massDOT careers
an employer of choice for the next generation
Role
primary research
brand strategy
website design
tools
adobe illustrator
wix
timeline
sep 2019 - dec 2019
results
brand strategy presentation
functional marketing website
special thanks
sheila mulcahy
brittany meece
In the fall of 2019, I was hired to be an Employer Branding and Digital Content Strategy Intern for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Coming up on ten years as an organization, MassDOT had already overcome the initial challenges of integrating several previously separate organizations into a single transportation agency. However, some growing pains remained that hampered a clear understanding of MassDOT’s employer branding - a sense of disunity between MassDOT’s several transportation divisions, a gap in their social media and internet presence, and persisting stereotypes of government agencies as stale, bureaucratic, and outdated.
As a member of the Talent Acquisition team at MassDOT Human Resources, my primary role was to articulate MassDOT’s value system, and use that to create a foundation for a long-term employer branding and engagement strategy. I presented my findings at the end of my intership to the Director of Human Resources when my internship concluded.
Other related projects included designing a marketing website to advertise MassDOT Careers and continuing an ongoing MassDOT Spotlight social media campaign to highlight the skills and stories of valued employees.
branding strategy process
problem
MassDOT is the official transportation agency for the state of Massachusetts, including the Highway Division, the Rail and Transit Division, the Aeronautics Division, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Ten years after its creation, they still struggle to overcome the distinct voices of their separate divisions to create something that feels fully unified. However, the Human Resources team knew there certainly were unifying qualities under the surface that brought its diverse employees together. I was tasked with bringing them out into the open, searching for the values that defined who MassDOT was as an organization.
the goal
I created an official problem statement to focus my work and ideal outcome:
I also created a five step plan to break down the complicated process into simpler, more achievable steps. While I knew I wouldn’t have enough time during my internship to fully see the plan through to its final phase, it provided structure and an outline for my approach.
data collection
After deliberations on the merits of an agency-wide survey, focus groups, and other methods of gathering qualitative data, we decided in the interest of time it would be best to attach this project to an already on-going interview project for MassDOT’s LinkedIn page called MassDOT Spotlight, celebrating employees and learning their stories. In-depth interviews would allow me to establish rapport, and give me more opportunity to probe and clarify on responses that a survey wouldn’t allow.
I then developed questions for the interview, designed to seek out their understanding of the organization they worked for. My primary goals were to see whether the existing branding elements (primarily the mission statement) were connecting and accurately reflecting the organization, and give employees a few different pathways of thought to consider how they viewed several aspects of MassDOT. After I developed a few dozen questions, my supervisors and I narrowed it down to the most useful.
analysis & takeaways
Over the course of a month and a half, I was able to conduct ten in-depth personal interviews, ranging across several departments, divisions, and years working at the agency. From there, I was able to collate the answers, digest them, and begin to group them by theme. I was pleased to see that the answers weren’t at all random or all over the place - as we had suspected, clear themes and values emerged.
theme 1. the mission
Do employees know it? Does it connect with them? Does it describe what they work towards? How about their peers? Does any part of it not make sense or not align with what they think MassDOT should be achieving?
theme 2. the culture
What does working at MassDOT feel like? How do employees interact with each other on a day-to-day basis? What qualities describe the average employee?
theme 3. the values
What do most employees value as they perform their work? What values do they expect MassDOT to embody? What aspect do they wish MassDOT valued more? When thinking of MassDOT, what words come to mind?
theme 4. the meaning
What do employees take away at the end of the day? What makes them proud of their work or proud to work at MassDOT? What experiences made the most memorable part of their time at MassDOT?
the takeaways
In summary, what is the current state of MassDOT’s mission, culture, values and meaning?
strategies
strategy 1. cohesive branding elements
If MassDOT branding touchpoints (emails, letterheads, posters, advertisements, job postings, signage) doesn’t look unified, how will it feel unified?
strategy 2. enhance mission focus
What’s the point of a mission statement if it doesn’t actively guide the work of employees?
strategy 3. celebrate positive culture
How can we magnify the positive aspects of MassDOT culture to overcome the negative?
strategy 4. celebrate positive culture
How can we communicate and exemplify our values to present both internally and externally as an employer of choice?
marketing website
Besides directing and acting on the employer branding strategy plan, my other primary project during my internship was to create a fresh, engaging, and modern approach to advertising the entry-level jobs that MassDOT frequently offers. This website, MassDOT Careers, was an opportunity to list all of the qualifications in a more appealing way, with frequent calls to action, testimonials, descriptions, and photos. It also gives more information on MassDOT as an employer, including benefits.
