In the world of HR communications, fostering employee engagement and retaining valuable talent are top priorities.
Based on conversations with our clients, I see that employees struggle to understand information about benefits and compensation, and often HR teams do not effectively communicate this information.
This is why more leaders are leveraging video and personalization to creatively and effectively communicate this information with employees across the organization.
Example of video personalization at scale
However, to make the most of personalized video messages in HR, it’s crucial to understand and cater to the three distinct employee audience segments: “Mr. Informed”, “Mr. Tell Me How”, and “Mr. Explorer”.
You can come up with your own names, though.
In this article, we’ll delve into these three employee audiences. You’ll learn why tailoring your personalized content to each is essential for effective HR communications and employee retention strategies and how personalized videos can help you do this in an engaging way.
Whether you’re sending personalized emails or creating captivating personalized videos to boost employee morale, this knowledge will elevate your employee engagement strategies to new heights.
What Are Personalized Video Messages in HR?
Personalized video messages in HR are data-driven videos that are tailored to an employee’s interests, preferences, context, or demographic background.
Here is an example:
They are used to engaging with them. In HR, the most basic way is by displaying the employees’ names, salaries, and benefits in the videos.
Practical use cases for video personalization in Human Resources include, for instance:
- Explaining benefits and compensation plans to improve employee satisfaction, while decreasing employee turnover
- Onboarding new employees and sharing practical next steps to boost employee experience
- Communicating company culture aspects in a visual and relevant way
- Executing pulse surveys to understand how the organization is performing in relation to the employees
- Educating employees on critical aspects of the business to empower them to take personal and professional growth opportunities.
- And more.
Take the following image as a screenshot example to help an employee understand his corporate retirement savings:
If it’s your first time learning about personalized video creation, maybe you are wondering if your team needs to create these dynamic videos one by one.
Well, the answer is “no”. These videos are created from branded templates.
You can automatically create personalized video messages to engage with employees with Pirsonal.
This can be managed by your team, or it can be managed by our Professional Services team to help you save time and resources while providing our expert help.
This eliminates the tedious process of manually creating video by video.
The Case For Personalized Videos In HR Communications
Connecting with employees is crucial. But here’s the thing: 30% of employees admit they ignore emails from their bosses (APPrise).
That’s a problem. And guess what? Companies only spend about 1% of their benefits budget on communication.
That’s not a joke; it’s a missed opportunity.
In fact, The State of the Workplace Study 2021-2022 by the Society for Human Resource Management tells us that 19% of organizations feel the need to improve benefits and pay to keep and attract talent.
Why?
Well, 41% of them believe their pay isn’t competitive, leading to a 53% increase in resignations at larger companies.
Additionally, 27% of organizations want to reduce employee questions. Also, people hate irrelevant stuff; 76% despise it (McKinsey & Company).
They love personalized experiences; 71% prefer them.
The majority of audiences expect personalized interactions from companies
This is why HR teams need to make messages that hit the mark to keep employees engaged and informed.
Personalization in HR is like personalized marketing—it’s effective because it makes the content relevant.
When done right, it can increase engagement and even revenue. In fact, a whopping 50% of marketing leaders say personalization boosts sales.
Now, about videos.
People love them, and they work. Video helps increase sales, say 78% of marketers.
But here’s the catch: many companies make videos that don’t connect with their employees. These videos end up being ignored and ineffective.
So, what’s the solution?
Personalized videos. They’re 116% more effective at grabbing attention and getting people to take action.
Personalized videos perform better than generic videos in 1:1 marketing
That’s a big win for any HR communications team. And if you add personalized calls-to-action, they’re 200% more effective. That’s like a superpower for HR.
As you can see, in a nutshell, personalized HR videos are the way to go. They engage employees, cut turnover, and boost morale.
When traditional, one-fits-all methods fall short, personalized videos are the secret to creating a thriving employee engagement strategy.
Now, let’s cover the three audiences among the employees of your organization. Knowing this will help you craft personalized and even generic messages that increase the levels of employee engagement.
Three Audiences You’ll Always Target In Employee Experience
It is absolutely crucial to understand the people you are communicating with, and HR communications is no different.
After analyzing many personalized video campaigns across different industries, I’ve found that there are three audience segments that mostly consume marketing messages.
Take these audiences into account when creating personalized video messages to engage with employees and enhance employee experience.
To better understand this HR engagement tactic with personalized video messages, read this article along with this infographic.
Pirsonal’s Personalized Video Content Framework
#1 Mr. Informed: The Impatient Employee Segment (Approximately 20%)
Mr. Informed is the type of employee who wants quick understanding and clear information.
Whether it’s an email, a personalized video message, or a landing page, ensure they grasp what’s in it for them within seconds.
This doesn’t mean that they are disengaged employees. It simply means that they need you to share the information in a way that is relevant according to how they are.
Personalized elements, such as their name or unique benefits package, can capture their attention effectively.
Remember, this group typically decides whether to engage with your content almost instantly, even if it is a personalized video message.
Because of this, it is important to also let them know if there is a call-to-action (CTA) they should pay attention to.
#2 Mr. Tell Me How: The Employee Segment that Needs More Details (Approximately 70%)
Mr. Tell Me How represents the majority of your employee audience, and they hunger for the information presented in a personalized video message.
They’ll invest time in understanding your content and will watch most of the personalized video messages.
This doesn’t mean that they are engaged employees, though. They simply need more details because that’s how they process information.
Because of this, you must provide comprehensive details within their context.
Leverage the power of video and personalization to achieve this.
Also, use clickable calls-to-action (CTAs) strategically within your videos, emails, or landing pages to guide them further. This will help you increase conversion rates.
Use Pirsonal’s interactive video player to add personalized CTAs to your videos and improve the effectiveness of these interactions.
Make sure to present information in a way that keeps their interest alive.
#3 Mr. Explorer: The Employee Segment that Consumes the Complete Content (Approximately 35%)
Mr. Explorer is the most committed employee segment when it comes to content consumption.
They’ll watch, read, or engage with your content thoroughly.
For example, in personalized video marketing, they’ll watch the complete video.
However, even then, they need reinforcement.
Use the outro of your personalized videos or the concluding part of your personalized video messages and even emails to emphasize the key message and provide a clear CTA.
This group offers great potential for taking desired actions.
A Framework to Create Personalized Video Messages to Engage with Employees
To effectively engage these three employee audiences, I highly recommend implementing Pirsonal’s Personalized Video Framework.
Today, I’m just summarizing some of the key points of this framework. However, if you want to master personalized video marketing for HR engagement, read this full guide as well and make sure to share it with your creative team or agency as well.
Even when it’s focused on personalized video communications, this blueprint can also be applied to various HR communications and retention strategies, from email blasts to generic videos and beyond.
It ensures your content is well-structured to engage with all three segments effectively.
Sections of Personalized Video Messages
When creating personalized video messages to engage with employees, understanding their structure is crucial:
- Video Introduction: Captures initial attention (approximately 20% of viewers).
- Main Part of the Video: Provides detailed information and already provides a call to action (approximately 70% of viewers). Don’t wait until the end of the video to display this CTA.
- Video Outro: Reinforces value and encourages action (approximately 35% of viewers).
Each section serves a specific purpose, and catering to the right employee audience within these sections is key.
Personalized Video Audience Segment Per Section
Despite the personalization, not all employee viewers are the same. As mentioned, divide your audience into three segments:
- Mr. Informed: This segment will watch until the introduction of the video. Address their impatience by providing immediate value.
- Mr. Tell Me How: This segment will watch until the middle part of the video. Satisfy their thirst for details and guide them with clickable CTAs.
- Mr. Explorer: This segment will watch the complete video. Reinforce your message and provide a compelling CTA.
Using the AIDA Copywriting Framework
Incorporating the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) framework can help craft compelling video scripts that resonate with all three employee audience segments.
Here is how.
- Introduction Section (Attention and Interest): Grab attention quickly and provide immediate value.
- Main Section (Interest, Desire, and Action): Keep them engaged, build desire, and prompt action.
- Outro (Desire and Action): Reinforce the desire and encourage action right away.
Improving the Performance of Existing Personalized Videos
For those already using personalized videos in employee engagement programs, enhancing the performance of these videos requires a structured approach.
As you can see from the video above, follow these recommendations:
- Set clear objectives, KPIs, and marketing metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of HR strategies to improve employee retention. Without this, you won’t be able to know what to improve or why.
- Optimize HR marketing channels—for instance, email—and content to make sure that employees are opening your emails and clicking on the link that leads to the video. An easy trick: add visual thumbnails and buttons to your emails.
- Improve landing page content and CTAs, so employees can play the video.
- Enhance the content of the personalized video to address the needs, concerns and goals of the three audience segments shared in this article.
Download these steps and share them with your team so that you can boost employee engagement with personalized videos in HR communications:
Need Help With a Personalized Video Project?
Crafting your first personalized video project for HR communications and retention can be daunting, but expert help is available.
At Pirsonal we offer flexible personalized video platforms and dedicated, expert help to guide you through the process so that you boost employee engagement and retention.
Contact us today. Let us know your goals, and we will give you tailored recommendations once we’ve evaluated what’s the best way to help you.
Final Thoughts
In HR communications and retention strategies, employee engagement is crucial, and the power of personalized video messages cannot be overstated.
By understanding and catering to the three key employee audience segments, implementing a structured framework, and using effective copywriting techniques, you can create HR marketing campaigns with personalized video messages that resonate deeply with your employees.
Personalization is not just about addressing individuals by name; it’s about crafting content that speaks to their unique needs and desires, ultimately enhancing employee engagement and retention.
Pirsonal is dedicated to empowering your HR team to achieve this goal.
We help you engage with employees in a scalable, secure, and fast way by combining personalized video software and expert professional services.
Want to see examples, tell us more about your employee engagement goals, and get valuable feedback? Contact us today.
