We at Anomaly Video had the opportunity to create a police department recruiting video and a fire department recruitment video for the Village of Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
We sat down with Molly Gillespie, Director of Communications and Community Engagement of Buffalo Grove, to discuss her experience in working alongside Anomaly Video to create the recruitment videos, what to know before creating a recruiting video, and what makes Buffalo Grove a great place to work and to live.
Buffalo Grove is a suburb of the greater Chicagoland area. It has a reputation for being a safe community with an array of parks, great accessibility to other suburbs, downtown Chicago, green spaces, and some of the best schools in the state, and even in the nation! Buffalo Grove strives to be a vibrant community that is inclusive, welcoming and has a strong economy.
The goal in creating the recruitment videos was to attract qualified police and fire department applicants to Buffalo Grove. Molly points out in the interview that we are in challenging times for police and fire recruitment, due not only to a high amount of retiring officers, but also due to recent situations our country has experienced. So there is a lot of competition for filling these roles and getting good people. Because of this, it was important to hone in on what makes Buffalo Grove different in the recruitment videos.
We wanted to find out what people should know about working at the Buffalo Grove Police Department or Fire Department. In our pre-production with Molly, we found out Buffalo Grove gets things done in a thoughtful manner, not just to check a box or create a band aid solution but to act in the best interest of the community. And that would end up being our through-line for the videos.
Because the community is well taken care of, the city and police and fire departments are respected, trusted, and known as accessible and approachable. Check out the final video HERE to hear what police officers and firefighters had to say about working in the village of Buffalo Grove.
When asked if the recruitment videos accomplished their goals, Molly said, “Absolutely, and they put a spotlight on Buffalo Grove as a community. It achieved our goals not only in the way of creating a recruiting video but it also enhanced our image and expanded our reach of who we are and what we are all about.”
We asked Molly if there are any tips she would want other municipalities to know when creating a police video or fire employee recruitment video and she says “Plan ahead, don’t rush it. There are so many things to consider, like who will be great in an interview. Sometimes the people you would not think to interview have great stories to share. And if you don’t know what you are doing, lean into Seth and the Anomaly team. They will give you as much or as you little help as you need.”
Molly states that “you can tell the interviewee’s answers are authentic and Anomaly made everyone feel comfortable and asked the right questions to get people to talk about their experiences in a way that resonates with people.”
It can be overwhelming when choosing a video company, especially if you have limited experience with video work, so we asked Molly why she chose Anomaly Video for the public service recruitment videos. She stated that she saw Anomaly’s work for another city and loved the style, the variety of videos that Anomaly can do and the way they are able to make you feel while watching a video without really needing all the messaging. She considered several companies before deciding but Anomaly made themselves very accessible for local government.
“We don’t have big budgets like corporations so they made it affordable for us because they also care about what we are trying to do and that’s not something you get with every company.”
At Anomaly Video, we are building out a team to specifically serve our municipality departments that protect and serve us so well, such as police and fire. If your community is in need of a hiring video, training video, highlight reel, or a community facing piece, please reach out to the Anomaly Video team and schedule a discovery call. Our story experts would love to uncover your story and create a custom video that shines a light on what makes your city or department the place to be.
