November 21, 2023
Catalyst Solutions together with First Bank – Employer Branding Campaign: How it went?
What does the EVP defining process entail?
In the context of an unprecedented dynamic that the Romanian labour market is currently facing, for many employers one of the main concerns is how to inspire and retain their employees. And the employer brand has probably the most crucial role in this scheme.
An essential topic for creating an employer branding strategy is how we approach this process of defining the EVP. A term which, 17 years ago, was almost unknown in Romania. During the last year, together with First Brank, Catalyst Solutions, the most important employer branding consultancy and talent attraction company, went through an extensive employer branding process.
The goal of the campaign for First Bank was identifying the EVP, a complex, complete, and co-created procedure. Complex because it entailed a blend of both cantitative and qualitative data in a final analysis. This data included: 250 exit-interviews, the results of a survey testing the satisfaction level of the employers during the last 3 years at the company, as well as 12.000 comments and opinions received from the First Bank employees.
Complete because, in addition to the internal perspective, the procedure implied an external component too. This time, data included candidate perception of First Bank and what expectations they have from the the employer. An important aspect was also a competition analysis in order to better understand the differentiating factors, where The Most Desired Employers study played an essential role because it contains information on candidate behaviour and the expectations they have from companies activating within the labour market of Romania.
And, finally, a co-created process because, in this kind of projects, having an extended team is crucial, and in the case of First Bank too, team collaboration, readiness, proactivity and motivation were all running at full capacity, coming from top management, managers and employees.
The project of EVP localization traces 3 visible pillars in First Bank’s company culture: professional challenges (autonomy and delegation), team support (from both colleagues and managers) and impact (“you can make a difference” and freedom of expression)
“We started this project with the intention to draw the lines of our organization culture defining First Bank, which happened within two years. When we reached the consolidation stage, we considered that the time has come for our “employer DNA” to materialise, communicating who we really are. We chose to work with Catalyst Solutions on our employer brand and refining our EVP, and, in retrospective, we consider it was the best choice for us. Catalyst Solutions team is renowned for having the most extensive expertise in employer branding on the Romanian market, as well as being an actual brand for projects with tradition, and, nonetheless, having a large amount of data to calibrate an employer. Something that maybe not many people know about them, especially if not working with them directly, is that they have an exceptional organisation culture themselves, one that results in professionalism, expertise, and rapidity in execution. While working with them, I felt like they were totally invested in the objective their client had, not only for the whole duration of the process, but also much time after they delivered the results, taking a huge, authentic interest in the sustainable value they could add, hand in hand with their contribution. Moreover, they are open to experiment, listen and collaborate in a way that moves actions forward and moves hearts. The collaboration with Catalyst helped us distill the idea of “WE” on solid data analysis, and do it as a consequence of a thorough and sustained process.” – Andreea Mihnea, Chief People Officer First Bank.
“Every project that we get involved in reconfirms our commitment to excellence and we are honoured of First Bank’s trust in our expertise. We are happy to have had the chance to take on this endeavour together – an EVP defining campaign and the success of our partnership with First Bank is thanks to our teams. For the whole duration of the process, First Bank team reacted with extraordinary promptitude. It was really pleasurable to see that we have such a similar work-style and rhythm, and for us, this project is in the top of the fastest delivered EVP development service.” – Madalina Boicu, Project Manager – Employer Branding Advisory Catalyst Solutions.
As a result of our efforts, the communication campaign My First at First Bank („The bank where everyone shines their firsts”), implemented by First Bank and Cheil Centrade, emerged.
Through this campaign we get to know a part of the First Bank team, who can now feel a sense of achievement and also convey an invitation for candidates that wish to work in a different banking environment, where initiatives are supported by the team, and each member of the team has the opportunity to be in the spotlight.
Catalyst Solutions is the most important employer branding consultancy and talent attraction company on the local market, with over 17 years of expertise in labour market research, and in the creation of end-to-end employer branding solutions. The portfolio of clients reunites both local and international companies, including Continental Romania, MassMutual Romania, Bosch Romania, Systematic, LSEG România, Accenture Romania, SLB Schlumberger, BAT Romania, SoftServe, Google, HELLA Romania, Bosch Service Solutions, Lidl, JTI Romania, Michelin Romania, Ursus Breweries, Vodafone Romania, Deloitte Romania, L’Oreal Romania, KPMG Romania, McDonald’s in Romania, Mega Image, Raiffeisen Bank, Renault Group Romania.
First Bank is an independent bank, under the ownership of the private investment fund J.C. Flowers & Co, one of the leaders of private equity, dedicated to global investments in the field of financial services.
Under the slogan “The American Way”, First Bank firmly believes in the American culture of initiative and action with special attention to the client’s needs, as well as innovation, mission which inspired the almost 1000 employers to deliver services at high standards.
First Bank offers financial products for PF and supports local companies through funding, further investments and development, all using modern financial tools (Internet&Mobile Banking, the concept of virtual subsidiaries, together with an important network of territorial units).
For more information on campaigns, recruitment and employer branding solutions we can help you with, please do not hesitate to drop us a line at angajatori@catalyst.ro
