Cath Kidston
Cath Kidston - EVP, Employer Brand and Careers Site
Cath Kidston is an iconic British brand, adored by many both inside and outside the business. ‘Close to the customer’ was a brand immersive and consistent experience however as you moved through the different areas of the business, from department to department, and across the support functions it was clear that staff’s perceptions of the business and what it meant to be part of ‘Cath’ differed and were often diluted. There was a great opportunity to revitalise the brand – not just in the external talent markets where we had a great story to tell but weren’t doing so - but internally, to identify and celebrate what makes Cath a special place to work and in so doing embed more pride, cohesion and engagement.
As always it starts with setting clear business objectives and a discovery process to ensure that all decisions are based in a foundation of fact. We reviewed survey and exit data, spent time with teams and key stakeholders both in stores and head office. By now we knew them better than they knew themselves and could build the pillars of a unique and compelling EVP – one in which people could take real pride and ownership and, as it turned out, actively champion. Out of the EVP, we developed the ‘Loving your Work’ employer brand and were able to deploy it at every touch point on the employee lifecycle from initial attraction, selection and careers site to onboarding, recognition, wellbeing and exit. And much more besides - checking our progress against the business objectives set at the start of the exercise.
Brilliant work, beautifully executed. A new and better recruitment process, reduced third party spend and a measurably better and more consistent candidate and employee experience.
And, more than that, a new sense of shared pride and identity in what it meant to be here and now on the Cath journey.