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How To Leverage Employee Stories For Talent Acquisition

By Emily Neal24/03/2023February 13th, 2024No Comments
how to leverage employee stories for talent acquisition

Employee stories are an incredible way to use employer branding to reach top talent in your industry. 🙌

Today you’ll learn how to leverage employee stories for talent acquisition and recruitment success.

Everything from how to discover the best employee success stories in your company, ways to share them, to tracking the results.

Let’s get started! 👇

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Why Storytelling Is Important For Talent Acquisition

Storytelling plays a vital role in talent acquisition. Here’s why:

Let’s say you’re starting a talent acquisition campaign, ahead of a recruitment drive.

You’re also wondering how to level up your employer brand to attract the right candidates.

What’s the goal?

To communicate your company culture in a way that resonates with top talent.

How to achieve this?

In a word: storytelling. 💬

I don’t just mean telling the story of your company. While that is important, we’re going to laser focus on employee stories.

Why? 🤔

Well, you know that compelling stories are emotionally engaging.

And people trust people.

So put the two together:

Compelling 👏 Employee 👏 Stories 👏

Employees put a face to your company (well… many faces).

Their stories are relatable, memorable, and inspiring. 💡

You want to stand out from your competitors, right?

Storytelling is the way to do that. It’s the best way to showcase the unique strengths and values of your company. What makes you different?

By weaving employee stories into recruitment efforts, you give candidates a glimpse into what they actually want to see… 

The real experiences and successes of those who work in the organization. 

This creates a deeper connection between the candidate and your company. 🙌

And the impact lasts beyond the recruitment stage! Storytelling helps create meaningful, longer-lasting relationships between employers and employees.

In short, storytelling is a powerful tool for talent acquisition and employer branding. 

It’ll help you attract, engage, and retain top talent… and it works in any industry.

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The Impact of Employee Stories on Employer Branding

I touched on employer branding above, but let’s dive deeper. 🤿

Why are employee stories so important for employer branding?

Well, employer branding is all about showcasing company culture.

Who makes that company culture? Employees. 

By highlighting employee experiences and successes, employers can curate a powerful narrative.

When candidates see content from employees, they’re much more likely to trust the company.

In fact, 76% of people trust content from individuals over brands. 🤯

Employee stories humanize companies.

So if you’re trying to attract the best candidates in your industry…

You need to emphasize that your company values employees, and invests in their personal growth and career development.

Top candidates are looking for more than “just a job”. We want to be part of something meaningful and rewarding. 🏆

In short, your employer brand is how you position your company as a great place to work. Build trust by showing what working at your company is actually like.

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Identifying Employee Stories to Use in Talent Acquisition

OK, so employee stories are ideal for talent acquisition and employer branding. ✅

But how can I find employee stories to share? 😫

Here are a few things to keep in mind, and best methods to use:

How To Find the Most Compelling Employee Stories To Share

First, it’s essential to look for stories that align with your company’s values and goals. Emphasize what makes your company stand out from your competitors.

They’re the kind of stories that make you think: “wow, I want to work for this company!” 😍

The key is to gather stories that demonstrate employee growth and career development. 🌱

Share the story of an Account Executive who started as an SDR, or the Engineering Apprentice who now leads a whole team.

These stories show that your company invests in employee careers. Opportunity for promotion is always attractive!

Talk to employees. It sounds obvious, but make sure not to skip this step! Getting employee perspectives ensures that you represent their experiences authentically.

Besides, employees know each other. They might recommend the perfect candidate for an employee spotlight feature. 👀

Identifying the most compelling employee stories requires a thoughtful approach. 

You’ll need to consider company values and unique strengths, while asking employees for input. By doing this, you’ll be able to find stories that resonate with potential candidates.

Where to start?

Gather employee feedback and testimonials. ✅

Unless you work in a small company, you’re not likely to be able to talk to everyone personally. Here’s how to streamline the process 👇

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6 Ways to Gather Employee Testimonials and Feedback

1. Conduct Surveys ✅

Surveys are an excellent way to gather feedback from employees about their experiences working for your company.

Ask them about their career path, and how their values align with company values.

2. Hold Focus Groups 🙋🏾‍♀️

Focus groups are an effective way to gain insights in a more personal setting.

In a focus group, a small group of employees can discuss their experiences and give you quotable testimonials.

3. Interviews 🎙

Conduct interviews with individual employees to learn about their career journey in your company.

Find out how your organization helps support their goals. You can do this in person, over the phone, or via video call.

4. Use Social Media 💬

Social media platforms, especially LinkedIn, are a goldmine for understanding employee perspectives.

Use social media to find out who your employee influencers are.

These employees are engaged, and much more likely to agree to an employee story feature. They’re already sharing content!

5. Use Your Employee Advocacy Platform 👩🏻‍💻

If your company uses employee advocacy software, you’re already a step ahead. 🪜

Write an internal post asking employees to nominate people they think should be highlighted.

Create polls. Ask for testimonials. Use leaderboards to see who is the most active on social to find your most engaged employees.

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The Benefits of Involving Employees in Storytelling

I know we’re focusing on talent acquisition…

But if you need leadership buy-in before leading focus groups and sending out surveys… 

Here are a bunch of extra benefits you’ll see from involving employees in storytelling:

⭐️ Authenticity

When employees are involved in storytelling, the stories are more authentic and relatable. Potential candidates can see themselves in the stories and get a sense of what it would be like to work at your company.

⭐️ Credibility

Employee stories have more credibility than marketing messages or employer brand campaigns. When employees share their stories, they provide a valuable insider’s perspective. They’re more believable!

⭐️ Employee Engagement

Involving employees in storytelling increases their engagement and commitment. When employees feel valued and listened to, they are more likely to be loyal to your company, and advocate for you.

⭐️ Retention

Empowering employees to tell their stories also contributes to talent retention. When employees feel proud of their organization and the work they do, they are more likely to stay for the long-term.

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Crafting Employee Stories for Talent Acquisition

Now it’s time to craft employee stories that align with your company values and goals. ✍️

Don’t just quote employee testimonials. 🙈

Especially if you work for an enterprise business, you need to curate all the responses you receive!

Use a deliberate, intentional approach for the most effective result.

The 6 Step Process 👇

1. Identify Your Company’s Values and Goals

You might have a bunch of values and goals, but which ones do you want to emphasize for talent acquisition? Focus on these to guide your storytelling process.

2. Choose Key Themes

After establishing values and goals, what key themes do you want to convey? Example themes for talent acquisition include innovation, customer service, collaboration, or career progression.

3. Pick Your Storytellers

Find the employees who can best embody the key themes. Use the methods described above (surveys, employee advocacy platforms, social media) to identify them. The perfect candidates demonstrate excellence in their work, have progressed within your company, and provide a unique perspective.

4. Craft Your Stories

Write your employee stories in a way that aligns with the key themes you have identified. Use examples to demonstrate how the employees embody your company’s values and goals.

5. Refine The Stories

Edit the stories to ensure that they are compelling and effectively convey your message. It’s super important that the stories are authentic. They need to accurately reflect the experiences of the employees. Get their feedback!

6. Distribute!

Share the stories through a variety of channels. Don’t let them hide on an ‘About Us’ website page! Amplify employee stories on social media, and don’t forget to use employee advocacy to get the message out.

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How to Balance Authenticity and Messaging in Employee Stories

Telling authentic employee stories humanizes your brand, enabling you to connect with talent on a deeper level. 🤝

Employee stories need to align with employer branding goals while remaining genuine. 

But how can I balance authenticity with messaging?

Work with employees to craft their stories.

Provide participating employees with guidelines. ✅

Let them know what you’re looking for. If you want to emphasize career progression or certain values, tell employees from the start! 💬

Don’t lose sight of the goal: encouraging employees to share their real experiences, in a way that reinforces your company values.

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Where To Distribute Employee Stories For Maximum Results

First, you’ll want to feature employee stories in recruitment marketing and employer branding content.

I’m talking about career pages on your website, blog posts, advertising, and social media content.

Get creative! 🎨

You can use employee stories during the interview process too.

Provide candidates with a glimpse into the real experiences and successes of your colleagues. This helps them make an informed decision about whether they fit in with your company culture.

Employee stories can also be leveraged in employee referral programs.

When employees share their stories with friends and acquaintances, they help attract talent, saving time and resources on recruitment efforts. 🏆

An Employee Advocacy program takes this even further. By creating and sharing content, employees aid talent acquisition through their networks. 🔥

Remember that people trust people.

We’re all much more likely to trust and believe an employee’s story on social media if it comes from them rather than the company.

Social Media Today revealed that employee posts have 800% higher engagement rates than brands. 🔥

DSMN8 enables your company to capitalize on this. We make it easy for employees to create, curate, share and track content, all in one platform. 🙌

Finally, don’t forget to use employee stories to establish a strong sense of community.

When leaders share stories of employee successes, they create a culture of recognition and appreciation. 🥰

This motivates current employees to continue contributing to the company’s success!

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How to Measure the Impact of Employee Stories on Talent Acquisition

Measuring the impact of employee stories on talent acquisition efforts can be challenging, but several metrics provide insights into their effectiveness.

One metric to look at is the number of applications received from candidates who have engaged with employee stories.

This can be tracked through applicant tracking systems, recruitment analytics tools, or through UTM links.

Another metric to consider is the quality of candidates who apply after engaging with employee stories.

For example, if they fit with the company culture and align with company values. This can be assessed through candidate screening processes, interviews, or surveys.

Tracking internal metrics like employee engagement, retention, and referral rates also indicates the overall impact of employee stories.

Use your employee advocacy platform analytics to find out which employee stories are the most engaging.

With DSMN8, you can see how many employee shares each piece of content received, how many clicks it got, and more.

This helps your employer branding and marketing team see which employee stories work best on social media. 🙌

These metrics allow you to make informed decisions about your talent acquisition strategy.

Find out which stories are the most effective in attracting and retaining top talent. Then adjust your content based on the best results! 🚀

It’s time to showcase real employee stories to level up your talent acquisition and employer branding strategy!

Feature employee stories in your recruitment marketing campaigns, interviewing process, social media content, and most importantly, through your employees with an employee advocacy platform.

You’ll be reaching top talent in no time! 🙌

This results in a connected team working together to build a powerful employer brand.

It’s a win-win for both your company and your employees. 🏆

Ready to get started with employee advocacy?

Book a demo!

Prefer to speak with us first? No problem.

Schedule a call with one of the team.

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Emily Neal

SEO and Content Specialist at DSMN8. Emily has 10 years experience blogging, and is a pro at Pinterest Marketing, reaching 1 million monthly views. She’s all about empowering employees to grow their personal brands and become influencers.