How to Make Use of Employee Testimonials to Attract More Candidates

Attracting top talent for your organisation is always a challenging task. To overcome such a huge hurdle, deploying every tool available at your disposal is necessary. In that regard, employee testimonials are essential to get the candidate’s attention.

An employee testimonial is a documentation from a working employee about your organisation that can be used as an endorsement for the company to influence viewers (potential candidates) to apply for a job.

To build a connection with your employees, it is important to have your employees act as advocates for your organisation. More than being relatable, the candidates can form an emotional connection with someone who resembles them at the organisational level.

Why Are Employee Testimonials so Important?

Employee testimonials act as an advertisement for your organisation. They attract candidates to your organisation and encourage them to apply for an open role. The following are the reasons why an employee testimonial is important:

• Candidates look at the organisation and its culture before they apply for a job. They would likely take a look at the testimonials from the other employees since a review coming from a working employee holds more weight.
• When the employer branding of an organisation is improved, it automatically helps attract more candidates for your organisation. An employee testimonial acts as proof of your reputation within your organisation.
• As mentioned earlier, rather than having someone from the organisation talk big about the company, it helps when an employee talks about the company in their own words. Employee testimonials make it more relatable for the candidate (viewer) and encourage them to apply for a role.
• Negative employee reviews about your organisation can seriously affect your reputation. Candidates might drop off the application process after they go through the organisation’s online reviews. Employee testimonials can help your organisation leverage that and handle negative reviews.

Different Types of Employee Testimonials

Employee testimonials can take different formats. Each format serves a different purpose and is used on various platforms. The following are some of the formats for employee testimonials:

Photos: Photo testimonials use the words of the employees along with their pictures to convey their testimonials. This format is handy for social media, where different employees can share their thoughts on the organisation and seamlessly publish it on the company’s various online platforms.

Reviews: There are sites like glassdoor dedicated to reviewing an organisation. These sites obtain various factors from the employees to provide candidates with an idea of the organisation’s inner workings.

Blog Post: A blog post is a written format of a testimonial with good volume. Since they cannot be covered in a photo testimonial, blog posts are written by the employees and published on the company’s website.

Videos: Video testimonials are the best way to keep the candidate engaged. It can be professional and shed light on most of the questions a potential candidate might have. Employers can post the video testimonial on your career site, or it can be hosted on the landing page once your candidate completes the application process.

Social Media Takeover: It is the trend in which an employee takes over the social media handle for the day. The employee then explains to the public about their daily life and conducts Q & A sessions.

Whom to Ask for Employee Testimonials?

The employee testimonials you project on various channels can build your reputation and act as a tool for more effective employer branding. It is important to take care when choosing the employees you want to make the testimonials.

If your employee count is small, it is better to include everyone in a small video. This will ensure that every employee gets a chance to promote your organisation and its inner workings.

If the organisation is bigger, it is not ideal for making a video with every employee. You need to choose the employees who would best represent your organisation at that time. Remember that it is a voluntary process. The employees must be proactive when making the testimonials.

Ask for testimonials from employees who represent your company culture. Employees who represent the diverse employees of your organisation.

Do not get testimonials from manager-level employees. Candidates may be wary of testimonials from manager-level employees and CEOs.

Questions to Cover in Employee Testimonials

The following are some questions that could be covered in a testimonial to help the candidates understand more about your organisation and the work culture:

• What is your name and your occupation in the company?
• How long have you been working here?
• How was your interview process for this role?
• What is the one thing you like about this company?
• How do your co-workers and managers treat you?
• How has this organisation helped you with your career growth?
• What does working with your team feel like?
• If you could describe this organisation in one word, what would it be?

Tips for Obtaining Employee Testimonials

There are some measures you can use to ensure that the testimonials act as employer branding and help you attract more candidates. The following are some tips to keep in mind before starting on your employee testimonials:

• Have an objective in mind before you start making employee testimonials. This will help you set a clear path for making the testimonials. These testimonials have the goal of attracting top talent, filling up social media posts, and acting as an engagement for the landing page.
• Do not script video testimonials. Following a script for an employee testimonial can make the video feel artificial. This might not work well with job seekers. It could make the candidates think that the employee was fed positive words to say.
• Do not make the testimonials feel robotic. Especially in video testimonials, emotions play a significant part in the video. An employee testimonial needs to capture that.
• Seek volunteers for employee testimonials. The employees mustn’t be forced to give a testimonial. Instead, the employees interested in making the testimonial should be given a chance.
• To encourage more employees for the testimonials. Address the employees and be honest with them about what is at stake. This can bring more willing employees to give testimonials.
• Employee testimonials are the employer branding of your organisation. Do not use equipment that does not give any good quality output. Spend time and money to get good quality equipment to shoot your video testimonials.
• Keep the testimonials short. The candidates will likely not spend too much time going through testimonials. It is essential to grab their attention and convey the message before they lose interest.
• Your employee testimonials should focus on your work culture, the perks and benefits, career development, and employee satisfaction. These are the areas on which your job seekers will focus the most.

Final Thoughts

Employee testimonials, when done correctly, can create a visible positive impact on your employer branding. This is important to attract more candidates for your organisation. When you build a reputation, the candidates get to know your organisation. Focus on multiple formats of video testimonials so that every channel can use them.

LogicMelon

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Email: sales@logicmelon.com or call LogicMelon (UK) +44 (0) 203 553 3667 (USA) +1 860 269 3089