The way we work is undergoing fundamental shifts. The COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, accelerated the shift to digital and remote working. Millennials are now the dominant workforce in the U.S. And according to Gallup, more than half of them are not engaged at work. This is a generation that gets panned for low attention spans, wanting success too quickly and constantly changing jobs. Much of that is debatable.
But as an organization, how do you engage millennials in the workplace? And how does video fit into that strategy? Let's look at some ideas for engaging millennials in the workplace through video.
Three Ideas for Engaging Millennials in the Workplace Through Video
At this point you might be asking: why should you care about engaging millennials in the workplace at all? Broadly speaking, more-engaged employees are less likely to quit your company. A lower attrition rate translates to cost savings in training and recruitment, and thus a healthier bottom line for the company. Happy millennials are more likely to stay longer at your company and even endorse you to their circle of friends.
Videos can be a great medium to engage your millennial workforce. This is a generation that has grown up with the internet. It is comfortable with online learning and navigating its way on a screen. According to Statistica, 15 percent of millennials watch almost 20 hours of online video content every week. When it comes to learning new things, millennials are more likely to watch a video than read a book.
Dig around on the internet and you will find even more stats confirming the popularity of videos among millennials. Here are three video ideas you can use for engaging millennials in the workplace.
1) Use Video to Make Onboarding Smoother (and More Fun)
Onboarding is crucial to acquaint new hires with company culture and processes. Companies have been using video to facilitate onboarding for quite some time. With the rise in remote working, video has gained new relevance for onboarding. A well-produced video can make an employee working from home feel welcomed into an organization without stepping outside their front door.
Consider Google's video for interns from 2013. It gives new arrivals a glimpse into what to expect in their first week on Google's campus. Or take inspiration from GrubHub's employee video from 2017. The food delivery company offers insight into a driver's typical workday, complete with useful tips for new hires to start using right away. Beyond new employees, onboarding videos can also help your company engage with customers. Adapt the script to your audience and work culture.
Other onboarding video ideas worth trying include a "journey so far" video, a personalized message from the CEO, and letting your existing employees give a video a tour of the company.
Related Reading: 5 Examples of Engaging Internal Corporate Videos
2) Make Policy Information Less Boring With Short Videos
Policy information does not have to be restricted to lengthy PDFs that nobody cares to read. Use videos to disseminate important policy information about possible work scenarios. Break up the information into short, two- to three-minute videos that employees can watch whenever they want. Inject a bit of humor to make the videos engaging. You don't have to invest in state-of-the-art animation or expensive equipment to make your videos fun. A well-written script delivered with confidence should do the trick.
3) Live Stream Your Events
According to BusinessWire, the use of webinars rose by 162 percent in 2020, a situation largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. That being said, millennials were especially comfortable with online video content even prior to that jump. Those factors are reason enough to start live streaming your company events if you haven't already.
You don't have to restrict yourself to landmark company events, such as your Annual Day. For example, you could start a live stream series around an educational topic that's relevant for your millennial employees, and/or other topics that may be useful for your workforce. It could be as simple as a series of videos on troubleshooting tech problems at work and at home.
A good place to start would be to generate employee profiles that represent your workforce. For each significantly different profile, write a list of topics that might be interesting and relevant to that group. Pick the topics that are the easiest to live stream, such as a monthly fundraising event for a relevant cause or an AMA with an industry expert, and get rolling.
Related Reading: How to Create Your Best Virtual Townhall Meeting
Best Practices for Making Your Video Content More Engaging
So far, we have talked about specific types of video for engaging millennials in the workplace. But there are some best practices that cut across categories for video content. Include as many of these as possible for maximum engagement.
- Use humor. But make sure it is appropriate and does not come across as forced.
- Keep the length of your videos short, unless you are live streaming. Hire Rabbit states that "a minute and a half is just enough time for you to get your message across without falling into the whims of your audience losing attention."
- Use text on the screen. Many people watch videos with the sound turned off.
- Practice good lighting. If you are using real people for presenting your videos, make sure that the lighting is adequate.
- Add a catchy title. An intriguing or humorous label for your video will make sure your audience is already interested in the video before they even click "play."
Related Reading: How to Record a Remote Video, Internal Communications Best Practices
How Viostream Can Help You Engage Millennials in the Workplace
Built for scale, Viostream lets you host your company videos and live stream events. You also get access to advanced engagement analytics, which helps you track performance and make informed decisions about your video content strategy. Live streaming webinars is especially easy on Viostream. There are pre-built templates for event pages that make it super simple to set up and promote your events. Explore the crash-proof video platform today.
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