In a sector where nearly one in two facilities struggles to recruit (OPCO Santé 2025 barometer), a job description alone no longer convinces candidates. The Saint-Martin association in Digne-les-Bains, France, chose a different path: handing the microphone to its own staff, on camera, to show what a job posting never can. Two videos, one for a nursing home (EHPAD) and one for a children’s residential care home (MECS), and the same finding: it’s the team’s own words, not management’s, that make people want to apply.
In this article:
- Why a job description alone no longer works in health and social care
- The editorial choice made for Saint-Martin: filming staff voices, not a job listing
- What the testimonies reveal, in the nursing home and the children’s home alike
- What an employer branding video changes for a facility
- Budget, length, distribution: your questions on employer branding video
- Recruiting with faces, not just keywords
Why a job description alone no longer works in health and social care
The vacancy rate in French medico-social establishments and services (ESMS) rose from 2.1% to 4.5% between 2017 and 2023, according to CNSA statistics. France Travail lists 322,000 open positions for 2026 in health, social care and personal services, including more than 62,000 for nursing assistants alone. An organisation can no longer just post a job ad and wait: it has to show, before the interview even happens, what it actually feels like to work there.
The seven levers identified by sector experts for 2026 (partnerships with nursing schools, career fairs, internal promotion…) share one thing in common: they build trust, not just promises. And nothing builds trust faster than an employee describing their own job, in their own words, filmed in their real workplace.
The editorial choice made for Saint-Martin: filming staff voices, not a job listing
For the Saint-Martin association, BMAX produced two separate presentation videos: one for the nursing home (nurse, social activities coordinator, activities leader, maintenance technician), one for the children’s residential care home (head of educational services, specialised educator, house manager, educator, accountant). No voiceover script, no corporate soundtrack covering the words: only on-site interviews, filmed inside the facilities, where each employee explains what made them stay.
This is not a stylistic choice, it’s a strategic one. A classic institutional video presents an organisation. An employer branding video has to answer one single question, the one every candidate asks before clicking “apply”: will I feel good working here? Only a lived testimony answers that question credibly.
What the testimonies reveal, in the nursing home and the children’s home alike
In the nursing home video, a nurse explains that the small size of the facility (24 residents) gives her time to do more than “hand out medication”: to accompany, to listen, to build a lasting bond. A maintenance technician recalls a memorable outing, flying with residents from the local Digne aeroclub one winter. A caregiver highlights the flat hierarchy felt daily and the concrete benefits from the staff council: meal vouchers, bonuses, gift hampers.
In the children’s home video, an educator describes arriving without formal training, learning the job on site, then being promoted to head of service thanks to what she calls an exceptional level of internal dialogue. Several employees return to the same concrete details: management office doors that are always open, staff-led projects “very rarely turned down” as long as they serve the children’s wellbeing, fully renovated premises with a garden and a pétanque court.
Across both videos, one word keeps coming back, unprompted: “family”. It’s not a marketing line added afterwards, it’s what teams say spontaneously once you hand them a microphone.
What an employer branding video changes for a facility
According to the Emploi & Réseaux sociaux survey cited by HR video specialists, 87% of candidates research a company online before applying, and 58% drop their application if what they find looks negative. Conversely, 71% apply after finding positive information online, even when they hadn’t originally planned to. A testimonial video, distributed on YouTube, LinkedIn and Google Business Profile, is exactly the content these candidates are looking for before deciding.
| What a candidate looks for before applying | What a job description shows | What an employer branding video shows |
|---|---|---|
| Real team atmosphere | Nothing | Tone, laughter, cohesion filmed on site |
| Relationship with management | An “org chart” line | Employees describing an office door that’s always open |
| Day-to-day meaning of the job | A list of duties | A memorable moment told with real emotion |
For a health and social care organisation, the stakes go beyond one recruitment campaign: each video becomes a reusable asset, on the careers page, at nursing school partnerships, and across social media, without a new shoot every time.
Budget, length, distribution: your questions on employer branding video
How long should an employer branding video be for a nursing home or children’s home?
Between 3 and 6 minutes for the full version on YouTube and the careers page, with short cuts (30 to 60 seconds) adapted for LinkedIn and Instagram. The long version lets testimonies breathe, the short cuts capture attention on social feeds.
Should the interview be scripted or free-flowing?
A list of open questions is enough, never a script to recite. Hesitations, silences and spontaneous anecdotes are exactly what makes a testimony credible to a candidate who has already seen too many polished corporate videos.
How much filming time is needed for two facilities like a nursing home and a children’s home?
Half a day per facility is usually enough: about an hour of interviews per key role, plus establishing shots of the workplace (premises, outdoor areas, moments of shared life).
Recruiting with faces, not just keywords
The Saint-Martin association didn’t try to sell its job openings, it simply let its employees speak. In a sector facing lasting recruitment pressure, that’s often the difference between a job ad lost in the noise and a video that gives a candidate a concrete reason to join a specific team, in a specific facility. BMAX works with associations and health and social care organisations across the region on this type of production, from filming to editing to multi-channel distribution.
Une version française de cet article est disponible : Vidéo marque employeur : comment recruter autrement dans le médico-social
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