Employer branding is the process of promoting a company, or an organization, as the employer of choice to a desired target group. A strategic approach to employer branding requires a strategic perspective towards how your company attracts, engages, and retains talent. The Brandberries interviewed Dalia Rashed, Program Manager of Internal Coms at Dell EMC’s Egypt Centre of Excellence, to get her insights on the how-tos of creating an employer brand of choice.

BB: Creating an outstanding employer brand is a key target to all companies for effective talent acquisition. What are the building stones that allow brands to become top employer of choice?

DR: It’s about both the development and engagement opportunities offered to team members, as well as the culture and environment they work in. Talents, and specially the millennials, want to be challenged. They want to gain exposure and accelerate in their careers while working in a great environment where their contributions are valued. This means huge focus has to be placed on Employee Engagement, Development, and Workplace Culture.

BB: On whose shoulder lies the groundwork of having an effective employer brand?

DR: I believe having an effective employer brand is a collective effort where many different teams are involved. It’s not only about recruiters for example who are responsible for the first interaction with the talents, or communication professionals who promote this culture and create a great working environment for team members, or leaders, who inspire and empower their teams and give them the exposure they’re looking for.

BB: Dream companies are known for their exciting workplace culture, the thing that captures the interest of job seekers to be part of such an environment. What’s the impact of the internal brand culture on Dell EMC being a top employer of choice ?

DR: At Dell EMC we have a very young population where the average age of our team members is 28 and we have a very diverse and inclusive workplace. To retain the talents we have, we always make sure to offer our team members any needed training and development opportunities.

We put so much focus on Learning and development and we have introduced several programs to help our people build their careers and understand how to build a solid career strategy for themselves. There’s also the Culture, which we consider a very important element. We always make sure each team member understands what our core values are and how to embrace those values in our day-to-day jobs through internal campaigns, events, and activities. Also, understanding the overall strategy of Dell Technologies is very important and how their role ties into the global objectives of the organization.

And finally, the engagement opportunities that give our team members the exposure they’re looking for and contribute to creating a great working environment. Examples of these engagement opportunities include the give back activities that are part of our sustainability programs, in addition to many other programs that adds to the technical skills of our team members as the Innovation Program for example. Having these elements combined has helped us build a very strong brand for ourselves in the market not only for fresh graduates but also for experienced calibers.

 

 

BB: How can a brand leverage on its people power and transform their employees into becoming strong brand advocates?

DR: Employee advocacy is a very powerful tool so you can promote your brand and is core to the marketing strategy of many multinationals. I believe every team member is an ambassador, and the more team members you have, the more essential it becomes to have an Employee Advocacy Program in place. Employers who are capable of building a great workplace culture will have satisfied employees who will automatically become promoters of the company. It’s more than just if employees love their jobs, it’s about the impact they feel they are making through the work they do every day.

BB: If there’s a listing of the most powerful employer brands in the Middle East, what would be your top 3 picks ?

DR: Schlumberger, Mars and MO4 Network