Eve Dreher is a Global Communication Executive, who has worked both in large corporates and smaller start-ups. She is infectious in her passion for building brands, aligning leaders and building employee experiences that drive change and help businesses to thrive. We are lucky enough to have worked with her as an agency. Find out why she rocks in our latest #UCVoices profile.
What is the best career advice you have been given?
A bit of great advice “allow yourself to evolve…never put yourself in a box” has stayed with me through many roles and choices I’ve made through my career. At the core of this is the notion that as human beings we are always growing and learning new things. Why not apply all this learning to challenging yourself and doing something different at work every so often?
What advice would you give to someone just starting out?
Getting started in your career can often be overwhelming as you put yourself out there. It’s important to remember that YOU are the author of your professional journey. It likely won’t be a straight and narrow path, but along the way the choices and decisions about what you do and how you contribute to your profession are yours. And perhaps most importantly, take time to pause and reflect along the way. Rest is necessary!
How do you build brand loyalty amongst employees and customers?
Having a strong culture and internal brand is the key. If your brand connects with employees on an emotional level and in turn, motivates them to do their best work, that will show up in their interactions with customers. There isn’t a magic formula for creating an internal brand. It’s fluid and needs to constantly evolve and adapt with the organisation. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and hard work to build equity in an internal brand.
How have you supported the businesses you work for drive change and develop performance and purpose-driven cultures?
I’ve been fortunate to have a seat at the table with leaders of large and small companies working to reshape their culture and drive change. My role was to craft the change messages for leadership and create communication campaigns that fostered buy-in amongst employees as the company moved in a new direction. For change to take hold, leaders must get the message out in a way that engages people and makes them want to change along with the company. I recently saw a quote that summed it up nicely: “Communication is the real work of leadership".
What are your career highlights?
It’s a hard choice to pick just a few! I’d say that leading a talented, diverse, far-flung team to pull off big, high profile leadership conferences is a highlight because it required all of us to let our talent shine, be at the top of our games, and also work cohesively as a team toward a specific goal. I loved the collaboration, the adrenaline rush, and the celebration after we nailed it! Another career highlight for me is traveling the world and having the chance to work side by side with colleagues in other countries. The richness of those experiences and learnings will always be with me.
How do you develop a spirit of innovation within an organisation?
In the past, the key to innovation has been staying relevant with customer needs and expectations and solving problems they didn’t know they had. I think that still applies today. But, in these uncertain times, as we navigate to our next normal it’s no secret that customer expectations are changing more rapidly than ever. For innovation, a good place to start is to ask consumers what they need and want from you in this moment. Listen to the cues they give you. Don’t be afraid to deconstruct your service offering and then put it back together with the lens of the customer at the centre. Encourage your people to bring forward new ideas and give them the time and space to explore how to take the ideas to market. Be on the lookout at all times…you never know where the next game-changing idea may come from!
