytelling is an increasingly important way for HR teams to promote corporate social responsibility efforts. Videos can highlight philanthropic initiatives, volunteer programs, ethical sourcing, and sustainability commitments in an inspiring, human way.

Internal communications videos

Critical HR announcements, policy changes, training sessions, and other important internal communications are far more engaging and memorable when delivered through video rather than text-heavy formats. Video enables HR teams to add graphics, act out scenarios, and convey messaging in a compelling way.

Instructional how-to videos

Developing comprehensive video learning libraries allows HR teams to provide easily accessible process documentation, software training, professional development resources, and more. Employees can watch bite-sized videos on demand to learn at their own pace or quickly find answers to their questions.

Day in the life videos

What does a typical workday look like? HR departments create day in the life–style videos that follow specific teams or roles through their routines. These videos give prospective candidates a view into real work life at the company while confirming expectations for current employees. Inside access to the workplace experience provides valuable context.

Video appreciation and recognition

Nothing shows employee appreciation like heartfelt, personalized video messages. HR teams use videos for creative employee recognitions, from work anniversary tributes to quarterly MVP shout-outs. Recording congratulatory videos with testimonials from colleagues makes achievements more meaningful and memorable.

As HR teams continue to embrace video’s powerful potential, these emerging trends showcase the creative yet practical ways that video content can elevate recruitment, engagement, training, workplace culture, and overall employee experience.

How to create custom HR videos efficiently with AI

Video has become an increasingly powerful medium for HR teams to engage employees and candidates. However, producing professional video content can often be time-consuming and expensive and may require specialized skills. This is where AI technology like Colossyan can be a game-changer for efficiently creating HR videos.

Colossyan is an AI-powered video creation platform that makes it simple and affordable to produce custom HR videos at scale. With its user-friendly interface and expansive features, HR teams can create professional videos without any technical expertise.

For example, you could use Colossyan to create training videos with AI avatars that act as your “team members.” HR can have the AI avatars act out any scenario—from employee training videos to recruitment content—rather than worry about coordinating schedules. The avatars can speak dozens of languages, too, so they’re perfect for a globally distributed workforce.

Overall, innovative AI video creation tools like Colossyan empower HR teams to efficiently produce high-quality, professional-grade video content in-house. This modern capability provides a competitive advantage for better employee communications, immersive training, compelling recruitment content, and more.

Want to unlock the full potential of AI video creation and create scalable videos for your business?Schedule a demo with Colossyan to learn more.