25 [Customer] Incorporating the Human Element into Your Recruitment Marketing Strategy | Allegra Di Norcia, Skout Solutions

[00:00:00] Welcome to the VideoMyJob Pod, where we feature industry experts, on-the-tool practitioners

[00:00:06] and VideoMyJob customers to help you activate your employer brand strategy and EVP.

[00:00:11] Hey, it's Meg Sia with the latest episode of the VMJPod.

[00:00:16] Today I'm speaking with Allegra de Norcia about how her team are incorporating the

[00:00:20] human element to their recruitment marketing strategy to build employer brand awareness

[00:00:24] using VideoMyJob.

[00:00:26] Now Allegra is a talent acquisition analyst at Scout Solutions, and Scout Solutions is

[00:00:30] a joint venture between Ventia and Ransdad focused on recruitment for Ventia.

[00:00:34] And Allegra's really passionate about attracting the best talent into the engineering, environmental

[00:00:39] and ecology fields in Australia.

[00:00:40] So here's what you can expect from my chat with her.

[00:00:44] She shares insights into how Scout Solutions has leveraged VideoMyJob to improve the

[00:00:48] employer brand, their engagement and their reach.

[00:00:52] And she also shares the benefits and challenges of using video in talent acquisition.

[00:00:56] So if you're keen to learn how to bring the human element into your recruitment marketing

[00:01:00] strategy, then this episode is for you.

[00:01:04] Well hi Allegra, thank you so much for joining me today.

[00:01:06] I really, really appreciate you being on our podcast.

[00:01:10] Well look, let's without further ado, I'll just jump straight in.

[00:01:13] Can you tell us about your role and your team dynamic?

[00:01:18] Of course.

[00:01:19] Thank you for having me.

[00:01:22] My role at Scout, well my name's Allegra, my role at Scout Solutions I am a talent acquisition

[00:01:30] analyst.

[00:01:33] So Scout Solutions is actually a joint venture between Ventia and Ransdad, and we are

[00:01:41] Ventia's recruitment team.

[00:01:44] So essentially my role as a talent acquisition analyst is to assist the recruiters with

[00:01:51] the systems and processes, and essentially making sure that they are equipped to attract

[00:01:59] the best talent to Ventia.

[00:02:01] That's how I would describe the role in fancy words.

[00:02:05] That sounds like a very busy role.

[00:02:11] And how long have you guys been using Video My Job?

[00:02:16] Actually I'm pretty sure since 2021, one of the very first customers if I'm not wrong.

[00:02:24] It's been a good, it's been a good, yeah fun time.

[00:02:29] Awesome, that's good to hear.

[00:02:31] And what was the status quo prior to you using Video My Job, Allegra?

[00:02:37] What were you guys doing within that space?

[00:02:42] So we were actually advertising through regular channels.

[00:02:46] We essentially were relying mostly on text and images, especially to engage on social

[00:02:52] media with candidates and potential applicants.

[00:02:56] That was our status quo I guess.

[00:03:00] Wow okay so pretty much just images popping out on social media trying to get that

[00:03:06] traction.

[00:03:07] There was no video, no big productions, it was just static images.

[00:03:13] Okay wow.

[00:03:14] And when Video My Job was implemented, what were the two or three things that you

[00:03:19] wanted to improve or achieve using the platform?

[00:03:23] I think Ventia is a very large organization as I mentioned previously our focus is to

[00:03:31] make sure that we're attracting the best talent.

[00:03:36] And being such a large organization it's easy for people to not realize how much

[00:03:42] we do.

[00:03:43] So growing Ventia's employer brand was very important for us.

[00:03:48] That was one of our main objectives.

[00:03:50] Obviously we wanted to increase the number of applicants when we were realistically

[00:03:56] in a short candidate market.

[00:04:01] Essentially what we wanted to do was to put faces to the business and make the whole

[00:04:06] recruitment process a little more human.

[00:04:11] That's great to hear.

[00:04:13] What has some benefits been or what benefits have you seen since implementing Video

[00:04:18] My Job into your recruitment marketing strategy?

[00:04:24] I think the employer brand recognition is what I would like to name them as the

[00:04:30] first thing and what comes to mind initially.

[00:04:34] We've even received recognition from internal and external stakeholders about the

[00:04:41] material we're producing and how we're trying to portray the company culture.

[00:04:46] So it's really been the most beneficial.

[00:04:52] It's where we see the most value.

[00:04:54] At Scout specifically we've never only focused on the number of videos.

[00:05:00] It's more about the quality and what we are trying to put out there.

[00:05:09] That's great.

[00:05:10] I think you touch on an important point there because you put videos out and while

[00:05:17] metrics, engagement metrics, so is anecdotal stuff.

[00:05:22] So the feedback that you're getting from both candidates as well as your team and

[00:05:26] how they're using it and how they engage with it just based on the feedback as

[00:05:33] opposed to those engagement numbers.

[00:05:35] So that's good to know.

[00:05:36] Can you share the process you followed to build a business case for investing in

[00:05:42] the platform? I'm not sure if you were involved in that process, yourself,

[00:05:45] Allegra, but if you were, what was that process?

[00:05:49] What did that look like for getting a platform like Video My Job into your

[00:05:55] business?

[00:05:57] Yeah, I personally wasn't involved in the rollout, at least not in decision

[00:06:04] making. But I was already part of the organisation when Video My Job was

[00:06:10] rolled out to the team.

[00:06:12] I think it is part of our core values and what we're trying to do for

[00:06:19] Ventia and to make sure that we match our, how we call it, our parents' vision in

[00:06:28] staying innovative, even staying ahead of the curve and making sure that we

[00:06:33] stay creative.

[00:06:35] Like I mentioned before, Ventia operates across many industries and it

[00:06:40] goes all the way from transport, education, oil and gas, telco.

[00:06:44] So it is pretty difficult to put us in a box and to say, oh, you know, when you

[00:06:50] think about other brands, maybe they have a specific colour and, you know,

[00:06:54] that you associate immediately.

[00:06:59] You know, red, cold, something like that, something that is very niche.

[00:07:05] That's not what we do.

[00:07:06] We are a large organisation and therefore quite diverse.

[00:07:10] So we wanted to make sure that came across, that there is no better way to do

[00:07:16] that than using video and getting our hiring managers involved so that the

[00:07:22] company culture really shines through.

[00:07:25] So that's, I think that's, yeah, that's been a bit major, the biggest

[00:07:30] point of difference.

[00:07:34] Amazing. And look, during that implementation stage, I know it's not

[00:07:39] always easy to get the buy-in, to get people to get in front of the camera.

[00:07:46] I know that not everyone's confident behind the camera and I do recognise

[00:07:54] that there could have been some challenges that's come up.

[00:07:56] So I just wanted to ask, did you come across any adoption challenges?

[00:08:02] What were they and how did you overcome that?

[00:08:06] This is going to be funny, but not everyone loves the camera, surprise.

[00:08:12] It's been a process.

[00:08:15] Actually, if you, yeah, I have never recorded a video myself.

[00:08:22] So I am the biggest, yeah, it's been, I advocate for it.

[00:08:29] I get the teams excited about it.

[00:08:32] I have never been on one myself.

[00:08:36] So it's definitely not for everyone, but something that I found really works is to

[00:08:41] encourage those who are interested in giving it a go at least.

[00:08:48] So and you might be surprised about how a little hype can make someone feel.

[00:08:54] So, for example, when someone who wasn't super excited about recording a V&J, I

[00:09:00] make it the biggest deal about the video they just produced and I highlight

[00:09:07] everything they did well and I make sure that they feel very special about

[00:09:11] the effort they just put in all that.

[00:09:14] Actually, the part that I love the most about this process is they usually

[00:09:18] send me their video when it's all done and then they'll send me a

[00:09:23] picture of what it took to make it happen.

[00:09:25] So sometimes we're sitting in meeting rooms and they'll have to stack boxes

[00:09:31] to put their phones in a way that, you know, it's at the right height or,

[00:09:38] you know, stuff like that.

[00:09:39] We've even posted a video on Facebook about the process of two of our

[00:09:50] scouties who were recording a V&J together and all they went through,

[00:09:54] all the throw-ups they did in trying to communicate what they were

[00:10:00] trying to say. We needed a day in the life of a recruiter.

[00:10:05] It was quite fun.

[00:10:10] It sounds like you guys are getting quite creative with your content and

[00:10:12] also that's that authenticity piece, right?

[00:10:16] Like I love that you guys posted the fact that it's not always going to be,

[00:10:21] you know, perfect or what happens behind the scenes when you are,

[00:10:25] you know, just trying to get your message across.

[00:10:27] It's I love that you shared that.

[00:10:30] That's so good.

[00:10:31] And I hope that that resonates with a lot of people.

[00:10:34] You know, I for one, shooting content, I know I'm always trying

[00:10:37] to position things and putting books up in boxes and trying to get

[00:10:41] the right angles and lighting.

[00:10:43] So you're absolutely right.

[00:10:47] I also love that you touched on something important here, Ligar,

[00:10:49] is that, you know what?

[00:10:51] Video isn't always for everybody, right?

[00:10:53] Like and that is just the truth of it.

[00:10:56] But it's about finding the people who do want to be in front of the camera

[00:11:02] or wants that sort of platform to showcase their personal brand

[00:11:06] or talk about their role, talk about what they enjoy about their role,

[00:11:10] et cetera, et cetera.

[00:11:11] And there's so many of that within particularly a big company like yours.

[00:11:16] So even if you are going to get a few nos, that doesn't mean

[00:11:19] it's a no, right?

[00:11:20] And yeah, to really celebrate and talk people through what they're doing

[00:11:26] right when they're creating videos or what they can improve on, et cetera.

[00:11:29] So, yeah, no, really great.

[00:11:31] I love that.

[00:11:33] Yeah, I guess I lied before because the fact that I said

[00:11:39] I've never recorded by myself, I've just never been on this side

[00:11:42] of the camera myself, but I've been the person that holds the camera

[00:11:47] or that helps them be excited about being there.

[00:11:52] Recently, we also recorded a video with one of my colleagues

[00:11:56] where I'm sitting right next to her and just make stopping the camera.

[00:12:00] So making it a team moment has really made a difference.

[00:12:04] It's also about our culture at Scout.

[00:12:06] We're quite close and we like to have fun.

[00:12:11] So we will find any excuse to spend some time together.

[00:12:14] And especially if it's not something that someone is really excited about,

[00:12:20] at least when they partner up.

[00:12:23] It just makes it a fun moment.

[00:12:25] Sorry. Yeah, it's like collaboration and support, isn't it?

[00:12:30] Like you're there to support them through the process.

[00:12:33] And then it's just that collaboration piece to know that they're

[00:12:35] not alone and at all.

[00:12:37] And it's very, very important, I think, when when you're putting yourself

[00:12:42] out there and such a, yeah, on such a big platform.

[00:12:50] Moving on to some of the wins that you're getting

[00:12:54] since incorporating Video My Job into your strategy, Allegra,

[00:12:57] what are some of the key metrics that you've improved

[00:12:59] since incorporating Video My Job that you can mention?

[00:13:04] Yeah, I think I mentioned this before, but the

[00:13:09] the brand recognition has been really important for us.

[00:13:13] Video has made a very big difference for us in engaging as well

[00:13:18] with our potential candidates, especially on social media.

[00:13:24] We've had very good success with the high volume blue colour positions.

[00:13:31] So, you know, maybe not what most people expect.

[00:13:35] But we've had a lot of success there.

[00:13:37] It's made a big difference.

[00:13:39] So I think those are the two things that I think, you know,

[00:13:43] visibility and engagement and also that brand recognition

[00:13:48] have really made a difference for us.

[00:13:52] Wow. And in terms of how that's made a difference,

[00:13:55] are you really noticing that in the quality of your applications

[00:14:01] or is that just through anecdotal feedback in terms of what candidates

[00:14:06] are sort of saying back?

[00:14:07] What? Yeah, could you talk us through a little bit more about how

[00:14:11] how that's kind of had an effect?

[00:14:15] Yeah, it hasn't necessarily or at least initially,

[00:14:19] it wasn't a straight up correlation between number of applications and and

[00:14:26] clicks, but we did have much better

[00:14:30] much better reach.

[00:14:31] So we would see that more people will click into to read our jobs.

[00:14:37] Maybe they then decided that wasn't for them.

[00:14:41] You know, there's many factors through the application process,

[00:14:44] but we did find that we've got more people looking at our jobs,

[00:14:47] which is what we want to see.

[00:14:50] It is a statistics game and definitely that has helped.

[00:14:57] OK, so it's the reach that's really that that's helped

[00:15:01] that it helped impact. I like that.

[00:15:04] And lastly, what does success look like for you sort of within your team

[00:15:09] as you continue to use video and video my job within

[00:15:12] your recruitment marketing strategy, Allegra?

[00:15:15] Yeah, I think, you know, our whole purpose at Scout

[00:15:20] is to make sure that Ventia has the right talent

[00:15:23] to deliver very important projects.

[00:15:25] So I think it's mostly about finding talented humans

[00:15:31] to join the organisation.

[00:15:33] We just want to make sure that we're attracting the people

[00:15:36] that will match the vision and the company culture.

[00:15:40] So there's nothing better to to make that connection

[00:15:46] than to have that human on the other side, even if it's on video

[00:15:50] and it goes on repeat.

[00:15:51] I think that would be that success story.

[00:15:57] And that is it's an important success story to have,

[00:15:59] because I think, you know, yeah, being able to to show

[00:16:05] what it is like to work for your company

[00:16:08] with three employees stories, it does.

[00:16:10] It either makes people realise that, hey,

[00:16:12] I really want to work here or this might not be for me,

[00:16:15] in which case, you know, it's a win-win on both counts.

[00:16:18] Right. You're not having a good time.

[00:16:20] You're not having the wrong people apply.

[00:16:23] And you're also knowing that people who are applying

[00:16:26] have a really good sense of what they are to or for,

[00:16:31] which is really good.

[00:16:33] So, yeah, I like that.

[00:16:35] Allegra, thank you so much for your time.

[00:16:37] I really enjoyed hearing about your video my job journey

[00:16:40] and how you incorporating video and video my job

[00:16:44] into your recruitment marketing strategy.

[00:16:46] Thanks so much for listening to today's episode.

[00:16:49] If you want to learn more about activating

[00:16:51] your employer brand strategy and EBP,

[00:16:53] then check out podcast.videomyjob.com

[00:16:56] for a library of industry perspectives and how-tos.

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