Dunelm wants to help its colleagues create the joy of feeling truly at home for customers. Its market share in home retail has grown by 85% in the last five years, but despite being a leading customer brand, it was not as widely known among potential candidates. It needed a fresh-faced and more consistent employer brand – one that would address misconceptions and appeal to a wide range of candidates and skill-sets.

Internal reviews and competitor analysis showed that employees felt it was a happy and progressive place to work. Through surveys and focus groups, it discovered that colleagues valued its adaptive, future-focused culture that enabled them to improve. This helped develop a new employer value proposition and supporting pillars that captured what it was truly like to work there. ‘Find your happy place’ became the creative expression of the EVP, and was placed at the core of its advertising imagery. Storytelling was another important element, with images and copy showing colleagues to be fun and conversational.

The company ran in-store and out of home posters, as well as displaying table toppers in its Pausa store cafes. Poaching cards and banners outside stores also directed potential candidates to a revamped careers website, populated with people profiles and warm imagery. Despite no changes to its media plan, it saw a solid increase in overall applications, including impressive rises in applications from women and ethnic minorities. There has been a decrease in employee turnover and sharp rise in referrals, reflecting high engagement levels among current colleagues.