Seven Employee Testimonial Examples to Boost Your Recruitment Efforts

If you’re ever considering an important purchase in your life, you probably do lots of research before cashing in. No matter what it is — a new car, a new mattress, a new kitchen appliance — you want to know that it works the way you expect before you buy it. You’ll hear lots of dazzling details from your sales rep, but one of the best ways to get the real scoop about the product you’re eyeing? Check out authentic customer reviews and testimonials.

Job candidates for your organization think the same way. They want to hear directly from the source about what it’s like to work for your company before they decide to take a job offer from you. Even with excellent employer branding, compensation, and benefits, there’s nothing like hearing from existing employees about their positive experiences.

That’s where employee testimonials come in. By having current or former employees write up reviews about what it’s like to work for you, they can give direct insights to potential new hires during the recruitment process. 

What Are Employee Testimonials?

Employee testimonials are authentic, personal accounts from your workforce that highlight the real-life experiences, benefits, and values of working within your company. They provide a unique window into your organization's culture, work environment, and employee satisfaction, offering a candid view of a typical day in the life that’s often missing from traditional marketing materials. 

These testimonials can take various forms, from written statements to video testimonials, and they're typically shared across various channels — your company website or testimonial page, social media accounts, recruitment materials, or even in internal communications — to convey an authentic employer brand image.

Employees at all levels, from interns to C-suite executives, can share their experiences in a way that resonates with a diverse audience of job seekers. You might consider featuring a new employee talking about the onboarding process, a team lead discussing how they've been supported in their leadership journey, or a long-term employee reflecting on the company's evolution and growth. The key is diversity of perspective: employee testimonials can tell a rich, multifaceted story of your company that truly encapsulates what it's like to work there.

Why Collect Testimonials From Employees?

Collecting testimonials from employees is a strong strategy for today's business climate. These real-life narratives provide an insider view of your organization, fostering trust, enhancing your brand, and aiding in recruitment and retention.

• Enhances your employer brand: Authentic employee stories can significantly boost your brand image and reputation, which is important because a strong employer brand can potentially cut your cost per hire in half. By sharing real experiences, you demonstrate transparency and foster trust with prospective employees. It helps in showing that your organization is not just a place to work, but a community to grow professionally and personally.
• Aids in recruitment: Employee testimonials can be one of the most effective tools for attracting top talent. Potential candidates trust employees three times as much as the company to provide credible info about what it’s like to work there, according to LinkedIn research. Testimonials can give potential hires a realistic view of what it’s like to work at your company and help them decide if it’s the right fit.
• Drives engagement and retention: Employee testimonials can also inspire and motivate your current workforce. When employees see their peers being recognized and their stories shared, it can foster a sense of pride and belonging, improving job satisfaction and engagement.
• Builds customer trust: It's not just future employees who appreciate transparency — customers do, too. Seeing that your company values its employees can build trust and loyalty among your customer base. It humanizes your organization and can strengthen your company's overall reputation.
• Validates your Employee Value Proposition (EVP): Employee testimonials are proof that your organization lives up to its promises. Whether it's about offering growth opportunities, maintaining a positive work culture, or supporting work-life balance, real-life employee experiences help validate your EVP.

How To Collect Employee Testimonials

The more authentic employee testimonials are, the more impact they’ll have. Here are nine tips to help make collecting testimonials from your employees a breeze.

1. Clarify Your Objectives 

Tell your employees why you’re asking for their help! Whether you use testimonials for recruitment or to create promotional material, employees feel respected when you let them in on company objectives. 

2. Make It Voluntary 

Compulsory testimonials are against the spirit of the idea and can even invite resentment. For example, asking an employee who doesn’t feel comfortable to do one anyway could lead to a negative statement. Instead, give employees the choice to speak up if they want.

3. Simplify the Process

Remember to also make it easy and convenient for employees to give testimonials. That means providing the option of doing it via text or video, giving employees a convenient window of time to do it, and allowing them to submit it remotely.  

4. Allow the Option for Anonymity 

Although most employees will be okay with using their names in their testimonials, it's a good idea to let them do it anonymously if they want. This can help them feel more comfortable being themselves in their statement. 

5. Prioritize Diversity

Hearing from diverse employees is another great way to show what working at your company is like. Remember to include testimonials from people of different ages, lifestyles, and ethnic backgrounds, including neurodiverse employees. For a complete diversity snapshot, you should also get statements from people at every level of your organization, from front-line workers to the C-suite.

6. Provide Guidance 

Give employees some help and support them through the process. For instance, brainstorming some employee experience questions provides a starting point to help them approach their testimonials.

7. Encourage Authenticity

Employees will feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts in a safe space where they can be honest. Other ways to ensure you get compelling and authentic testimonials are listening to employees’ stories, valuing their experiences, and asking them to give their opinions in their own words. 

8. Never Edit for Content

It’s okay to edit testimonials for brevity and clarity, but you should never alter a message or present employees' comments out of context. 

9. Show Appreciation

Remember to show appreciation to employees who provide testimonials with a gesture of gratitude, like a personalized thank-you note. Doing this will acknowledge their efforts, reinforce your organization's values of openness and respect, and encourage future testimonials and higher employee engagement. 

Where To Share Employee Testimonials

Where you share testimonial examples can impact their effectiveness. The best platform for your organization will depend on the work you do. For example, sharing on LinkedIn would be appropriate for a B2B software company, while Instagram stories might be more suitable for a fashion retail brand. 

Places to consider include:

• Company website: A website is a company's handshake. It’s one of the first places prospective employers will go to vet life at your organization's reputation. 
• Social media: Video, text, and images all move fast on social media. You can leverage the speed of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), or TikTok to share your employee endorsements.
• Recruitment materials: Recruitment brochures and emails are great places to include testimonials, as they are likely to reach your target audience. 
• Internal Communications: Employee testimonials can also help boost internal morale, so including them in a monthly newsletter or company intranet makes sense. 
• Career fairs and events: These are terrific opportunities to attract fresh talent, and positive employee testimonials are an excellent recruiting tool. 
• Email campaigns: Email marketing is still integral to online recruitment campaigns and is a great place to include testimonials to showcase your company culture.  
• Press releases and PR materials: Success stories and employee experiences are great additions to press releases and PR materials that bolster your company's image. 
• Onboarding materials: Many HR departments add testimonials in their onboarding materials to get new employees excited and started off on the right foot.
• Video platforms: YouTube and Vimeo are platforms where you can post your employees' video testimonials. You can also easily create links to these videos and include them in any of these other distribution channels.

Seven Employee Testimonial Examples to Inspire You

To help illustrate the power and versatility of social proof from your best talent, we've compiled several types of employee testimonials to show you the format they might take. Each testimonial emphasizes a different facet of the employee experience, ranging from professional development to company values.

1. Encouragement of Professional Development

"At [Company Name], I've not only been able to grow in my current role but also explore other areas of interest. The leadership team encourages us to learn and step outside of our comfort zones — it's been a transformative experience!"

2. Appreciation of Work-Life Wellness

"Since joining [Company Name], I've found a place that understands the importance of work-life wellness. With flexible hours and the opportunity to work from home, I feel trusted and valued as an employee and as an individual with a life outside work."

3. Recognition of Inclusive Culture

"What I love about working at [Company Name] is its commitment to diversity and inclusion. I feel heard, respected, and valued for my unique perspectives. This supportive environment has helped me bring my best self to work every day."

4. Commendation for Opportunities

"At [Company Name], opportunities are always knocking. I've had the chance to work on exciting projects and with inspiring people. The career development and learning opportunities here are boundless!"

5. Acknowledgement of Effective Leadership

"I’m continuously impressed by the leadership at [Company Name]. They set clear expectations, provide valuable feedback, and always have time for their employees. It’s a pleasure working in an environment where the leaders walk the talk."

6. Praise for Team Collaboration

"The collaborative spirit at [Company Name] is unmatched. Working across teams, learning from diverse skill sets, and moving towards common goals has been a fantastic experience. It truly feels like a united community, not just a workplace."

7. Admiration for Company Values

"The values of [Company Name] aren't just words on a wall. They’re lived out daily by the people who work here. From sustainability initiatives to community outreach, it’s amazing to work for a company that practices what it preaches."

Create a Positive Experience Through Wellness Initiatives

If you want to collect great employee testimonials from your team, then you’ll need to create a positive experience for them first. One way to do that is by focusing on their wellbeing, both inside and outside of work. For many employees, their wellness is essential for them to have a positive work experience and remain loyal to their employer. For 83% of people, it’s just as important as their salary.

More than nine in 10 HR leaders agree that wellness programs are important for talent acquisition, too, according to our 2023 Return on Wellbeing Study. These initiatives show employees that you care for them, you value their needs, and you have resources in place to support their unique wellness journeys. Eighty-five percent of HR leaders we spoke to said that wellness programs even helped them decrease their talent management costs.

You can realize the same amazing return on your investment in your workforce by launching a wellness program today. Speak to one of our wellbeing specialists to learn about crafting the perfect program for attracting top talent!

References

• 40+ Stats For Companies to Keep In Mind for 2021. Glassdoor. Retrieved March 28, 2023 from https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/resources/hr-and-recruiting-stats/ 
• The Ultimate List of Employer Brand Statistics. LinkedIn Talent Solutions. Retrieved March 28, 2023 from https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/business/talent-solutions/global/en_us/c/pdfs/ultimate-list-of-employer-brand-stats.pdf