It’s often said that business is built with people, and the same is true for brands too. The right talent can help you build the company and brand of your dreams! Your employees must feel validated, and you must have an employer brand and company culture that excites job seekers. 

Employee testimonials are more than just a marketing tool; they're a window into the heart of your business work culture. When crafted authentically, these testimonials can be the cornerstone of your employer's branding strategy.

Leveraging Employee Testimonials: Transforming Your Brand and Culture

Why Employee Testimonials Matter

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you see the image below?

Most likely, you got the impression of openness, comfort, and friendliness at the workplace! Right? 

Employee testimonials provide a unique perspective on your company's work environment and culture. They're a vital asset in attracting top talent and establishing trust with your audience. 

Research shows that testimonials can significantly impact consumers' decisions, with a majority of people trusting personal recommendations over traditional advertising. 

By showcasing the experiences, achievements, and growth stories of the employees who work at your company, you're not just highlighting the positives but also offering an honest reflection of your company culture. It's like inviting someone behind the scenes to witness the day-to-day reality of working within your organization.

Moreover, in today's interconnected world, where social proof and peer opinions carry immense weight, employee testimonials have become indispensable. They offer credibility and build trust among potential candidates. When job seekers see genuine satisfaction and enthusiasm from those already working within your company, it can significantly influence their decision-making process. This is how you attract the best talents!!!

Gathering Effective Employee Testimonials

Creating impactful employee stories starts with a genuine approach. Gathering impactful employee testimonials is a process that involves nurturing authenticity and inclusivity. Here's a more detailed look at how to effectively gather these testimonials:

• Build Trust and Encourage Authenticity

The authenticity of these testimonials is crucial. They shouldn’t merely be scripted endorsements but rather genuine expressions of your employees’ feelings and experiences.

When these testimonials resonate with authenticity, they can attract like-minded individuals who align with your company's values and goals, ultimately fostering a stronger, more cohesive team.

Create a culture where employees feel comfortable sharing their experiences openly. Offer platforms like anonymous feedback forms or one-on-one interviews to ensure that their voices are heard without fear of repercussions. Authenticity shines through when employees can speak from the heart without feeling pressured to conform to a specific narrative.

• Embrace Diversity and Inclusivity

Highlight the breadth of experiences within your organization. Showcase testimonials from different departments, roles, and levels of seniority. This diverse representation not only offers a holistic view of your company but also resonates with a wider audience, showcasing that your workplace values and celebrates diversity.

Also, highlight employee experiences of current employees with different nationalities, religions, genders, and ethnicities, so when a stranger sees those testimonials, they should feel included, welcomed, and safe, no matter what their background or lifestyle is! 

However, as an employer, you must be sensitive about these matters while communicating your ask with your employees. Ensure that you don’t say anything that might offend them or make them feel uneasy about themselves and what you’re trying to do! 

• Simplify the Process
  
  

Making it easy for employees to share their testimonials is crucial. Tools like Testimonial Donut or similar platforms can streamline the collection process. 

These tools often provide user-friendly interfaces, templates, and guidance, making it convenient for employees to share their thoughts and experiences without hassle. Additionally, you can use various channels—such as email, intranet, or dedicated platforms—where employees can submit their testimonials effortlessly.

• Offer Guidance and Support

While encouraging authenticity, it's helpful to provide some guidance to employees on the kind of information that could be valuable for potential candidates. 

Offer prompts or questions that can guide them in articulating their experiences effectively. You can also share references, templates, sample scripts, etc. That helps in ensuring that the testimonials cover a wide array of relevant aspects that could attract potential hires.

So, let’s say you’re gathering employee testimonials in the video format. You can schedule with your employee the date and time for recording and provide complete support in terms of recording. Not everyone is comfortable in front of the camera, so you’ll also need to create a comforting and secure environment while recording these.

• Showcase Variety and Depth

Alongside written testimonials, consider incorporating other formats like video testimonials, podcasts, or social media takeovers. Each format adds a different dimension and can resonate with diverse audiences. 

For instance, videos may capture emotions and enthusiasm more vividly, while podcasts can offer a more casual and conversational tone, making the testimonials relatable.

• Maintain Transparency

When using employee testimonials in your employer branding efforts, it's vital to maintain transparency and authenticity. Avoid over-editing or manipulating the content to fit a specific narrative, as this can backfire and erode trust among potential candidates.

By following these steps, you not only gather a collection of genuine and impactful employee testimonials but also foster an environment where employees feel valued and heard, contributing positively to your company's culture and employer brand.

Beyond Marketing: Employee Testimonials as a Tool for Internal Culture Building

Employee testimonials serve a dual purpose, extending beyond external marketing. Internally, they're potent tools for uplifting company culture. These firsthand accounts of positive experiences among colleagues act as morale-boosters, fostering a sense of pride and belonging.

They become repositories of wisdom, offering practical insights for learning and growth and supplementing formal training efforts. As these stories circulate, they create a cycle of positivity, encouraging employees to celebrate each other’s achievements.

Moreover, these testimonials reinforce alignment with company values, emphasizing a shared sense of purpose. By showcasing diverse experiences and perspectives, they highlight the richness that diversity brings to the organization, cultivating an inclusive environment where varied viewpoints are valued. 

Ultimately, these narratives contribute to a supportive, collaborative atmosphere where every voice feels heard and appreciated. They don’t just showcase successes—they embody a cultural fabric that unites the workforce, encouraging each individual to contribute to the collective triumph of the company.

Integrating Employee Testimonials into Your Digital Strategy

Strategically placing employee testimonials on your website, social media accounts and platforms, and marketing materials can amplify their impact. Testimonial Donut can help you effortlessly integrate these stories into your digital presence, keeping your content fresh and engaging.

These are the main types of Employee Testimonials:

• Video (can be posted to Website, YouTube channels, and other social media, articles, etc.)
  These can also be in the form of vlogs, like in the video example given below. 

Life at Google | Google Hyderabad Office Tour

• Text (in the form of articles, Twitter posts, LinkedIn posts, infographics, etc.)
  
  
• Audio (in the form of Podcasts, Clubhouse rooms, Twitter spaces, etc.)
  
  

Social Media and Career Pages

You can also feature them on your careers page, social media channels, and recruitment emails to create a consistent narrative about your company culture. In the example below, see how Webflow has beautifully linked its career webpage and the Twitter profile of its employees and created a hashtag (#MadeInWebflow) for effective testimonials. 

Next, LinkedIn is one platform that you can effectively use to boost your employer brand. Further, Imagine if an unknown talent is scrolling through reels or TikTok and comes across a short-form video of an employee testimonial. The talent may consider your company and be attracted to it! This is how great employees reach out sometimes! 

It’s also good if people keep hearing good things about your company from different sources. It plants a subconscious seed of your brand in their mind, which can positively affect your sales and human resources effectively!!!

SEO and Blogs

You can also optimize testimonials with relevant keywords to improve their visibility in search engine results and improve your SEO. This ensures they reach a wider audience actively seeking information about your company.

You can also get blogs and publications to post about your company culture occasionally or invite them to do interviews with your employees. 

Other marketing material

You can also include video links or brochures in your employer emails or add employee testimonials regularly in your newsletter or PPTs of your company presentation. 

How the Internet Affects Your Employer Brand 

When done negatively, they can also backfire. An Indian startup called Byjus had audio and videos leaked of their employer mistreating and abusing their sales staff. That video and many Quora answers from their employees went viral. They were heavily criticized for their toxic work culture! 

my experience working at amazon

On the other hand, there are companies that are positively talked about because of the amenities and flexible work culture! For example, a vlogger posted about healthy food and professional chefs (from renowned hotel chains) at the Google office in Mumbai, to which people reacted very positively. 

Case Employee Testimonial Examples and Best Practices

We have a collection of some of the most authentic and very professional employee testimonials. Let’s dive into the list right away! 

H&M

MY EXPERIENCE WORKING AT H&M

H&M’s employee testimonials are raw, easy to create, and look natural! Most over-produced testimonials seem scripted! You want the employee testimonials to actually speak to people, and they must be relatable! 

You are essentially telling a story about what the employee’s life would be like while working at your organization! You’re essentially selling an experience. 

P&G - Day 1 Campaign

P&G has really well-produced and professional-looking employee testimonials that send a very specific message to their potential employees. 

They have a company culture in which they start the work on the growth of the employee right from day 1, and that’s why it’s called the Day 1 campaign. New employees share their experiences of their first day in this campaign! 

This is how a written testimonial should be! Notice how they have used the combination of images and text to make the testimonial seem more experiential. Prospective candidates get very attracted to workplaces like these! 

Nike

Nike’s entire brand is based on inspiration! Their employee testimonials tell motivational narratives of the employee’s journey and give a message of growth and change! Nike’s employee testimonials are testimonials are peak storytelling and branding!!!

Marriott 

Marriott is a great example of how you can leverage social media for employee testimonials and build a positive employer brand! Job candidates will be instantly attracted to this!

Noora Health

While this company or brand may not be as big as the other companies on the list, their LinkedIn employee testimonial speaks volumes of their work culture and gives a positive message of employee satisfaction. 

Bonus: Amazing Lash Studio

Amazing Lash Studio is built upon its stylists and employees! Their testimonials and career brand are nothing short of amazing!!!

Best Employee Testimonial Prompt Questions with examples

Introductory Employee Testimonial Prompt Questions to Build a Rapport

• Please introduce yourself! (starting with an introduction makes the interviewee more comfortable and builds a connection from the start)
  
  
• Please tell us about yourself and what are your hobbies. What do you like to do in your free time? (Again, this is just to make the employee more relatable and the testimonial more personal)
  
  

Prompt Questions for Context

• Please tell us about your role.
  
  
• Why did you choose to work here?
  
  
• Describe a day in the life of you working at our company

Prompt Questions about the company

• What makes our company culture unique or special to you?
  
  
• Can you share a memorable experience that reflects our company values?
  
  

Prompt Questions about the Employee’s Growth

• How has your role evolved since joining?
  
  
• What opportunities for growth and development have you experienced here?
  
  
• Describe a project or accomplishment you're proud of and how it impacted the company.
  
  

Prompt Questions about the company’s culture and its people

• How would you describe the team dynamics or collaboration within your department?
  
  
• What support or resources have helped you succeed in your role?
  
  
• Share a moment that exemplifies the positive impact of teamwork at our company.
  
  

Question for the viewer/reader

• What advice would you give to someone considering a career here?

Please feel free to tailor these questions to suit specific roles, experiences, or aspects you want to highlight about your company culture, values, and opportunities for growth. Also, encourage employees to share anecdotes and personal experiences that showcase the authenticity of their journey within the organization. 

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

In order to make sure that the testimonials are effective, it is necessary to avoid using fake stories or to have too few different viewpoints, which can make them less authentic. 

By doing this, we can promote openness and honesty in the workplace. Make sure to keep the original message of the testimonial while editing it to make sure it's clear and understandable to the audience. 

Maintain authenticity during editing, ensuring clarity without altering the testimonial's essence. Foster an environment where sharing is voluntary, empowering employees to contribute organically. By cultivating open communication and diverse voices, you'll authentically portray your workplace culture, building credibility and trust among your audience.

Lastly, don’t over-produce or over-edit your videos! Depending on your brand, selfie-shot videos or phone camera-shot videos with eye contact and natural stuttering and pauses look more natural and personal! Let your employee testimonial video be imperfect! 

Conclusion

Employee testimonials are a multifaceted tool crucial for both external branding and internal culture. By authentically showcasing your team's experiences, you can build a stronger, more relatable brand.

In essence, harnessing the power of employee testimonials isn't about perfection; it's about authenticity and relatability. It's about showcasing the real stories that shape your workplace culture and inviting others to join this journey.

Ready to harness the power of employee testimonials? Explore how Testimonial Donut can simplify this process for you. Sign up today for a free trial and start transforming your brand from the inside out.