If You’re Afraid of Employee-Generated Content, You Have a Bigger Problem Than Just Employer Branding

By Jade Mackenzie

In a previous Press Play article, Gary Zurnamer wrote about the need for authenticity in your employer branding (EB) content. The fact is, people want to hear directly from your employees: what their real, genuine views are about working for your company.

But this desire for authenticity often leads to questions or concerns from leadership. How do we know what employees are going to say in their videos?

The short answer is — you can never know exactly what employees are going to say if you empower them to create content.?

This can be a pretty serious shift for companies that may have previously opted for scripted and polished EB material. Large companies will often have invested significant time and money to nail down their corporate messaging. It follows that they would want every word of their EB content to be as “on message” as possible, right?

The truth is that the newest generation of jobseekers is less convinced by finely tuned messaging and scripted content. They aren’t looking for a sales pitch from a prospective employer; they just want to genuinely understand what it’s like to work somewhere and who they’ll be working with. Employee-generated content allows these potential hires to get direct, authentic answers from the people who might become their coworkers or managers.

Companies that are hesitant to put employees at the center of their employer branding should be asking themselves why. Where does the key concern about loosening the reins stem from? Is it possible there’s a bigger problem than just external employer branding?

Zooming in on the problem

Let’s put the question two ways.?

Are you afraid to loosen the reins on employee content because:

1. You don’t think you’ll get useful content?
2. Your employees might say something negative?

These are both fair, legitimate questions. I’d encourage you to answer them honestly, because this will help determine how you should approach the rest of your EB program.

It’s easy to understand why some companies might be concerned about employee-generated content being less effective than the corporate videos they’re used to. A lot of time, money and effort goes into scripting, recording, editing and publishing a professionally created recruitment video. The process could involve consultants and focus groups, a full production crew, and the end result is a video in which every word and image has been carefully chosen. Employee-generated content might seem a little “lo-fi” in comparison.?

Employee-generated content might never be as precise and slick as a corporate recruiting video, but that’s the whole point — the power of it is its authenticity. And just because the recording of content sits in the hands of your employees doesn’t mean it can’t be planned and executed effectively.

If your key concern is that employees are unhappy and may speak negatively about the business in their EB videos, you’re facing a much bigger problem than just tightening up your employer brand. Well-crafted employer marketing may be able to mask internal cultural issues in the short term but, over time, negative feedback will inevitably surface on platforms like Glassdoor, and the poor employee experience will likely result in employee turnover and talent retention issues.?

If this is where you’re at as a business, it’ll be wiser to shift strategic focus to your culture first before prioritizing external EB efforts.?

The first step to influencing your culture is to understand it. Anonymous engagement surveys administered via platforms like Culture Amp — coincidentally one of Vouch ’s lovely customers — can provide employees with a safe channel to share their honest feedback and arm you with actionable insights to guide your efforts. Follow up pulse checks administered every three to six months can help you track progress and measure results, and your most improved or top scoring questions could even end up being a great jumping off point for your employee-generated content push.

Focusing on unique stories and experiences

If your culture is healthy and employee engagement is where it needs to be, there are a few proven strategies that can result in great content:?

• Don’t think of EB campaigns like workplace reviews: Good EB content isn’t about capturing employee testimonials — it’s about facilitating employee storytelling. Consider the narrative you’re looking to craft and ask questions aligned with it. Recruiting for an open role? Ask a high-performing employee already in the seat what important problem their team solves for your customers, what they enjoy most about their role, and which skills they believe are essential for success. The result will be a genuine look into the daily life in the position; this is gold for potential candidates.??

• Lean into your strengths: Take the time to understand your cultural strengths and which benefits or aspects of your employee value proposition (EVP) your employees appreciate the most. Reach out to employees who have been positively impacted by these offerings (for example, employee resource groups, parental leave policies, flexible work arrangements or career development opportunities) and invite them to share why it was meaningful or how it helped them in their role. You’ll be surprised by the feel-good stories you uncover.?

• Tap into your cultural champions: Work with your team leads or HR business partners to identify the folks across the business who are thriving and contributing positively in their unique way to your culture. Ask questions to understand what energizes them in their role, which aspects of your culture help them thrive, and what surprised them most about the company when they joined. Their view of life at your organization could provide powerful inspiration for others.
• Amplify diverse voices and uncover unique stories: Your talent pool is full of people with different values, drivers and needs. Diversify your content mix by involving a variety of employees in your EB campaigns — your nextgen leaders, neurodivergent superstars, mentors and mentees, allies and advocates, parents and carers, tenured employees or community heroes. This can be a great way to promote genuine aspects of your EVP in an authentic and colorful way.

Trust and authenticity

The power of employee-generated content is its authenticity. With the right approach and tools, these campaigns can be planned well and executed effectively, and companies can still have a hand in guiding the narrative. If your culture is healthy, I’d encourage you to trust in the process and start putting your employees at the center of your employer branding. If you have concerns about what your employees might say, there may be a need to focus your efforts internally first to avoid replacing one challenge around talent attraction with an even bigger issue around retention.???

Beyond attracting talent, employee storytelling can help you understand the people you already have on your team. A consistent employee storytelling practice helps you keep your finger on the pulse of your organization — and the value of this can be immense.?