Empowering Your Employees to be Storytellers

Recently I reflected on how storytelling influenced my decision to join LinkedIn. During my hiring process, I was lucky to meet two team members for coffee and I remember them enthusiastically telling me stories about InDay - which is short for Investment Day at LinkedIn, a day every month the company gives back to employees to invest in themselves. I heard stories about trampolining (yikes!), learning to paint and working with local charities. I was inspired by what I heard and how genuinely passionate both employees were about the culture and values of the company they worked for.

Candidates want to know your company's story. Guess what is currently the biggest challenge candidates face in their career search? Not knowing enough about your company! As Brendan Browne wrote recently, almost everyone now is a candidate and what do candidates want to know about your company the most? It's culture & values! Globally 66% of candidates rate this at the top of their list and in some countries like Malaysia, it's even higher at 71%.

We therefore need to rethink how to connect with talent. Storytelling enables messages to become memorable. Who is better to tell your brand story than your employees! So, here are some tips for empowering both your recruiters and employees to become storytellers.

1.Firstly, what are the important components of your brand story?  

• Stories that attract with purpose by being specific about company vision, mission, culture and career transformation stories. At LinkedIn, all our Recruiters go through 'Master Storyteller' training so they can learn how to tell the LinkedIn story, which includes our start-up beginnings, vision, mission and now collective opportunity with Microsoft. Millennials especially are driving the need for companies to be clearer on purpose because of their desire the work at purpose driven companies.
• What's a day in the life at your organisation like? What makes you unique? Using LinkedIn's new video upload feature, it's never been easier to upload and share an authentic insider's view of what it's like to work at your company. Instagram is another powerful social platform for potential candidates to engage with you on. Millennials see their personal and professional brands as one, so love share what's going on in their day.
• What does Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging look and feel like in your organisation? When thinking about gender diversity, it’s even more important to highlight your authentic brand and story. Our data shows that women job seekers really index on culture and values when considering a job move and are keen to understand employee perspectives. 

2. How to start applying this to your recruitment practices?   

• Help your candidates find you! You need to be on social platforms where your candidates are and have your Careers site optimised for mobile. Globally, 2/3 job seekers search for jobs on mobile devices, however in Asia research suggests that only 10% of MNC companies have their careers site optimised for mobile.
• Empower your employees to recruit!  Employee referrals have become the top source of quality hires. Not surprising given referred employees are faster to hire, perform better and stay longer. This is especially true in South East Asia, where 56% of hires come from referrals vs the global average of 48%. 
• Build a sense of belonging on social platforms. Simple ideas like Recruiters sharing a photo when their new hires joins can go a long way to helping new employees feel welcome and also show potential candidates the type of talent they would be working with.

3. Why does this matter so much? Socially engaged employees have brand power  

“Digital transformation starts with your employees and how your culture empowers them to transform and grow the business” – Kathleen Hogan, Chief People Officer - Microsoft 

• Socially engaged companies are more likely to attract and retain top talent, plus drive greater lead generation!
• Blog posts can be your top asset for creating social engagement and why not create a little bit of healthy internal competition while you're at it? Our APAC Talent Acquisition team has been competing in a team 'blogathan' this year with the goal of each recruiter writing one post a quarter. Team members have written their first ever blog posts and we've had candidates reach out after reading them.
• ‘Elevate while you Caffeinate’! Sharing digital content regularly is another way to build employee advocacy. For example in our global TA team, recruiters share thought leadership articles with their network via the product Elevate while downing their morning coffee! Easy habit to create. We can then track how many potential candidates engage with our brand after reading the articles.

Unlocking the potential of brand advocacy and storytelling is a simple but powerful way to create emotional connection with candidates and brand engagement.

I'd love to hear in the comments section below if storytelling has ever influenced your candidate journey? Or how storytelling plays a part in your company's culture?