Sharing what’s happening in your organisation right now (as we start to come out of the global pandemic) with candidates can be challenging. But being empathetic and transparent is a great place to start. 

“Adding employee stories gives your underlying message emotional and substantive heft. And it’s just what candidates want and need to hear. Here’s why you need employee stories in your candidate-facing content right now.” 

Your audience wants to know how you’re treating your employees

“According to a LinkedIn study on employer brand during COVID-19, coronavirus-related posts are getting more engagement than other posts. Especially those focusing on how companies are helping.

“A major employer brand recently told us that their COVID-related recruitment marketing content is performing 40 percent higher than other types of content. Their candidate audience really wants to know what it’s like to work through the crisis at their company.” 

It’s more than just candidates searching for this information. The general public is too. 

“A recent survey conducted by People Magazine found that more than 89 percent of respondents are monitoring the treatment of employees by the companies they work for during the crisis. The general public is paying close attention to who is laying off workers, offering paid sick days, giving back to the communities, and more.”

As always, and especially now, how companies treat their employees form the public’s opinion about their leadership and employer brand.

The single most important action organisations can make to build trust with the public is by “treating employees well.”

“Using your employee stories to build trust with candidates is always important, but especially in an uncertain world where every corporate action says something about your workplace culture.”  

Your culture has just been defined for you 

Who are you? If you we’re sure how to define and describe your organisation’s culture before the crisis, you know now.

“Employee safety considerations, converting to a virtual workplace, maintaining employee engagement through Zoom, declining revenues, increased collective emotional stress … a swirl of circumstances has forced your company to make a variety of people decisions. And, most of these decisions showed your real values.”

For some organisations, the global crisis simply reinforced who you are and what you stand for. But for others, it may have instigated some reinvention. 

“Connect employee experiences to the larger story you’re already telling through your corporate actions. Emphasize impact. Candidates are already making assumptions about your culture based on what they’re hearing from your employees, but they need you to connect the dots. 

We did this with our messaging. Stories Inc. co-founder Scott Thompson publicly stated that he defines good leadership as doing everything to avoid layoffs.” 

Organisations have been sharing personal stories from their team members about their experiences during the crises, including how leadership impacted their experience. 

Sharing real stories is far more impactful and meaningful to candidates and external audiences as it connects your organisation’s actions to employee experience, and gives people more context and insight. 

 Employees want to share

“Your team members have been through a lot. They want to talk about their lives now, and how they’ve been supported at work (or not). You still want to vet employee stories to ensure they’re helpful to candidates. But, there is likely a plethora to choose from right now.” 

During crisis events, people typically look to media to stay informed, pass time, find comfort and stay connected and informed. This applies to both life and work. 

“Also, according to a study conducted by the New York Times about why people share content on social media, 84 percent of respondents said they want to spread the word about something they believe in. Your company’s actions have impacted your employees’ emotional, financial, and physical wellbeing. You’ve likely given them a reason to share.”  

So don’t delay, share employee stories now. 

As you think through how to best communicate what’s happening at your organisation with candidates, include employee stories in your strategy, as they show the real, human impact of your organisation’s decisions on your people.

“Specific employee stories further reinforce and define who you are an employer, and that’s exactly what the world wants to know right now. “

Source 

Why you should be sharing employee stories right now

Lauryn Sargeant

Recruiting Daily 

The post Why you should be sharing employee stories right now  appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Why are employee profile stories important?

Employee profile stories are the best way to showcase your authentic employer brand to potential candidates. We’ve shared why word of mouth is the most effective recruitment marketing strategy, which is why candidates are far more likely to read, connect with (and believe!) real stories from your employees than any of your other content. They can gain real insight into your organisation’s roles, opportunities, challenges, as well as the type of people they could potentially be working with.

You can even include links to your profile stories or embed videos within your recruitment advertisements to relevant roles. For example, if you are recruiting for a Marketing Officer, you can showcase the story of one of your current Marketing Officers. Providing these types of truthful insights encourages the right people to apply, while repelling the wrong people.  

Not to mention, in today’s day and age, content is king! So creating shareable content for your social channels will boost your brand. Use pictures and create short posts on your channels with links to your profile stories. Using attractive, eye-catching pictures of your people is far more engaging for candidates than boring stock images!

It’s a great way to engage your current workforce and create brand advocates through creating content for your people to share on their own networks. Encouraging them to create their own short videos about their roles is a great way to trust and empower them.

Profile stories can also authentically showcase your organisation’s missions, values, and culture through the types of questions you ask and the images you use.

How do you create employee profile stories?

There are a number of ways to create employee profile stories, including:

• interviewing your people and writing an article
• interviewing your people and creating a video
• asking your people to create their own videos.

Keeping your target candidates in mind, start by deciding which of the above formats would be most beneficial in suiting your content needs, channels, and brand. You may prefer to outsource your content creation by using an external employer branding specialist or professional videographer.

Select a number of people to interview who feel comfortable having their story and image shared, and are engaged and enthusiastic about their roles. Profile people in roles you recruit for regularly!

Design your interview. If you opt for the interview format, design your interview structure. Some of your questions might include:

• Tell me about your role.
• What do you love about your role?
• What has been one of your favourite experiences?
• What have you found most challenging?
• Describe the people in our organisation.
• What makes [our organisation] different to other organisations?

Depending on your brand and culture, you might even like to include a personal question about their hobbies and interests outside of work to add some depth and personality to the story.

Name your story. The most eye-catching story titles have marketing in mind. What can you offer candidates and what are they interested in? Career development? Flexibility and benefits? For example, instead of titling your story “Meet Allan”, you could use the title, “Allan’s journey of career growth”, or “Stay-at-home parent to Marketing Manager: Meet Allan.”

Include the employee’s position title as a subheader.

Source real images! Images are a great way to communicate your culture. For example, if your workplace culture is relaxed and casual, you could use candid pictures of your people outside the office. However, if your workplace is more formal, you might opt to use consistent, professional photos of your people in business attire.

Publish your stories on your careers website. Distribute links to the people your stories are about for them to share on their networks, and share links with the rest of your people for them to share too!  

Storytelling is such a meaningful and effective way to communicate a message. Storytelling through employee profile stories speaks directly to candidates in a very memorable, authentic way. They enable you to create brand advocates by engaging your current people, and giving you engaging, shareable content to promote your employer brand. Craft your profile stories in a style that suits your brand by tweaking the format, the questions you ask, and the pictures you use.

Has your organisation published employee profile stories? Share a link in the comments section. 

The post Why employee profile stories are the best way to build your employer brand appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.