The scenario repeats. We arrive on set for the employer brand shoot. The comms team is enthusiastic. The employees… less so.
Some have been rehearsing their lines for a week. Others “forgot” the shoot. A few show up in a freshly ironed shirt that’s too aggressive for their usual personality. And if nothing is done, the result is a film where real people look like amateur actors in a 2015 recruitment spot.
Why it goes that way
The camera is a mirror. And most people don’t like looking at themselves in it.
The problem isn’t that your employees are bad on camera. The problem is we ask them to play a role (the “happy, fulfilled employee talking about their company”) instead of letting them be themselves.
The solution isn’t to train them in public speaking. The solution is to not have them speak at all. At least, not the way most employer brand films do.
The SIGNS method on set
We never give a script. Ever.
We give a topic. An open question. And we listen.
“Tell me about a moment when you understood this job was made for you.”
“What surprised you when you arrived here?”
“If you had to describe the atmosphere to an outsider?”
In the first 10 seconds of a real answer, the camera picks up a tiny hesitation, a smile that shows up before the words, eyes searching through a memory. No public-speaking coach can fake that.
The role of the director, not the vendor
Here, everything plays out in the human relationship between the director and the interviewee.
At SIGNS, the director arrives before the technical team. They spend time with employees before the lights are even set up. Not to brief them. To talk. About their journey, their daily life, what occasionally annoys them at the office.
By the time the lights come on, there’s already a relationship. The camera has become secondary.
Mistakes to avoid on the client side
A few requests we get all the time, and that we always push back on:
“We’d like the HR director to introduce the company first.” An HR director’s intro speech instantly kills the authenticity of everything that follows. Start with the employees.
“We’d like each person to recite our four values.” The moment an employee recites corporate values, the film is dead. Values are shown, not recited.
“We’ve prepared questions and answers approved by leadership.” We get the logic. But what you’ll end up with is an internal comms film, not a film that makes people want to apply.
What actually works
The most effective employer brand films we’ve produced had one thing in common: we had access to real moments of work. Not reenactments. Shooting in real conditions: a team meeting, a creative brief, a training session, a break.
When an engineer solves a problem right in front of us and says “ah, there it is” looking at the screen, that one shot is worth 10 scripted interviews.
The result
A successful employer brand film triggers a simple reaction: “Is it really like that at your place?”
When a candidate asks you that after seeing your film, you’ve won.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get employees involved in a video without making them uncomfortable?
To get employees involved without making them uncomfortable, give them no script at all: ask an open question and let them answer in their own words. At SIGNS Films, the director arrives before the crew and talks with each person about their background and daily work before the lights go up. When the camera rolls, a relationship already exists, and the first seconds of a genuine answer (the hesitation, the smile before the words) become the substance of the film.
Should we hire an agency or film our employer brand video in-house?
Filming in-house works for quick content aimed at social media, but an employer brand film meant to make people apply needs a director who can put non-professionals at ease. The difference lies in the human relationship built before the shoot and in access to real working moments, not in the equipment. As a benchmark, SIGNS Films charges between €1,550 and €2,500 for a testimonial film, including a one-day shoot with a two-person crew and full post-production.
How long should an employer branding video be?
There is no universal ideal length for an employer branding video: the right length is whatever the sincerity of the testimonials can carry without filler. A cautious rule of thumb is to produce one main film for the careers site, then short excerpts per employee for social media. SIGNS Films favors sequences shot in real working conditions (a team meeting, a creative brief, a training session): an engineer solving a problem on screen is worth ten scripted interviews.
Which testimonials and interviews should an employer branding video include?
Prioritize testimonials from employees on the ground, filmed without a script from open questions, and keep management's message for the end or outside the film. An HR director introducing the company at the start weakens the authenticity of everything that follows, and employees reciting four corporate values kill the film. SIGNS Films asks questions such as "What surprised you when you arrived here?" and complements interviews with real working moments, as it did for Allianz.