Anna Sweet

What's it like to work at Siemens?

Siemens make the technologies that make cities smarter, revolutionise design and manufacturing and build infrastructure for entire countries. And it’s their people who make all of this happen. In a world of networked, hyper-connected talent, Siemens need their people to be their voice.

My brief was to generate an internal conversation with everybody who works there about what it’s like to be a part of Siemens in order to crystalise their culture, share it and attract the future talent away from their competitors, Facebook and Google.

I was the part of the creative lead team who developed the new employer brand program for Siemens from end-to-end. I was first tasked with working out the creative idea that would communicate the world of Siemens with both prospects and existing employees. I then wrote and oversaw the production of the first key pieces of content that would kick-start the conversation on their new employer band hub. Later I worked with our content team at R/GA to share the stories and learnings I had gathered from working closely with Siemens employees and helped to write key materials for Siemens to use at job fairs and other places to connect with talent.

Here’s the case study of what this achieved and how the outcome impacted Siemens’ business.

We are Future Makers

The new employee program kicked off with the launch of 360 content series, 'We Are Future Makers', documenting the lives of real people working at Siemens. Using 360 film, anyone, including employees and future talent, could transport themselves into the lives of others across their network, thus gaining an understanding of the breadth of what Siemens do and different individual perspectives on what it's like to work there. Each film poses a different question for further internal discussion and activation: How can we prepare the next generation of engineers? How will digitalisation change the way we work together? How do you bring your passion to work? How can sharing make us smarter?  

To make these films, I first researched each employee’s role, industry and work-life culture. I then worked with Siemens to identify interesting candidates in each sector. I conducted a series of interviews with each candidate and using the wealth of information and learnings from our conversations, I formulated scripts for a mini docuseries about them as individuals and their working lives. Working with Ridley Scott’s production house, RSA, I travelled to each Siemens location in India, China, the US and UK to shoot them in their personal and professional spaces using 360 camera technology. I again interviewed them a final time there to capture what would become the final VO telling their story. Working closely with editor, Sally Cooper at Cut + Run, I crafted the final narratives for the 360 film edits.

See the films below - best viewed with a Google Cardboard viewer or 360 VR headset on your mobile. Alternatively you can watch in flat 360 on your laptop or mobile. 

A new Siemens content platform

I worked with R/GA’s offices globally to developed the Siemens 360 app which houses both the launch films and ongoing Siemens employer brand content. The app has become part of  a long-term platform, offering a window into Siemens global network for their employees and potential talent, who will be able to connect with life at Siemens through the app’s channel.

It hosts content that documents their entire global program of events, talks and happenings. Everything from engineering challenges and hackathons to job swap programs, grad initiatives and employee awards for outstanding achievements. 

As part of the launch planning it was important to developed a range of ways to launch across Siemens in the USA, Germany, Mexico, China, India, UAE and throughout their global network, taking into account the bespoke nature of each area of their business and the different challenges faced by a digital platform in each. 

In bigger Siemens hubs we hosted premiers with an immersive 360 dome theatre. In offices with wifi, employees received cardboards and learned more about the new program from ambassadors and instillation experiences, and for factories and countries with slower internet roadshow approach was developed with specially tailored areas where employees could come to find out more and make use of wifi hotspots. 

These bespoke viewing experiences were also used externally at jobs and careers fairs and also throughout universities where Siemens wanted to attract future talent.