By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
Abstract: This article examines how human resources (HR) professionals can leverage storytelling as an underutilized tool to positively impact organizational culture and the employee experience. It discusses research demonstrating stories’ ability to stick in our memories, engage both emotion and logic, and facilitate knowledge sharing and community-building. Specific recommendations are provided for how HR can incorporate stories into recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and fostering an aligned culture. Examples include using employee stories and testimonials in recruitment branding, pairing new hires with mentors to share pivotal career experiences during onboarding, and celebrating clients impacted by a non-profit’s programs to build pride in its shared mission. It advises establishing a stories repository, regularly soliciting submissions, appointing storytelling ambassadors, integrating stories across multiple mediums, and tracking engagement metrics. It argues that when implemented strategically and respectfully, storytelling represents a powerful yet underused asset for HR.
As human beings, we are naturally drawn to stories. From an early age, we learn through the stories we hear and share. As consultants and researchers, we understand the power that stories have to inform, persuade and motivate. In the world of human resources (HR), storytelling is an underutilized tool that can strengthen connections with employees and positively shape organizational culture.
Today we will explore the research foundation for using stories in HR and provide practical recommendations and examples for how to effectively leverage this approach.
Why Stories Matter
Stories have been shown to stick with us in a way that facts and figures alone cannot. According to research by neuroscientist Gregory Berns, stories activate the same regions of the brain associated with first-person experiences (Berns, 2004). This ability of stories to make us feel like we are experiencing something directly gives them immense persuasive power. Similarly, organizational researchers Kimiz Dalkir and Lisa Wiseman have found that stories enhance understanding by appealing to both logic and emotion (Dalkir and Wiseman, 2014). When we share stories, we stimulate cognitive processing while also engaging listeners' passions and values.
Stories also facilitate knowledge sharing in a memorable way. As noted by leadership expert Joanna Goodman, stories are "sticky" - they help information stick in our memories (Goodman, 2014). Research supports this, indicating stories improve retention of lessons and foster communities of practice (Brown and Duguid, 1991; Swap et al., 2001). When HR uses stories to illustrate best practices, highlight successes or failures, onboard new hires or train employees, the content resonates more deeply and authentically.
Leveraging Stories in Recruitment
One obvious way to utilize stories in HR is through talent acquisition and recruitment. Job postings that include behind-the-scenes stories give potential candidates a glimpse into your organization's culture and values. For example, instead of just boasting about work-life balance policies, share an anecdote from a long-time employee about how flexible hours allowed them to care for a sick family member. This type of authentic story humanizes the company and helps candidates self-select if your culture is a good fit for their needs.
Recruitment branding is also enhanced through strategic storytelling. Consider highlighting stories of real employees' impact and career growth on your company website or social media channels. Research shows such “employee advocacy” significantly improves perceptions of an employer brand (Dolan et al., 2010). For instance, a large manufacturing company I consulted for recorded video testimonials from recent hires who went from entry-level to team lead positions in just a few years. Sharing these aspirational stories gave job seekers a sense of potential career progression and opportunities to learn and advance.
Onboarding through Shared Experience
Once new hires join the team, stories remain impactful during onboarding. Traditional compliance-focused onboarding often misses the chance to foster true connection and belonging. Storytelling provides a humanizing element when bringing new employees into the fold.
For example, one of my clients in the energy industry incorporates story assignments into their onboarding process. New hires are paired with a mentor who shares pivotal experiences from their career journey. The new hire then records their reflection on how that story exemplifies the company's core values in action. This exchange of lived experiences builds rapport between colleagues while socializing them to the organization's culture from the start.
Storytelling can also reinforce important company lessons in a memorable way. A financial services company I've worked with outlines critical compliance policies but brings them to life through carefully curated TRUE stories - with all identifying details removed - about what went wrong in past cases. These cautionary tales, shared respectfully, allow new hires to learn from real world mistakes versus sterile descriptions alone. The recollections foster buy-in, set a strong tone of integrity, and reduce potential for future issues down the line.
Performance Management through Shared Narratives
Beyond onboarding, storytelling plays a key role in performance management. For annual reviews or one-on-ones, sharing success stories framed around goals, accomplishments, strengths and opportunities for growth fosters deeper understanding and learning on both sides (McKenna and Wright, 2016). Stories emphasize our shared humanity - that managers and direct reports alike experience challenges as well as wins throughout their careers.
For example, during coaching conversations, a colleague of mine in professional services encourages coachees to share a vivid story about a recent work situation. They then analyze what happened, how it made them feel, lessons learned, and next steps using a structured story template. This allows subtleties, nuances and "teachable moments" to organically emerge versus rigidly evaluating pre-set performance metrics alone.
Stories can also transform feedback delivery. Instead of brusquely noting areas for improvement, thoughtful managers recount relatable times they faced similar challenges and overcame them. This normalizes struggles while offering an appealing model for positive change centered on self-reflection and growth. Stories bring the human spirit of resilience to even difficult conversations.
Fostering Culture through Shared Purpose
At the organizational level, strategic storytelling offers insights into your company's shared history, purpose and future path. Carefully curated origin stories, narratives of milestones achieved, and visions of goals yet to come impart cultural meaning and significance to employees' daily work (Denning, 2011). They highlight "why" the company exists beyond financial targets alone. Alignment with a greater sense of purpose has been shown to boost engagement, retention and performance (Wrzesniewski et al., 1997; Branson, 2007; Bruni and Sedita, 2009).
For instance, the HR leader of a global non-profit I partner with regularly shares brief inspirational profiles of clients who have been positively impacted by their programs. Whether through print, video or in-person presentations, recounting these humanizing success stories fosters pride in the shared mission across all levels of staff. Similarly, celebrating past challenges overcome through resilience builds a narrative of progress worth continuing together into the future.
Practical Recommendations for Implementation
To effectively leverage storytelling across HR initiatives, a few practical recommendations:
Establish a stories repository - curate noteworthy success stories, lessons learned, culture-building narratives and more in a searchable internal database.
Regularly solicit new submissions - encourage managers and peers to share perspectives via story prompts or campaigns.
Appoint storytelling "ambassadors" - train a core group to identify relevant tales and handle proper releases.
Integrate stories multimodally - feature in newsletters, events, recognition programs, onboarding materials, town halls, video shares, etc.
Focus on authenticity and impact - stories should ring true, be respectfully told, foster insights vs. self-promotion.
Track engagement metrics - gauge how story exposures correlate with retention, performance, brand perception over time.
With strategic implementation, HR can powerfully employ stories to cultivate employee understanding, connection and commitment to organizational purpose. When shared respectfully and purposefully, stories represent a vastly underutilized asset for enhancing the employee experience.
Conclusion
As human beings, we are naturally drawn to stories and the meaningful connections they foster. When leveraged effectively across the employee lifecycle, stories represent a powerful yet underutilized tool for HR to strengthen culture, onboarding, development and more. By establishing storytelling as a core competency through the curation of authentic, impactful narratives, HR can drive engagement, retention, performance and organizational health overall. Stories bring our shared humanity to the workplace - they are how we learn, how we lead, and how we build communities of shared purpose together. I hope the research foundation and practical recommendations provided offer a starting point for organizations to more strategically leverage this approach.
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Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Leveraging the Power of Storytelling in HR: Connecting with Employees through Shared Narratives. Human Capital Leadership Review, 11(2). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.11.2.16
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