How a government contractor leveraged social media to boost employer brand engagement
Background
Maximus is a global government contractor that provides services for federal, state, and local agencies. Competitors include Deloitte, Accenture, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Optum Inc., and Lidos.
As part of their talent acquisition and retention strategy, Maximus needed to enhance its employer brand visibility on social media. However, this initiative came during a period of public scrutiny as call center employees organized strikes, leading to negative press. To balance the narrative, the hiring team wanted to highlight positive employee experiences.
Project Brief:
The goal of the employee spotlight campaign was to showcase the diversity, culture, and career growth opportunitieswithin Maximus. By featuring real employees and their experiences, the initiative aimed to:
Improve Maximus’s reputation as an employer of choice despite external challenges.
Humanize the brand and make it more relatable to potential recruits.
Strengthen internal engagement by celebrating employees.
Goals:
Quantitative Goals
- Increase social media engagement on employer brand content.
- Improve talent attraction by making job openings more visible.
- Drive higher interaction rates on LinkedIn and Instagram hiring posts.
Qualitative Goals
- Create an authentic and relatable employer brand presence.
- Strengthen employee morale by highlighting real stories.
- Align employer branding efforts with HR and recruitment goals.
Responsibilities:
- Wrote copy for LinkedIn and Instagram posts
- Updated graphic templates in Canva
- Sent content for approval via Smartsheet
- Scheduled posts using HeyOrca
- Monitored responses and engagement using RivaIQ
Skills Leveraged
- Copywriting – Wrote engaging social media captions and employee testimonials.
- Content Design – Updated graphic templates in Canva for consistency.
- Content Scheduling & Management – Scheduled and monitored posts via HeyOrca.
- Data Analysis – Tracked engagement metrics in RivaIQ to optimize performance.
- Cross-Team Collaboration – Worked with HR and marketing to ensure strategic alignment.
Tools: Canva, Google Docs, HeyOrca, Smartsheet, RivaIQ, Grammarly
Strategy & Execution
- Performance Monitoring – I tracked engagement rates in RivaIQ, adjusting content formats based on audience response.
- Sourcing Employee Stories – The HR team collected testimonials from employees about their experiences, benefits, and career growth. Responses were compiled in Smartsheet for review and selection.
- Content Creation – Using pre-designed Canva templates, I formatted posts with quotes and employee headshots, ensuring a clean and professional look.
- Content Approval & Scheduling – Posts were sent for review via Smartsheet, then scheduled weekly on LinkedIn and Instagram using HeyOrca.
Process
- Gathering Content: Logged into Smartsheet to batch employee testimonials for the month. Collected strong quotes, background details on employees, their roles, and any available headshots.
- Writing Copy: Drafted 2-3 versions of each post in Google Docs (with Grammarly for quality control). Ensured messaging was engaging, professional, and aligned with Maximus’s employer brand. Included relevant branded hashtags to enhance visibility.
- Content Review: Worked with my project manager to vet copy and refine the final version before design.
- Designing Graphics: Used Canva to update branded templates with employee quotes and photos. Spent 30 minutes to an hour adjusting visuals for clarity and impact.
- Faced an issue with cropping in Canva for one employee’s headshot, so I used Photoshop to adjust the image before finalizing the post.
- Scheduling & Publishing: Uploaded finalized content to HeyOrca, which allowed for easy color-coded scheduling, content drafts, and approval tracking.
- Engagement & Optimization: On posting days, I logged in to engage with audience interactions, responding to comments and monitoring engagement trends to support content performance.
Results
Company Outcomes
- 20% increase in engagement on employer branding content.
- Improved brand sentiment and visibility despite PR challenges.
- Strengthened internal engagement, boosting employee morale.
Professional Outcomes
- Gained experience managing employer brand content in a highly regulated industry.
Strengthened data-driven content optimization skills using engagement analytics.
Expanded expertise in cross-functional collaboration with HR and marketing.
