Communicating a group level Employer Value Proposition whilst retaining individual identities
15 September 2023
Partnering with one of the country’s leading school groups to communicate their Employer Value Proposition whilst retaining the individual identity of each school
An ongoing employer brand strategy resulting in a 41% uplift in applications and 95.7% first time fill rate
CJA have partnered with the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) for over 10 years, acting as an extension to the 25 schools’ HR and recruitment teams. Following the appointment of their new Chief Executive, the entire Trust went through a significant re-brand. CJA were approached by the central office to assist in implementing the new brand principles across the group’s recruitment marketing and advertising. CJA relished the opportunity the rebranding exercise brought to the organisation, providing encouragement to schools to revisit how they promote themselves to candidates.
Prior to the rebranding exercise CJA had been collecting recruitment advertising performance data for each advertisement placed, in order to track and monitor not only the most effective media platforms, but also the most effective approaches to content. Combining our recruitment marketing expertise and extensive management information, we were able to make evidence-based recommendations to challenge ways of working in order to promote the benefits of the group as a whole, whilst at the same time being sensitive to the unique identities of each school.
Our approach included producing new visual identities (in line with the wider corporate branding) and developing a new content strategy.
Visually, designs were produced to ensure consistency of the brand across print, digital and social media. New bold templates allocated space for individual school logos and photography, whilst keeping to a consistent group style. This allows schools to continue to promote their individual identity, whilst also benefiting from greater brand recognition.
Whilst the visual presence is important, the greatest impact to the group’s recruitment performance so far has been the new content strategy. Stakeholders across the group were asked to think about the benefits they valued most and why they choose to work for the group and their individual schools. This enabled CJA to build a realistic Employer Value Proposition (EVP) on both an individual school level as well on a national group level. Using these defined EVPs we are now able to communicate more effectively with candidates who match GDST’s values and therefore are more likely to apply and equally important, are more likely to be retained.
The next stage was to look at the format of the advertisement themselves and how they could be more accessible. A content template was then rolled out across a number of the schools for a trial period in order for the performance to be tested and measured. On completion of the evaluation of this pilot, the new template was rolled out across the whole group. By adopting this staged approach and using the performance data, we were able to secure greater buy in across the group, especially from those who had previously been reluctant to change.
Since implementing the new content strategy and visual identity, the GDST has seen a significant uplift in both views and applications. The percentage of candidates viewing their job adverts that went on to take the next all-important step of clicking the apply button moved from 11% to 15.5% on average across all of their roles. More importantly 95.7% of posts are now filled first time.
Are you looking to improve how you communicate your Employer Value Proposition? If so, speak to us today.
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