When marketing your employer brand, you want to inject as much of your employees’ voices and perspectives as possible. Employee spotlights are a great way to get testimonials to support your EVP and company culture claims, showcasing how different people in a range of roles have consistent experiences that support it. If you’re struggling with where to start, here are seven ways you can get insights to build out your recruitment marketing content.
Send out questions.
A quick and easy way to get testimonials from employees is to email or IM them a few questions. For example, ask them about their role and team, their experience at your company, exciting projects they’re working on, why they’re proud to work for you, advice for new hires, their favorite perks/benefits, any programs they’ve taken advantage of (i.e., mentorship, education, etc.), and so on.
Sometimes, people can get overwhelmed seeing a bunch of questions and might decide not to do it. To overcome that challenge, let them know they’re welcome to respond to as many questions as they want, even if it’s just one! A single answer from an employee can still be leveraged for a bunch of things, such as a quote in a blog, a roundup blog, a testimonial on your website, or shared on social media.
Host open hours for headshots.
A fun way to break the ice and create a sense of community is to host open hours for headshots so your employees can have a consistent look on their LinkedIn, Intranet, social media, and badge photos. Find a good backdrop within the office (bonus if it has something that ties to your visual brand, such as a wall with your brand colors) and good lighting, and have people stop by to get their picture taken.
While they’re there, ask if they’d be open to their photo being used in your recruitment marketing and if they’d want to share a quote. To make it easy, have some questions prepared so their responses can (hopefully) support your employer brand message. Asking questions also takes the pressure off of them to think of something on the fly.
Encourage video testimonials.
Some people prefer to talk rather than write. And for some people, giving a quick quote for a 30-second video on their phone will be a lot easier. If you have a digital “watercooler” like an Intranet or a Slack channel, pose a weekly question and encourage people to send in their video responses to use on your social media. Or, if you like video editing, you can take multiple responses and mash it up into a longer video to post on your career site and other social channels.
Host a Q&A session for employee spotlight blogs.
Again, some people would rather talk it out. Make it easy for your employees by scheduling a quick meeting or call. Have specific questions at the ready and write down their responses as they hash it out. However, don’t feel like you need to stick to the script. If they mention something interesting, ask additional questions to dig deeper so you’ll form an authentic blog rather than something cookie cutter.
Once you’re done, clean up the notes and organize it into a proper blog layout. Think of it almost like a Q&A done in a magazine. Send the draft to the employee to give them an opportunity to check for accuracy and make tweaks to the copy before you post it.
Work with your recruiters.
The whole point of employer branding and recruitment marketing is to support your recruiters, right? So why not lean on them for interesting facts, insights, and details about the jobs they’re recruiting for and the teams they’re trying to grow? Ping your recruiters to find out their current and future hot jobs and get their perspective as to why this could excite prospective candidates.
Talk to your hiring managers.
In the same vein of talking to your recruiters, also hit up your hiring managers. They can give insight into what they’re looking for, the details about the projects people work on, their leadership style, who would be successful in this role, and so on. People like to know who they’re working for, so featuring your hiring manager can be a great way to help candidates see if they’re right for them.
Reach out to those recently promoted or recognized.
Reach out to your HR team to identify those who were recently promoted or have received awards or recognition for a job well done. These people have an interesting employee journey at your company and can talk about how they were given opportunities to grow and what they did to receive the promotion or award (this could also highlight behaviors that support your company culture). Plus, with the positivity radiating after accomplishing these things, they could be a great ambassador for your company.
Depending on your bandwidth, skill set, and what your employees are comfortable with, you can pick and choose which options work best for you. If you aren’t great at writing blogs, consider the video testimonials or having people send you a written answer. If your people aren’t crazy about videos, get a quote from them to share on social media (Canva is a great tool to create a visual image and it's free!).
There are a ton of ways to get the soundbites, all you have to do is get started!
Need help crafting content for your employee spotlights? Harlow Creative Co. has you covered! Check out our offerings here.
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