Nisbets is the UK’s largest catering equipment supplier, exporting to more than 100 countries around the world. It needed to make its brand more visible, so asked That Little Agency to develop an approach to its employer communications that would help it to attract, engage and retain great talent. It wanted to showcase a brand that represented a modern employer, resonated with key recruitment groups, had a focus on diversity and inclusion, and was built around the experiences of people who already worked there. It also needed to be flexible enough to be used across a range of media.

Nisbets specifically asked the agency not to develop a proposition that simply showed pictures of colleagues, as it felt this was something everyone did. Initial research included a careers ad website audit, as well as competitor analysis. That Little Agency conducted internal and external surveys and focus groups, and distilled all of the final findings into a report that would then feed into the new employer story. The title of the story became ‘All Catered For’, and key employer identity assets included products with an element of playfulness and personality through a smiling face emoji.

Brand guidelines were developed across a wide range of channels from internal employee communications to recruitment banners outside stores. Claire Fearon, talent acquisition manager at Nisbets, said the result was an “identity that is very distinctive, is uniquely Nisbets and not a picture of our colleagues in sight”. There has been a sizable increase in website traffic, most of which has come from non-paid-for sources. There have been significant savings on agency fees and a considerable decrease in cost per hire thanks to increased referrals and more website traffic.