questions to ask employees
People and Culture

The Best Testimonial Questions to Ask Your Employees

Lauren Thomas

August 18, 2022

time

mins

When you think of testimonials, marketing may be the first department that comes to mind. But as showcasing company culture becomes more important to HR and employee experience teams, demand for employee testimonials is increasing.

At Vouch, we’re big advocates of employee testimonial questions and videos ourselves, and love using testimonials as an opportunity to show behind the scenes glimpses of what it’s like to work at Vouch.

But uncovering the right information is key. Asking your employees to share a general testimonial about your company might not deliver the specific insights you were after for social proof to potential customer and potential employees. Plus an unstructured testimonial request can spark a mind blank in even the most enthusiastic of your current employees, sending it straight to the bottom of their to-do lists.

The answer is a short, but thorough, list of questions that will uncover the magic of working at your company and deliver the kind of video testimonial you need.

Why should you ask your employees for a video testimonial?

Like customer testimonials from people who love your business, that help prospective customers decide to engage, employee testimonial questions are all about capturing positive experiences.

Employee video testimonials are testimonial videos and are the best way of giving people an idea of what it’s like to work at your company. From employees with different job titles like developers, accounts, marketing teams, sales, your executives, telling the job candidates what it is like to work at your company is the best way to attract the best talent in the industry you're in.

If you are investing in creating a great employee experience, testimonial videos are the perfect way to showcase that. They bring the adage ‘show, don’t tell’ to life more than any marketing material could, and are a golden opportunity to show your team's talent to job candidates who 

You could use the videos on your ‘about us’ page, ‘careers’ page or your recruitment platforms. They also make engaging social posts, helping you widen your net and attract more top talent and loyal customers.

Ultimately your employees are your customers, and sharing their real story of someone that works within your organization, in their own words, is incredibly powerful. All you need is some key questions.

Five testimonials questions to ask your employees

To create powerful employee testimonial videos, it's always best to have a plan, and open-ended questions are not the best way to go. Instead, it's best to have some closed questions and with a friendly introductory question about the employee's job title.

The below 5 questions are perhaps not the most creative questions, this is just a template for you to go forth and create your own version and capture quality testimonials from employees to help you hire and advance talent.

Here are our top five employee testimonial questions:

1.  Please could you introduce yourself, your role, and tell us how long you have been working at [company name]?

This simple question does two things. Firstly, it adds context and credibility. It introduces your employee as a real person and gives them a chance to share if they are a long-serving employee.

Secondly, it helps to warm them up on camera. An easy question gets them in the flow so they are ready to confidently answer the rest of the types of employee testimonials.

2. What's the best thing about working at [company name]?

Time to uncover the magic. This is one of the more open ended questions that give your employees space to talk about the thing they love the most about working at your company. Perfect for future employees and future customers alike. It’s likely to be their most animated, enthusiastic answer and personal story - employee testimonial gold. This is and also the kind of information your HR managers can use for professional development and career growth strategies!

3. What has surprised you most about working at [company name]?

If they didn’t expect it, it’s likely a prospective employee wouldn’t either. Uncovering something unusual or unexpected can help your video testimonial - and company - really stand out. Plus it could provide an insight that even you didn’t realize!

A successful employee testimonial has to be engaging and authentic, and this question opens up positive feedback about your workplace and culture. This is also one of the questions in advance, so your employees don't get frozen on the spot when creating powerful testimonials.

4. How does your current job compare to previous jobs you’ve had?

No need to name names or bash the competition, but giving your employees a chance to say what’s different, and hopefully better, than their previous roles makes for a nice point of comparison. Powerful video testimonial of all kinds usually have a "comparison" to show the differences in your company and culture.

Genuine curiosity is key to this question, to unlock real experiences and create and emotional connections. Letting your employee authenticity shine through personal experience is what this question is all about.

5. What advice would you give to new recruits?

These answers will be dual purpose. Firstly they’ll give prospective applicants an idea of what to expect, with some friendly, welcoming advice. Secondly, they’ll provide content for video compilations that can be sent to every new recruit on their first day. We do this at Vouch, so they get to see every team member, even if it’s not face-to-face.

Employee testimonial questions like this, from real employees on video, can help with the quality of hire and future candidates. Unlocking employee stories will be one of the most powerful tools you can have when it comes to attracting potential candidates. You can also use these employee testimonial questions on social media platforms to help generate interest for an open job role. 

Steal these five questions for your own employee testimonial campaign  

You can select these very questions from Vouch's question template library to get your campaign up and running in just a couple of clicks and start to hire talent that fits your company culture, and even share on social media and career websites.

Check out this quick demo from Vouch's Enterprise Sales Lead, Ben Sher, who'll show you how to set up a campaign with a question template to create persuasive employee testimonials and powerful customer stories.

Tips for asking your employees for a video testimonial

  1. Set a deadline

Let your team know when you need responses, so it doesn’t slip off their radar. If you’re using Vouch, you can suggest they use the calendar integration, so they can schedule their recording for later, or make use of our auto reminders. Either way, make it a realistic deadline. Not everyone will be camera-ready immediately!

  1. Set some questions as optional

If some of your questions are ‘nice to haves’, then mark them as optional. Letting people move on if they don’t have anything to say boosts your response rate and can be particularly helpful if you’re asking a long list of questions. Also think about future goal questions, to give employees some lead time, even if they aren't precise questions, some time to think about a few key points and company values is always a good idea.

  1. Include all levels in the business

You’re likely to be hiring for lots of different positions in the talent cloud, so give a varied perspective of what it’s like to work at your company. Send a video request to everyone, from your CEO to your intern, those who manage your social media accounts, sales leads, the oldest serving member of the team and the newest. Each will be able to offer you a different, and valuable, insight, and discuss their different career challenges and goals in their employee responses.

  1. Compile a Playlist to showcase your best answers

If you’re asking everyone the same questions, showing all of the answers side-by-side makes for an engaging edit. On Vouch we call this a Playlist. They take just minutes to make and you can share them on your website with an embed, download and post on social media, or host on a dedicated Playlink.

FAQs

What are employee testimonial videos?

Employee testimonial videos from employees provide authentic insights into company culture, helping potential recruits understand what it's like to work at your organization. Just as customer testimonials influence purchasing decisions, employee testimonials can attract top talent by showcasing positive experiences and work environments. If you are still wondering, what are employee testimonial videos, please just book a Vouch demo!

How can we use employee testimonial questions and videos effectively?

Employee testimonial videos can be utilized on various platforms, including your company website's 'about us' and 'careers' pages, recruitment platforms, and social media. The key is, knowing what questions to ask for employee testimonials. Once you have this (Vouch can help:), these videos serve as engaging content that widens your reach, attracting both top talent and loyal customers interested in your company's culture and values.

What are some essential questions to ask employees for testimonial videos?

Effective testimonial videos require structured questions that elicit meaningful responses. Start with an introduction about the employee's role and tenure, then delve into inquiries such as the best aspects of working at your company, surprises encountered, comparisons to previous roles, and advice for new recruits.

How can we ensure a high response rate when soliciting employee testimonials?

Setting a realistic deadline and allowing optional questions can encourage participation. Additionally, involving employees at all levels of the organization, from interns to executives, provides diverse perspectives and enriches the content of the testimonials. If your employees are also wondering, what are employee testimonial videos, then please just book a Vouch demo and we can run through how they work, and the perfect testimonial questions for employees.

What's the best way to present employee testimonial videos?

Compiling employee responses into a playlist format allows for an engaging presentation of diverse perspectives. These playlists can be shared on various platforms, including websites, social media, and during recruitment processes, showcasing the company's culture and values effectively.

Like to try Vouch?

Loved by companies like Canva, Nike, Cisco, Stryker, HubSpot, Amazon and more, tools like Vouch make leveraging video in your business remarkably easy.

Be sure to book a Vouch demo today and chat with a video content expert.

Lauren Thomas

Lauren Thomas

Head of Content at Vouch

Lights. Camera. Traction

Cut through the noise with video.