Based in London, Dawn Hollingworth is the Global Employer Brand Lead at Rolls-Royce. Dawn has a wealth of experience and knowledge of Employer Branding, with decades in the industry and previous roles at the likes of Ernst & Young and Cielo.
Due to her expertise on the subject, we asked Dawn to take part in our upcoming guide to employer branding. As an industry expert, we wanted Dawn to offer readers of the guide some real experience-backed thought leadership, and boy does she deliver!
We’re releasing our guide to employer branding in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, check out this excerpt and sneak preview from our conversation with Dawn!
Rolls-Royce has tens of thousands of employees and is one of the most recognized engineering companies in the world. Image from Getty Images.
What role can a company's employees play in employer branding?
“Employees are natural amplifiers of experience. Organizations that invest in cultivating a positive culture that brings out the best in people can harness the resulting goodwill. Employees can amplify an employer brand by endorsing their company through social shares, likes and comments; by sharing their own content about life at the company and by leaving positive reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed. Engaged employees are more likely to share positive personal stories.”
What does the future (post-pandemic) hold for employer branding?
“We’ve changed. As individuals, as societies and as employees. Organizations must evolve their employee value proposition to reflect the new environment and the changed needs of employees. I anticipate that personalized ways of working will feature highly on most EVPS! Also, CV-19 has shone a bright light on any gaps between a company’s values/promise and actions, so employer brands now need to work harder than ever to be authentic and credible and ‘walk the talk.'”
How can brands utilize social media to positively affect their employer brand?
“Social media offers prime opportunities for engaging candidates (and employees). The content they consume about a company shapes their perception and how they think, feel and act towards the company. Employer branders need to create structured content strategies that illustrate the employee value proposition through personal stories and engaging mediums. Two-way dialogue deepens engagement and can help fuel talent pipelines. Remember to measure, iterate and optimize to get the best ROI.”
We couldn’t agree more with what Dawn had to say. Employer Branding is set to become a serious focus-point for organizations of all sizes. Post pandemic, top talent will be looking to get a genuine feel of what life is like at your company before they even consider applying.
At DSMN8, we say put your employees at the heart of everything you do. ‘Employees amplify experience’ and they leverage huge influence over your audience.
People trust people, and quality candidates want to see and hear real stories from real people. Is it time to put some communications power into the hands of your employees?
We’d like to say a very special thanks to Dawn for lending her time and insight here. Keep your eyes peeled for our guide to employer branding! Complete with how to’s, best practices, and yet more thought leader contributions.
If you’re interested to learn more about how you can leverage your employees’ networks to maximize reach, engage a wider audience, and positively influence your employer brand, then check out our Ultimate Guide to Employee Influencers or get in touch!
