Lights, camera, action ñ Employers turn to film to target new recruits

Enhance Media has forged a new partnership with US-based RecruiTV to produce online videos for UK companies looking to attract new staff.

The move follows the growth of recruitment videos in the US, where websites feature video clips with quotes from staff highlighting the benefits of working for the firm.

Alastair Cartwright, Enhance Media commercial director, said: ìVideo is a great way for employers to communicate directly with candidates. Itís much livelier than trawling through pages of text and can convey so much detail in a short space of time.î

Feedback from the States shows candidates feel more engaged and more at ease at their interviews, having first seen the company and heard the comments from staff. The video clip is proving to be worth a thousand words.

Increasing home use of broadband has made accessing video much easier. While there are a few agencies offering video production in the UK, Alastair says that at around 15,000 this is too expensive for many companies.

ìThrough our partnership with RecruiTV, we will be able to offer high-quality recruitment videos at a fraction of that cost. It will open up the possibility of enhancing career websites for large, as well as small, organisations.

Peter Altieri, chief executive of RecruiTV, said: ìWe are delighted to be working with Enhance Media on this venture.

ìVideo is a very engaging medium for both companies and candidates. Itís proving to be very successful as a new way for companies to put a face on who they are. Itís an attractive way for them to personalise what they are doing.

ìIt allows companies to put their greatest strengths and assets in front of candidates - that is, their people. Employees - not actors - can tell their story about why the company is a great choice for them careerwise. It allows candidates to get inside the DNA of the company.

ìYou go to work for a company not because of the name but because of the people. The recruitment video allows you to get inside the company and find out if the culture is right, if the fit is right for you, before you even pick up the phone and call them.î