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I’d like to share a framework to get you started in gathering real, substantive and compelling employee stories.

The point of a story framework like this one is to find examples that are uniquely you, to show candidates what it is truly like to work at your company. Then you’ll have wonderful stories to share with candidates that back up your brand, attract the right candidates, and increase employee retention.

That’s really something! Go, you!

Here’s another employee storytelling framework for your tool belt (thanks for the great question from the audience!).

The Moment You Knew…

These types of questions lead to A Thing that Happened, and usually your company did something to contribute to the employee’s moment in some way.

A few of my favorite questions in this framework are below.

The Moment You Knew You Could Really be Yourself

This matters because your storytellers are people you want more of. So, you want to get to know them and you want their personalities to shine through. You’re really asking them to tell you who they really are, and it’s important for the candidate to see that the culture of the company accepts it.

Recently, we worked with a hotel chain where they encourage team members to bring their personality to work. Meet Emmanuel, a front desk agent with a passion for fashion:

“Sometimes I walk into a meeting doing a runway walk. And everyone’s like, ‘Oooh, there he is. He’s here.’ And I’m like, ‘do you like it?’ And they’re like, ‘We love it.’”

And another similar example from one of our team members here at Stories Inc. 

“It was so cool that my coworkers were taking an interest in a personal passion I had,” Bernadette said. Watch her tell her story below:

The Moment You Knew You Found your Best Friend at Work

Why use this one? Your company probably did something to set the stage. And your coworker-turned-bestie probably did something awesome and speaks to the types of people candidates can expect to work with if they join you.

Recently we worked with a large government contractor to fill their career site with both general and specific story content (photos and videos, all launching soon).

One of the program managers we interviewed described her first few months on the job directing a large international program. It was exciting, intense and required long hours and late nights.

Because she lived an hour away from the office, on one of those late nights her boss offered to let her sleep on her couch. The following week, Kathy took her up on the offer again. It became a routine on late work nights, and they became best friends.  

Their friendship runs even deeper than those couch nights. Every other year, Kathy is joined by her boss-turned-bestie while she takes a 10-day sailing trip in remembrance of her sister who passed away from breast cancer.

The Moment You Knew You Made the Right Decision to Join the Company

We filled an entire career site full of stories that brought employees’ career journeys to life at CSL Behring. Here’s one of our favorites:

“When I first became a septic operator, I was on a line that filled vials. One day, the vials weren’t coming out of the machine right. My team members said, ‘Now that you have learned how to fix the machine, we’re going to let you fix it.’

So I got in there and I was able to get it just perfect. It was like, ‘Wow – I can do this.’ It was great.

(That experience) encouraged me to learn how to work with other tools, too. I can do that! So, one summer I decided, well, I want to remodel my kitchen. And I gutted it. I took everything out, and put everything back in. It was great. It gave me that confidence — ‘You can do this! You can do this, you can fix this stuff.’

Working here, it gives you the confidence that you can get something done.”

When you put out unique content about your work environment, you help candidates make better career decisions. You’re improving the world of work! Now get started hunting for compelling employee stories, creating content and sharing!

Want to talk further?

I do. We find impactful, compelling employee stories from all over your company. Then we create a ton of great content that brings to life your culture, values, mission, days-in-the-life, career progressions and much more. In 4-6 weeks, you’ll get a library of recruitment marketing and employer branding content you can’t wait to share.

If you’d like to talk more about how we can help, please email me or pick a time that works for you on my calendar.