Recruitment problems in logistics don’t always start with a lack of applicants.
Sometimes the problem is that candidates don’t really understand the job they’re applying for.
A job advert can tell someone the pay, hours and location. But it can’t easily show them what a 10-hour shift actually looks like, the environment they’ll be working in, the equipment they’ll use or what’s expected of them when they arrive.
That’s where recruitment video can make a difference.
We’ve spent years filming inside warehouses, distribution centres and transport operations across the UK. One thing we’ve seen repeatedly is how much there is to explain before somebody ever starts the job.
Show the real job, not just the good bits
A recruitment film shouldn’t make the operation look easier or more glamorous than it really is.
If somebody is going to spend their shift picking in a freezer, show the freezer. If they’ll use a LLOP or voice-picking system, show it. If the role involves targets, manual handling, PPE, shift patterns or working in a busy warehouse, candidates should understand that before they accept the job.
The aim isn’t simply to generate more applications. It’s to help generate better-informed applications.
Let candidates see the workplace
For somebody who has never worked in logistics, walking into a large distribution centre for the first time can be daunting. Video lets them see the environment before day one:
- What they’ll wear
- Where they’ll work
- The equipment they’ll use
- Different departments and roles
- What a typical shift involves
- Safety expectations
- Facilities and break areas
- The people they’ll be working alongside
- Training and progression opportunities
That starts setting expectations before recruitment becomes onboarding.
Use your own people
Some of the strongest recruitment content doesn’t need actors or heavily scripted presenters. Your existing employees can explain what the job is actually like.
Why did they join? What surprised them? What does their working day involve? What training did they receive? What opportunities have they had since joining?
Candidates get to hear from somebody who actually does the job rather than just reading what the company says about it.
Recruitment and onboarding should connect
Recruitment shouldn’t end when someone accepts the job. The information somebody sees before applying should connect with what they’re told during induction and what actually happens when they start work.
That’s why we increasingly look at recruitment, onboarding, training and internal communications as connected rather than completely separate pieces of content. The same filming day can capture material for several stages of the employee journey.
One production can create much more than one video
A recruitment project doesn’t have to result in just one video. Depending on the size of the operation, filming might take a day or several days across different sites, shifts or departments.
With the right planning, that production can create a main recruitment film, individual role videos, employee stories, social content, onboarding material, recruitment adverts, website content and photography.
Suddenly, you’re not commissioning one video. You’re creating a bank of content the business can use across recruitment, onboarding and communications.
The question isn’t just “how many people applied?”
A recruitment campaign generating hundreds of applications isn’t necessarily successful if candidates arrive with the wrong expectations. Better questions are:
- Did candidates understand the role?
- Did the right people apply?
- Did more successful applicants actually turn up?
- Were new starters better prepared?
- Did fewer people leave during the first few weeks?
That’s the job recruitment content should be helping with.
Chocolate Cake Media creates recruitment, onboarding, training and safety content for logistics, warehousing and transport businesses across the UK. See our recruitment and training work.