Companies claim to have a good work environment. Competitors claim the same. Faced with two identical statements, a candidate has no way to distinguish between them unless one of them is accompanied by proof.
This article shows how to transform testimonials from employees Employee advocacy: a strategy that replaces the company's word with the voice of those who already work there, with examples of companies present in... Great Employers.
It is no longer enough to say that the company “has a good work environment”.
The employer branding funnel has four phases: awareness, consideration, desirability, and application. The last two – desirability and application – depend on a factor that institutional communication alone cannot resolve: trust.
A qualified candidate, with several companies considering them, doesn't decide based on an adjective on a careers page. They decide based on who has already had the experience.
This is where employee testimonials gain strategic weight . They don't replace the company's value proposition (EVP), but they lend it credibility.
A culture of "sharing, innovation, and challenge" is a statement. The same phrase, spoken by someone who lived it for nine months, with a concrete path behind it, is proof.
Employee advocacy: when the employee becomes the brand's spokesperson.
Employee advocacy is the practice of empowering employees to communicate the company culture, rather than leaving that task solely to the communications or HR department. In practice, this involves written testimonials, videos, social media posts from employees, or participation in industry events.
For talent acquisition, the business argument is straightforward: a genuine testimonial reduces the candidate's decision time and improves the quality of the application, because applicants already know, with greater accuracy, what they will find.
It is also an asset that the team of employer Branding can be reused for years on careers pages, in recruitment campaigns, at job fairs, and on social media.
Video evidence: testimonials gathered at job fairs
One of the most direct ways to capture employee advocacy is through short videos, recorded on-site, with the employee speaking without a fixed script.
Nas Job Fairs organized with higher education institutions, the Talent Portugal This type of testimonial is recorded with the participating companies. It's a format that combines the moment, the booth, the event, and direct contact with candidates, all within the voice of the company representative on that day.
The playlist of videos recorded at job fairs brings together examples of this format: employees from different companies and sectors answering, in just a few minutes, the questions that weigh most heavily in a candidate's decision – who we are, what we are looking for, and what we offer.
It's reusable content that can be used for much longer than just the day of the event.
How can you tell if a collaborator's testimonial is good?
A good employee testimonial includes job title, date of employment, and career path, not just adjectives describing the company culture.
A strong testimonial provides a career path : the year of entry, the initial role, the current role, and what has changed in the meantime. It is this specificity, and not the enthusiasm of the text, that makes the candidate believe.
This pattern is repeated across dozens of company pages on Researcher at Great Business Employers, in sectors as diverse as insurance, consulting, telecommunications or engineering.
None of them rely on a single catchy phrase. They all show a real path, with a name and function.
| Company | Generic institutional phrase | A testimony |
|---|---|---|
| Fidelidade | "We have a culture of sharing and innovation." | “I joined in 2019 as a Boomerang and today I am a Product Manager in the Private Clients Business Division” — Maria Carolina Calisto, in page of Fidelidade |
| Marsh McLennan | "We value diversity and the growth of people." | “As a young newcomer to the job market, working at Marsh McLennan provides me with new opportunities, a collaborative environment, innovation, and daily growth. It helps me step outside my comfort zone, always with the support of a helpful and inspiring team. The diversity of backgrounds within the company constantly enriches my experience, showing me that there is room for everyone to find their place and contribute with their own perspective.” — Inês Garção, Junior Consultant, at page of Mercer Marsh |
| Lactogal | "We work for good nutrition" | “Working in Lactogal "It's much more than just completing tasks. I feel like I'm part of something bigger — we work for healthy eating — and, therefore, we help take care of people's well-being. There's a team spirit and a constant desire to always do more and better. There's room to grow and to learn.” — Teresa Ferreira, 2025, in Group page Lactogal |
| Siemens | "We are a company committed to the long term." | Returning to Siemens In 2014, she embraced the opportunity to be part of something bigger—global projects and, above all, to bring to life ideas she believed in. Because in Siemens"Better than being able to dream... is being able to achieve." — Ana Madalena Ferreira, IT Chapter Lead, at page of Siemens |
Make company testimonials visible where talent decides.
That is the function of the company page on Great EmployersTo bring together testimonials, data, and culture in one place, visible to over 270 visitors annually and distributed at over 30 job fairs through the print magazine.
