Lidl opened in the UK in 1994 and is now one of the fastest-growing supermarkets thanks to lean teams where every colleague works hard and works together. Lidl had started offering competitive rates of pay but other supermarkets were catching up, so it needed to ensure candidates were motivated by non-pay factors such as collective culture and pride. Its brand needed to celebrate the collective behaviours and hard work of its employees.

To do this, it started with research through employee surveys, in-person focus groups and leadership sessions. It also sought to understand its position compared to competitors, and define a number of audience personas so it could speak to candidate groups right down to job role level. This revealed that every role at the supermarket is central to the collective ambition of the business. It also uncovered challenges, such as employees not feeling acknowledged or not understanding the reality of the roles. To boost retention, it needed to increase the quality of applicants through showing them the hard work and commitment the business needs.

The branding – You’re Lidl like us – shows that anyone with the right attitude can succeed at Lidl. Adverts featured real employees with interesting side hobbies such as CrossFit and painting. Over six days, Lidl and PinkSquid held photoshoots to capture the real stories, and the assets show employees are passionate about their work but also their lives outside. Internal teams were upskilled and provided with assets so they could roll out the communications, and the careers site was updated to use more direct language and so roles were more tailored to the type of candidate it was looking for. Internal career site visits went up significantly, and testing scores for external recruitment content also went up. In 2024, there was a 50% application uplift every month compared to 2023, and cost per application has gone down.