Webinars as a tool for labour market communication
The tight labour market ensures that employers (again!) must actively profile themselves towards potential new employees. Potential new employees (active, latent and non-job seekers) must be inspired by getting informed about the employer, its leaders, colleagues, the type of work and context of the work environment. By better informing jobseekers about all these aspects, there is a greater chance that applicants will be well informed and will therefore be able to apply in a more targeted manner. The chance of employees quitting also decreases, as applicants know what they are getting into!
Especially for jobs that regularly open up again or where a larger number of employees are needed, good information and inspiration are very important. Interactive webinars are a completely new way to approach, inform and inspire potential employees about vacancies. Start a conversation, show who the leaders and colleagues are and answer questions directly to participants during a webinar. By taking care of it in a professional manner, the webinar also serves as a business card of your organization.
Webinars lend themselves perfectly to communicate communication messages. It is not for nothing that the average viewing time of live webinars is 56 minutes. A webinar can be watched from home, which contributes to a low participation threshold. Webinars are interactive: participants can ask questions, but you can also ask questions to the participants. In addition, a webinar is personal: participants see the speakers (in HD video!) and additional information such as slides, animations and/or demos.
Filling job vacancies and/or Employer Branding
Different labour market communication webinars all indicate that participants think webinars are a good way of transferring information about job vacancies (96%).
As a result, Webinars fit well in the labour market communication mix of every employer who wants to communicate with potential new employees in an effective and personal way. Both to deliver targeted vacancies, but also for employer branding. The advantage of a webinar is that information is saved, so that participants can look into the information after the live broadcast has ended.
References and Examples
For years we have been involved in labour market communication webinars, and we have seen a huge increase of these types of webinars lately. Employers such as multinationals and (semi) government agencies organize webinars to reach an (1) international audience, (2) promote vacancies that regularly open up again, or (3) vacancies that are (suddenly) needed in larger numbers.
We recently organized a webinar for the Inspectorate SZW (part of the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment). The SZW Inspectorate was looking for 30 health inspectors. In this webinar, a labour inspector tells participants what a work day of an inspector looks like. Also, you will get an explanation of the competencies and diplomas that you need as an inspector. Nearly 400 participants participated in this live interactive webinar and 300 viewers watched the broadcast afterwards. As a result of the webinar, already 94 application letters were received by the Inspectorate SZW! The broadcast was therefore a great success. Watch the webinar below:
In the coming years Rijkswaterstaat will renovate more than 100 bridges, locks, viaducts and tunnels extensively and replace them where necessary. Renovating and replacing the existing infrastructure requires, in addition to substantial investments, manpower and specific knowledge. In short: how does Rijkswaterstaat make our infrastructure future-proof, and which subject-specific experts does Rijkswaterstaat need for these projects. More than 300 interested people participated in the webinar and 75% of the participants would recommend the webinar to others. Watch the webinar below:
To reach an international audience of potential new young employees, Unilever organized a series of 3 webinars. Per webinar, an average of 200 participants from more than 10 different countries (from the US to Australia) participated. What was striking was the high level of involvement of participants: 76% of the participants asked a question. The aim of Unilever with this series of webinars was to give current and future graduates the opportunity to discuss important topics, to express their opinions and to listen to experts.
Monsterboard is the largest online job database that regularly organizes webinars to help employers or jobseekers with various topics such as “Applying 2.0”, “Make a magnet of yourself”, but also how you as an employer can get the best out of your vacancy and increase your reach. The webinars attract hundreds of participants per broadcast and are always rated very positively.
Want more information about webinars for labour market communication? Call us or fill in the contact form and we will contact you as soon as possible.