How to Use Employee Stories to Make Your Employer Branding and New Hire Orientation More Effective

Most employers do a really poor job of communicating their Employer Brand. Just go onto Youtube and put in “Great place to work” or “employee testimonials” and watch a few. While some are incredibly well produced, what they have in style they lack in substance.

While saying things like “I love the people I work with” or “We get to do really cool work with really cool people” is fine as a start, you need to say more than just that if you want to diferentiate your organization from others competing for talent.

Just Say “No” to Interchangable, Say Nothing Employee Testimonial Videos

How many of these employee testimonial videos can you watch before they all blur together?

How does one video featuring employees stating in general terms why they love working for their employer differ from all the other videos doing the same?

How many times can you hear phrases like:

“High integrity”

“Great environment”

“Great opportunities for growth”

“Work with great people”

…before they become meaningless?

This is Where Stories Come to the Rescue

Communicating your Employer Brand in a way that makes it meaningful and memorable is yet another context where storytelling shines.

So for instance, rather than just say “We empower employees”, give an example.

Tell a story.

Rather than just say “I love it here because even as a new employee, you can make a difference”, give an example of this.

Tell a story.

But What If We Don’t Have the Budget for Fancy Videography?

Not to worry, especially with Gen Y talent who grew up in a Youtube world of homegrown videos. Videos that look more “grassroots and homegrown” than corporate slick are perceived as more honest and real. They also communicate “here’s a real message from a peer” rather than “more CorporateSpeak BS from some older guy in a suit”.

Notes Digital Media guru, Sally Falkow, named a Top 1% Social Media Influencer by Kred:”With the technology available today there is no need to spend tons of money or time on a video. That said, the production value must be as good as you can possibly get it. People respond well to videos they see as “real and genuine” rather than corporate hype.  But they do prefer a good quality video over a grainy, shaky, badly produced one.”

Here’s an Example

Here’s an example of using storytelling in your employee testimonial videos which I shared with participants at the Strengthening Your Talent Acquisition, Onboarding, and Employee Engagement Strategy Through Storytelling program I gave, along with Diana Oreck of Ritz Carlton, at the ERE conference this spring.

The video is from one of my favorite local organizations–the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland. It was shot with a Kodak Zi8 and edited with Microsofte Live Movie Maker by a real video editing neophyte (moi).

The employee sharing why she loves working at the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, is Lynne McGhee, Community Relationships Manager.

Notice how after she states in general terms why she loves working there, she shares some examples of what she is talking about.

She shares some stories.

Notice how the stories make the qualities she speaks about come alive. They give you a clearer understanding of what it is like working there.

Also, notice the text commentary in the vidoe and how it helps communicate directly to the type of person they want to attract. It speaks to the work experience qualities they care about and what motivates them.