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Middleton Executive are specialists in digital product, technology, and executive recruitment. They help rapidly growing technology companies secure the best product and tech talent globally. So far so good. But what do Middleton Executive do when there’s a global pandemic and so much economic uncertainty that hiring slows to a trickle?
Well, they’re certainly not twiddling their thumbs while they wait for the market to pick up. Jade Bennett, Middleton Executive’s founder and director, had been considering adding video to her strategy for a while. She’s already built a successful blog, she’s got a new podcast in production and she’s regularly asked to speak on industry panels. So video seemed like the most obvious channel to explore next.
Focusing on candidate care
Middleton Executive had made the decision to start their video journey before COVID-19 was officially announced a pandemic, but Jade cites isolation and the hiring slow-down as key reasons why her video strategy quickly went from a lofty ideal to a weekly activity. With the sudden rise in unemployment, she was looking for an authentic and scalable way to connect with her candidates to deliver helpful and actionable content.
“During COVID-19, I’ve been especially mindful of the type of content we’re putting out to our audience, I want it to be impactful and meaningful, without bombarding people too much. There’s already so much information out that I think people are struggling to consume.”
It was easy for Jade to look back at why she started Middleton Executive and connect with her purpose to find a way forward. She made a strategic decision to put a hold on sales and business development activities.
“I just didn't feel it would be appropriate to be out there in an opportunistic manner, trying to drum up business when a lot of people were very anxious about their own roles … it just didn't feel right for us. So I really wanted to focus on being of service to the community.”
Video adoption and technical challenges
Video is a new medium for Jade and her team, and learning to use the VideoMyJob platform was actually harder than they had anticipated. It took a few weeks to grow accustomed to the interface and arrive at an efficient video production workflow.
“The early stages were quite challenging. The user interface was perhaps not as intuitive or user-friendly as we expected. But, the support team were fantastic and once we’d had some hands-on training and we were coached through how to use the app effectively, filming and editing has become a lot easier.”
At Middleton Executive, they divide the production up between Jade - who scripts and films her videos - and their Marketing Manager, who does the video editing and promotion. VideoMyJob has been built to make this kind of collaboration easy, with the shared asset library and send project features removing the need for large file transfers and ensuring high fidelity video.
Creating a candidate-first video content strategy
Early on during coronavirus lockdown Jade decided that she was going to focus on candidate care and coaching. She was in back-to-back meetings with candidates who had recently been made redundant or were concerned for their jobs.
Many of her candidates were professionals that previously hadn't had to actively look for a job, they had always been headhunted by recruiters or internal teams. She found herself offering the same resume and job hunting advice in each conversation.
So Jade used those conversations to inform her content strategy, creating short helpful videos around each topic and sharing them on LinkedIn and her blog. Since Jade started sharing her videos she’s had loads of feedback thanking her for her timely and helpful advice.
The business impact of video
About 4 weeks into lockdown and 6 weeks into her video journey, Jade reported that the feedback and engagement she’d received from her videos was extremely positive:
“I’ve had numerous emails, text messages and LinkedIn messages saying that the content we’re putting out is really relevant in the current climate, and that people are starting to see Middleton Executive as a real player within the Product community … and that we genuinely care about the community that we serve. So the ROI has been fantastic in such a short time and it’s been great to use video to be able to connect when recruitment has generally slowed down.”
We spoke to Jade again recently, and now that she’s a 4-month video veteran she says video has become such an integral part of her communications strategy that she can’t imagine operating without it.
As a remote-first business her team will always be distributed, and she’s excited about adding more video to Middleton Executive’s internal communication mix, so that the team can access a variety of information, from anywhere, without losing the human touch that makes working in a boutique business so enjoyable.
"Actually, it's a bit embarrassing that we're so late at adopting video! Now that we have it. I'm thinking ‘Why haven't I been doing this for three, four years?’ So I actually can't imagine a time when we're not going to be using video.”
About Middleton Executive
Middleton Executive was born out of a passion for recruitment, the desire to help people succeed, and the determination to create a superior service that works for both clients and candidates. Their unique approach is underpinned by a dynamic recruitment model and lean, collaborative and flexible working methods that always deliver results. With an impressive client base built over ten years, Middleton Executive are global specialists at scaling growing tech companies by helping them build world-class product and tech teams. As a partner and extension to your business, they invest the time and energy in getting to know your culture and then pitch your brand to attract the world's best talent, guaranteeing an exceptional candidate experience every time. Join the Middleton Executive #techtribe and follow their video journey by connecting on LinkedIn,Twitter or YouTube.
