Background
BAT is a visible company with strong business growth in its Africa Middle East Region (AME). This provides boundless opportunities for the right people to grow their careers in exciting, challenging and dynamic markets. However, attracting the right talent is an ongoing challenge and the business recognised that it must continuously upgrade its marketing and recruitment techniques in order to succeed.

graylink’s Andy Coe says “ Having implemented our e-recruitment system, we were very pleased when BAT asked us to work with them to develop a clear Employer Brand Image and articulation which they could use as part of their external recruitment strategy. Our thinking is that in order to attract the right people, organisations should use the techniques which product marketers use. i.e they should market the employment opportunities with a clear understanding of their unique selling propositions (USP) and who they are targeting”.

The solution
To deliver, graylink worked closely with a BAT project team made up with representatives from AME’s HR and Marketing functions. The first step was to analyse internal and external surveys which had been conducted to assess the current perceptions that potential candidates and existing employees had of the employment opportunities in BAT’s AME region.

Following this analysis and gaining an understanding of the business direction and priorities, we were able to work with the project team to identify the unique selling points that the region has as an employer and what kind of people it needs to attract in order to deliver its future. With these elements identified the next step was to develop a creative image and tag line which would visually represent the employer brand whilst remaining consistent and becoming and extension of the corporate brand. This was underpinned with a clear explanation which would enable the business to consistently articulate each employment offer. This step was taken through a number of iterations and consultations with wider groups within the business to produce the final Employer Brand Image, tag line and articulation.

The implementation
Once developed, graylink continued to work to develop a process to communicate and embed the use of the Employer Brand into the organisation. This included developing an area within the company’s existing extranet to house the Brand Guard Book and assets.

The Brand was first used publicly at the London Based “Careers in Africa” event in April of 2006 and has since been used in ongoing marketing campaigns in the region.

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