Aioi Nissay Dowa Europe (or AND-E) is a company poised for huge growth in the UK. Part of the Toyota family, they provide financial and motor insurance services, leading the way in connected mobility.

When they came to us in December 2021, they wanted to increase their 800-strong headcount by 20% (over 2022) but knew that would prove tricky in a tight IT and customer-services recruitment market.

But by defining, articulating and activating their EVP, we managed to help them do just that, and so much more…

Our approach

We’d already worked with the AND-E business to develop their overall brand framework, helping them articulate their purpose, vision and mission – which they presented at an all-employee roadshow in April 2022.

We then looked thoroughly under the bonnet to really understand its employees, and what makes them tick.

Through a series of 5 employee focus groups and 12 leadership team interviews, we gained some important insights which led to the definition of their EVP.

We then set out to creatively articulate this proposition in a way which would appeal to a huge variety of audiences, both internally and externally.

The creative route we developed puts the company name front and centre, in a smart and engaging way, with lots of flex to be witty, punchy or subtle, depending on the pillar and the target audience. It works on short phrases, longer headlines or full sentences – and has huge scope for both internal and external comms. It’s impactful, ownable and a powerful creative articulation of their EVP.

More than 50 proud employees became the ‘face of AND-E’, across a comprehensive suite of assets and materials…

Everything was beautifully packaged into a comprehensive employer brand playbook, which included a significant section on tone of voice – something AND-E never had before.

This was warmly embraced across the business and has been rolled out across all employment communications, and in some cases beyond.

The impact

In the first 6 months since launch, we saw:

a) Attrition down from 20% to 18% – remarkable in the 2022 climate for customer services roles
b) Agency hires down – from 28% to 10%
c) Internal hires up from 24% to 30%
d) Significant reduction in recruitment costs

More importantly, the People and Culture team now have solid foundations on which to build their UK employer brand, with a powerful identity and the right channels and platforms in place to realise AND-E’s ambitious business growth plans.