Determined to become market leader in global recruitment services, Hays knew it had to develop a clearly articulated brand proposition that was up to the job. Robert Lester reports:

There are still some chief executives who think that branding is a fluffy concept that has little impact on business results. Alistair Cox is not one of them.

The boss of Hays, Britain’s biggest recruiter with a market capitalisation of £1.4 billion and 324 offices in almost 30 countries, concluded last year that the company lacked a global brand to go with its global ambitions.

In an attempt to put that right, Cox hired a group marketing director, Sholto Douglas-Home from Reuters, who quickly kicked off a search for an agency to help turn a “strong, robust business into a powerful, global brand”. Interbrand was appointed following a pitch in June last year.

One of the main problems Hays identified was that its business had developed at different rates and in different directions in its various markets, leading to an inconsistent brand. “Hays has got a very entrepreneurial spirit and culture,” says Douglas-Home.

“That’s good but if you don’t have a strong, clear brand framework in which to operate, when you open in new countries it’s inevitable there will be an entrepreneurial approach. “There needs to be real clarity. We wanted to retain that spirit but do it within a clearly defined masterbrand. We’re trying to leverage the dynamism of Hays and do what it has never done before, which is have a highly professional and confident approach to how we present ourselves and what we stand for.”

Cox told major shareholders and the wider investor community last year that one of his main strategic priorities was to “achieve more with the Hays brand”. The company wants to establish itself as the market leader in global recruitment services – a position it feels no one competitor holds on a global basis – and recognises the importance of having a clearly articulated brand proposition.

Douglas-Home adds: “As a brand we were punching below our weight – we weren’t getting the credit for what it was we could do for our clients. But more importantly we weren’t benefiting from the business boost that a powerful and well-articulated brand gives you.

“We are an industry leader in terms of size and capability. We wanted to make sure our brand reflected that and boosted our presence in the market. We want to punch above our weight and get the credit for the leadership role we hold in the recruitment space.”

Interbrand began by undertaking an audit phase in five key markets which included interviews with clients, candidates and internal staff to gauge what people thought of Hays as a business and as a brand.

Strategy director at Interbrand Manfred Abraham says: “The feedback was very consistent. Most people were happy with Hays but didn’t really think it stood out in any way or was different to others in the market.

“It’s an understatement to say that most people don’t like recruitment companies. Businesses think they’re being ripped off and candidates think they’re being treated like a number rather than a person. What clients were saying was that Hays could offer a bit more of a consultative approach.”

The internal feedback from staff also made for interesting reading. Interbrand found that many of the consultants they spoke to had fallen out of love with their jobs and forgotten the integral role recruitment companies can play in people’s’ lives.

Abraham adds: “One client said to us that recruitment agencies are great at taking the magic out of recruitment – they said they always underestimate how important what they do is. People got quite emotional about that and realised their job was important. We wanted to put the magic back into recruitment.”

Douglas-Home continues: “I asked: ‘If Hays ceased to exist overnight, who would miss us?’ The four most important things to people are their family, their health, where they live and their job. We are fundamentally part of the way people’s lives go around – be it individuals looking for a job or companies looking to fill a position. No one had really tapped into that. People had forgotten just how critical a role it is that we play.

“We’re a big player doing an important job that goes right to the heart of every single person’s livelihood. We’re trying to tap into that strength of feeling that you need to have to help people develop their professional careers. People do get passionate about it and it needed releasing.”

Coming up with a tangible point of difference in a service industry like recruitment was not an easy task. Hays is known as a specialist recruiter, meaning it operates across various industry sectors, but it soon became clear that the term was lost on most people. The company and Interbrand had to explain to the world what specialist recruitment meant.

Hays identified the depth and breadth of its expertise as its competitive edge and Interbrand came up with the concept of ‘Powering the World of Work’ on which to base the new brand positioning. Abraham explains: “If you ask a CEO what makes their company successful, 85% would say the people in their business – so Hays is the machinery behind the world of work.”

The following brand values were drawn up to underpin a change in behaviour and achieve the consistency the company was looking for around the world: passionate about people; inquisitive; ambitious and, perhaps most importantly, expert.

Douglas-Home adds: “If Tesco is all about value, Hays is all about expertise. Whatever part of the world of work you operate in, Hays is likely to have an expert who really understands that market.” 

Hays also realised it needed to refresh its visual identity, which it concluded lacked personality. A new bold blue logo is being introduced to communicate power, confidence, authority and an evolution from the past. It will be rolled out with a new strapline, ‘Recruiting experts worldwide’, which is designed to have a double meaning and can be adapted for Hays’ various areas of specialism –‘Recruiting experts in Financial Services’, ‘Recruiting experts in IT’ and so forth.

Furthermore, a new tone of voice will be adopted to reflect Hays’ status as a market leader. Staff will be told to resist the temptation to be over-friendly in communications as the company believes people want direction, expertise and professionalism.

A new ‘H’ symbol will also be used as a support element on all corporate communications and will be made up of all the sectors in which Hays specialises. Meanwhile, specific ‘H’ symbols have been designed for each market – for example, in its education division, the ‘H’ will be made up of books.

Douglas-Home says: “The new strapline conveys expertise but can be tailored to our particular specialisms. If you’d have said a year ago that we could do that – and use the ‘H’ as an icon – I’d have said that’s a very big ask. It’s quite brave of a company to have a global strapline that can be adapted to illustrate its credentials in micro markets. I’m incredibly proud of what we have put in place – and of the additional creative element of using the ‘H’ symbols.

“The reaction to having a clearly articulated brand strategy and vision has been phenomenal. People are saying they’ve never had a really strong platform on which they can go and present themselves to clients on a day-to-day basis. It’s exciting to see the business get behind the principles of having a strong brand and how it can add weight to our day-to-day go-to-market activities.”

The rebrand will be unveiled as a phased roll out starting in October, when the new branding will start to appear on business cards, stationery and other literature. Interbrand has been working with Hays staff for about six months to start introducing the changes internally and a second phase will follow in the first quarter of next year that will see all of its IT aligned, including a full website rebrand.

Abraham adds: “This is about Hays changing their service offer and the way they interact with clients – it’s a fundamental change in what Hays does as a business. The visual identity is almost a side product – it’s only a signal of the change coming. This really is a true business transformation.”  

Peer review
David Cole, Thoughtomatic
The rebrand looks safe and dependable, like that of a global business.

The concept of ‘Powering the world of work’ is interesting, with lots of creative possibilities, and the changeable strapline is a good strategy, allowing Hays to communicate to each audience effectively.

Visually, positioning the strapline to the right of the logo works well, as does the ‘H’ symbol, which gives the impression of strength and safety. The gradient shows a certain extent of modernism.

I haven’t seen enough of the brand in action to make a true judgement, but I am left feeling it’s a little safe – cold maybe. Where’s the warmth and sparkle?

David Gilbert, Nucleus
The [recruitment] market is increasingly commoditised. The survivors will be those that have perfected the self-service model, or those that prove their expertise in market niches.

Hays are caught in the crossfire: too big to be niche, and possessing no real differentiation. They have to find a defendable market position, and fast.

That’s why Interbrand is claiming a business transformation – it has to be far more than a simple brand exercise, otherwise the problem won’t be addressed. Time will tell if their solution is effective. Expertise is a fugitive concept, but if it galvanises the Hays brand into action, then that’s a huge positive.

Richard Houston, Wolff Olins
Simple and effective. This sends out a clear signal that Hays is serious about becoming a more global brand, starting first with how it looks and how it talks.

Their idea around experts and expertise takes the business into interesting territory - Hays could become a platform for its clients and its employees to truly become specialists.

However, this idea will only be effective if they change the way they work. So, how will the new values prompt new and better behaviours from their people? And most importantly, how do these new values drive action and impact on the day-to-day experience for clients?

Transform 2010, the UK’s only dedicated awards event for brand rebuilding and redesign, is now accepting entries. If you’ve been involved in any form of rebrand, visit http://www.transformawards.com/