10 Ways Employee Testimonials Strengthen Your Brand As An Employer

Recruiting top talent for your business is critical for future success. But to recruit top employees, it is essential to establish your company as an attractive employer. 

You can do this by using employee testimonials. Sharing authentic testimonials from employees can convince prospective candidates to work with you. 

With this article, you’ll learn how employee testimonials can specifically strengthen your brand as an employer and help you attract the best talent. But first, let’s look at the basics.

What Is an Employee Testimonial?

An employee testimonial is an endorsement or statement from a current or former employee about their experiences working for a company. It will usually include information about working standards, pay equality, corporate culture, job satisfaction, and development opportunities.

You will see employee testimonials in different forms, such as video interviews, written text, or social media posts. A good employee testimonial is authentic and shares real-life perspectives that prospective employees can identify with. 

Why Are Employee Testimonials Important?

Employee testimonials serve as excellent social proof. Recruitment scams are becoming more common, resulting in $2 billion in direct losses each year. Plus, competition for top talent is fierce. In fact, 77% of employers report difficulty finding the skilled talent they need.

Therefore, firsthand accounts of employees have become an important tool for employers looking to prove their credibility and value as an organization.

Employee testimonials enable your potential candidates to gain valuable insights into what it’s like to be a part of your company.

Overall, employee testimonials are a powerful tool for recruitment marketing. They help you overcome recruitment challenges.

How Can Employee Testimonials Strengthen Your Brand as an Employer?

Now that you understand what employee testimonials are and why they are important, let's explore the specific ways they can strengthen your brand as an employer. 

1. Build Authenticity and Trust 

Employee testimonials add authenticity to your employer brand in a way that traditional marketing cannot. When potential candidates read these testimonials by real employees, it instills confidence that they are getting an honest opinion of what working at your company is like. Testimonials from employees can, therefore, help establish your business as a trustworthy employer. This is important as prospective employees are now increasingly selective over the employers they choose and conduct extensive research before applying. 

Employee stories and experiences allow potential employees to connect with your organization on a personal level. This content that exudes this level of authenticity can be far more effective than generic corporate messaging. 

2. Enhance Your Recruitment Funnel

Employee testimonials can enhance your recruitment funnel. To understand how they do this, let’s explain some key concepts first.

A recruitment funnel is like a lead generation funnel; it describes the recruitment process and covers everything from job posting to candidate screening and the actual job offer.

Prospects or leads in recruitment, meanwhile, are like those in sales and marketing. A sales prospect or lead represents an individual showing potential interest in a company's products or services. A recruitment lead is when a candidate shows interest in joining your organization.

When you place employee testimonials on your careers page, recruitment ads, and social media, you can effectively nurture these leads or prospects through the recruitment funnel and encourage them to take the next steps, such as applying for a role. Real-life stories and reviews from employees can keep potential employees engaged and help them move from interest to take your desired action.  

3. Differentiate Your Employer Brand from Competitors

In a crowded job market, setting your company apart from the competition is essential. While your competitors may offer similar benefits or salary packages, the experience your employees have is unique to your organization. Employee testimonials provide an opportunity to highlight what makes your company different. 

You can highlight specific areas of your employee experience, such as your employee development programs, your diversity and inclusion efforts, or your work-life balance policy. These factors can help to sway a candidate to choose your company over others. 

Testimonials can also reveal how your organization handles challenges, supports employees during difficult times, and celebrates accomplishments—all of which add to a distinctive employer brand.

4. Help Attract Top Talent 

Because with employee testimonials, you give prospective employees concrete evidence of why your business is a fantastic place to work, you can easily draw in top talent. The more top talent you attract, the more you strengthen your employer brand. After all, in the eyes of prospective employees, there must be a reason all the best talent want to work for you.

The top talent you attract can help strengthen your brand directly as well. If your working conditions are as advertised in your employee testimonials and you create a lasting first impression on the new employees, they’ll recommend your company to other jobseekers without you even prompting them. Happy employees are 79% more likely to recommend their company as a good place to work. We’ll talk more about employee advocacy later.    

5. Create Content that Works Well on Multiple Platforms and Reaches Different Audiences

Employee testimonials are pieces of content that can be used on different platforms. You can feature them on social media, on your careers page, in your email marketing campaigns or even networking events.

Employee testimonials can also be tailored to different audiences. Written testimonials, for instance, are perfect for those who love to read and want detailed information. Video testimonials, meanwhile, are great for those who like moving pictures and more immersive experiences instead. A well-produced video can showcase the personality, culture, values, and energy of your business, which can be challenging to show in written text.

Since you can leverage multiple platforms and cater to different audiences with employee testimonials, you can reach and connect with more potential candidates. As a result, you can improve the impact of your employer branding efforts. 

6. Boost Employee Advocacy

A positive feedback loop can be created when employees are encouraged to share their experiences with your company through employee testimonials. 

When you encourage the creation of employee testimonials, you essentially empower employees and increase their workplace engagement, enhancing their morale in the process. The result is that they become even more motivated to engage in employee advocacy and spread the good word about your company as an excellent place to work with.

But that’s not all. When you boost employee advocacy through employee testimonials, you can also further enhance your employer branding efforts by reaching potential candidates you wouldn’t reach with other types of content.

Employee advocacy is a strong form of social proof. You will find that when employees share their positive experiences with their social networks, they may reach potential candidates who may not be even searching for a new job. 

7. Make Your Recruitment Process More Human

When there are several automated procedures involved, the hiring process might come across as impersonal. Employee testimonials give your brand a face and a narrative that humanizes your hiring process. They make your organization more approachable and relatable by fostering a sense of personal connection between prospective employees and the company.

When hiring for positions where interpersonal connections and team fit are essential, this human touch can be helpful. 

8. Enhance Your Online Employer Reputation

About 70% of job seekers use Google to search for jobs and research potential employers. Meanwhile, 48% rank social media as a top tool to find any company “deal-breakers.”

That means your online employer reputation is key to attracting great talent. When you enhance your online employer reputation, you can strengthen your brand as an employer.

Employee testimonials can help you do this by creating a positive view of your business when they show up on review websites, social media, and your website.

Positive comments from current employees can help offset any negative remarks or reviews, providing potential employees with a more accurate representation of your company. 

9. Help Drive Informed Decision-Making

Employee testimonials are a great way to provide valuable information to potential employees. Your current and former employees can share useful insights about your company: Does it give employees access to top sales intelligence tools and empower them? Does it have a great work-life balance policy? Does it offer excellent training courses for employees?  

Candidates can use this information to determine whether your organization shares its values and career goals. So, when they do apply and get the job, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged workers right away.

But how does that strengthen your brand as an employer?

Well, as I mentioned before, happy employees are more likely to recommend your company as a great place to work. 

Besides, 87% of job seekers say they look for transparency in a future workplace. That means if you give them, through your former and current employees’ testimonials, as much information about your company from the get-go, you get plus points as an employer, too.  

10. Show Your Commitment to Company Values 

Through employee testimonials, you can show your commitment to the company values you say you embody. This is important for job seekers. Almost 90% of candidates find a clear mission and purpose that are proven are important in potential employers.

For instance, if your organization says it prioritizes continuous learning, testimonials from employees who have completed training programs or skill development courses can demonstrate that your organization is committed to these values. 

Tracking the Impact of Employee Testimonials 

To optimize the benefits of employee testimonials fully, implement something like a customer scorecard to help you assess their impact on your recruitment efforts. 

As part of your scorecard, define the specific key performance indicators you’ll evaluate your employee testimonials against. Possible KPIs include engagement rates, application conversion rates and more. Make sure they align with your recruitment goals.

You’ll have to make adjustments to any employee testimonial that doesn’t meet your required KPI values. Maybe you need to tweak the language tone for it to communicate its main message more effectively. Or perhaps it would be better to use the employee testimonial on your social media instead of on your website.

You can also seek feedback about your employee testimonials from applicants themselves. Why not send them an email survey and ask them which testimonial convinced them to hit that Apply button, for example?

By analyzing this data, you can identify which testimonials engage with your audience and, again, amend your strategy accordingly. 

What Is an Example of an Employee Testimonial? 

As we’ve seen, employee testimonials can come in different forms. For this specific section, I’ll focus on written testimonials. These testimonials have been classified according to the specific aspect of the company experience they highlight.

Companies that encourage employees to write testimonials can leverage these examples. It’s important to note, however, that these examples should be used only to generate writing ideas. Again, employee testimonials, after all, are honest employee reviews. In other words, it’s ultimately the employee who should decide what to write in the first place.

1. Opportunities for Growth and Learning: 

"I have had the opportunity to grow my skills and advance my career at [Company Name]. They are interested in my development and have helped me to grow my skills by sending me on several training courses. It’s great to know that I’m not stuck in a dead-end job because they want to see my skills get better." 

2. Collaborative and Supportive Work Environment: 

"The culture at [Company Name] is collaborative and supportive." I experienced a sense of belonging in a team that listened to me from day one. Teamwork is prioritized, and the management is always there to speak to. It is encouraging to know that I have a support system to talk to about any concerns or future goals.”

3. Work-Life Balance 

"The work-life balance is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my employment at [Company Name]. They understand that having a good balance between work and my personal life is important. They have provided me with the flexibility to have a family and a successful career by allowing me to work from home. This makes me feel valued and keeps me productive. “

4. Values and Culture of the Organization: 

"My employment at [Company Name] has been rewarding because their values are similar to mine. They are considerate about community service and involvement with the community, which I am passionate about. [Company Name] is also very inclusive, where everyone feels acknowledged and involved.”

For the best results, publish employee testimonials that highlight all your company’s strengths across your recruitment marketing channels. 

Final Words 

Employee testimonials are a must for businesses seeking to attract the best talent. They add authenticity, showcase company culture, and make you stand out from your competitors. Using testimonials on different platforms will help you improve your recruitment success rate. Employing real employee experiences in your employer branding strategy also helps humanize the recruitment process. 

Start using employee testimonials today. You won’t just create a workforce that’s engaged and is proud to share their story. You’ll strengthen your brand as an employer, too!