Creating an effective and distinctive EVP and employer brand for an iconic business
Challenge
Sir Robert McAlpine are responsible for creating some of the most iconic engineering landmarks in the UK. The London Olympic Stadium, Eden Project, Bloomberg Building, and the refurbishment of the Queen Elizabeth Tower (Ben Ben) are just a fraction of their portfolio that has shaped Britain’s landscape and heritage over the last 150 years. Now they wanted an employer brand and careers website to reflect that proud history, and asked WDAD Communications to help them bring it to life starting off with identifying and articulating the Employer Value Proposition (EVP).
Solution
We undertook an extensive research programme and used the resulting findings to re-interpret the corporate values from an employment perspective. We identified six key employer brand pillars and these formed the basis of their EVP – the reason why someone would want to work for Sir Robert McAlpine – and would underpin all of our recruitment messaging.
We then created a visual identity to communicate the EVP and promote the organisation as a great place to work. This employer brand needed to give a distinctive look, feel and tone of voice to all their recruitment marketing communications – one that would support their corporate brand and new careers website – making their collateral more effective at engaging and attracting people who share these values, and have the right cultural fit.
It was also important that the employer brand was used consistently with a joined-up approach – something vital to building trust and strengthening the credibility of the messaging. We therefore created a series of templates that could be adapted for any specific project or requirement.
Results
We produced a visual concept that would ensure SRM’s recruitment advertising stood out from their competitors. In a highly challenging and competitive market, their adverts needed to be visually compelling and not simply blend in.
The route we chose was to ‘combine’ existing Sir Robert McAlpine photography assets to create a cohesive and highly distinctive look and feel. This involved compositing together iconic project and computer generated modelling images with shots of employees – knocking back the transparency values on the originals – to give the impression that both elements are inseparable and are integral to each other’s success. In other words, it’s SRM’s exceptional people that design, create, and bring their amazing projects to life. It’s this concept that, consciously or subconsciously, we wanted our visual imagery to portray.
Working alongside their media partners – OME – in the first 12 months alone, the employer brand contributed to SRM saving over £1.5 million on agency fees. Other key metrics included over 80% of employees (323 of them) being sourced directly, and 24% of all applications being received from female candidates, resulting in 1 female hire in every 4 hires in total.
