Adventures in recruitment marketing and employer branding
ABB
Early in 2009, Bernard Hodes UK was tasked to research, define and develop a global employer brand for ABB, a leading global engineering business. There were several key objectives driving the brief. We were asked to define ABB’s global employee value proposition, to develop a brand with the strength to support a more integrated ABB talent strategy and to develop a framework for global recruitment communications. Importantly, our employer brand proposal had to align with a recently launched corporate brand and inform an employer brand toolkit. The templates and guidelines in the toolkit would be used by recruiters, line managers and external agencies across the world.
Using our model of engagement we examined what were the relative strengths of the drivers of the “deal” between ABB and its people . From these findings, we were able to extrapolate a series of key differentiators. These included ABB’s sense of purpose and multicultural environment, their challenging projects and exemplary technological credentials, plus the freedom they give people to make a mark in a business that itself is making a lasting difference.
The employer proposition that resonated most forcibly became the preferred option. Our short hand articulation of it is ‘A better world begins with you’, but it’s worth expressing in full: “You will have the scope and freedom to build a legacy by helping to create a better world, so you will need to combine integrity and intellect with global mobility and energy.” This proposition captures the two-way deal that is at the heart of ABB’s employer brand. It spells out that ABB offers the opportunity to shape projects, touch lives, improve communities and leave a lasting impression with your talents and teamwork. But, naturally, this promise is not all one-way. The proviso, of course, is that you have the intellect, global mobility and passion for different cultures to make that mark. ABB has the ability and ambition to create a better world, so, as one of its people, you will need to share its drive and sense of purpose. As well as having exceptional individual abilities and energy, you will realise that all great projects are achieved collaboratively. Crucially, this employee value proposition aligned with and complemented the recently launched corporate position very closely. “Power and productivity for a better world.” is the promise sitting at the heart of ABB’s corporate brand. This sums up their ability to meet their customers’ needs while at the same time transforming customers and communities. The research also uncovered a number of recurring themes about the qualities of successful people in ABB. This obviously informed the proposition development but the themes were so compelling that they are now being used to strengthen HR practices and process development within ABB e.g. global recognition. They have become known as the ABBC’s:
The central creative theme that unified all the materials was the idea of building a legacy at ABB. We had identified this as a motive at the expression phase of developing the proposition and it became a key component of the brand deal. Employees at all levels recognised that ABB gave them the opportunity to leave their own, unique, indelible impression on the business, so we featured it explicitly in all the communications through a flexible sign off line ending in “Your legacy”.
The new positioning, was piloted in a recruitment campaign “airside” in Heathrow and Frankfurt airports and in an experienced recruitment campaign to attract project engineers during the second half of 2009. The success of the airport campaign was significant with 843 qualified engineers and project managers responding from their competition. The cost per quality application was under £100 and they made 41 hires. It was also an industry first in terms of direct advertising and promotion of careers at airports. Then, during December 2009 a ‘teaser’ campaign was launched internally at ABB HQ in Zurich to prime staff of the impending launch of the new brand. In addition, we brought the ‘better world begins with you’ concept to life by filming ABB people from multiple levels and locations where they demonstrated via video vignettes how they lived the brand values daily and throughout their careers, which we shared via a dedicated video and brand presentation to all staff. The hard launch to the business globally occurred in late January early February with 100% take up. Part of the internal launch was a pagesuite promotion which gave ABB employees a sense of the journey, the story of the brand evolution and how their people bring it to life every day. The branded materials were first showcased externally at an MIT recruitment fair in the US in (January 2010). This is hosted by MIT and attracts grads from all the surrounding universities including Harvard. The feedback from the business has been extremely positive and as a result their confidence in the new employer brand has led them to start sharing it with customers – most recently China Southern Grid – to show their brand in action through their people.
“Having worked with Hodes on a number of high profile employer branding projects over the last nine years, initially with the BBC and Nokia, I learned that they are clearly market leaders in this space and was keen to get them involved at ABB. In particular I wanted to ensure that they helped me create something that was truly our global employer brand – something that lived from the inside of the organisation, was supported by the top leadership and differentiated us in the market place. This is just what we have achieved and the results are already impressive.”
Peter Bedford, Head of Global Recruiting, ABB
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© 2012 Bernard Hodes Group
