The power of social proof is undeniable. When getting ready to undertake a big renovation project, plan a vacation or make a large purchase, many individuals seek help to narrow down options from family members, friends, co-workers, review sites and social media. Not surprisingly, job seekers do the same as they strive to find an employer that is well suited for their career goals.
Employers can leverage the word of existing employees to persuade job seekers to think about a position within their organization. Below are some action steps that can be taken to capitalize on the impact of employee testimonials in your efforts at talent acquisition:
Source Testimonials from Social Media
Do not await opportune comments to drop in your lap; find their original location. This can be done by scouring social media for positive references to your company by employees. Reach out to those teammates and ask permission to use their comments as official testimonials for your website. You can even take a screenshot of the actual post and use it on your website as an authentic image.
Use Special Events to Your Advantage
Consider particular activities or events that the organization hosts during the year and use these opportunities to collect targeted testimonials regarding the company. For example, an event that concentrates on building culture, you could take the opportunity to have a discussion with a teammate regarding what it means to him or her and how he or she finds the event. You can use a fun picture along with the testimonial to maximize its impact.
Post Testimonials on Several Pages
It is a good idea to put one or two of your employee testimonials on several of the pages on your career sites. To maximize views and overall impact, you should target the most heavily-trafficked pages, whether they are actual job postings or informational pages regarding careers at the organization. Use Google Analytics and/or the applicant tracking software reporting dashboard to examine data about the most heavily-trafficked pages.
Map the Journey of the Job Seeker
Consider the progress of your candidates throughout the hiring process and present testimonials that have the highest possible impact for that point of the voyage into the experience. As an example, a testimonial that highlights the empowerment of the client services roles in your company could serve as a banner in the email signature of the individual being recruited. This allows an in-process candidate for that department to notice it when his or her email is used to respond to setting up a face-to-face interview.
