Freedom to find the best

Like all employers, Vodafone (soon to be One New Zealand) has been navigating lock-downs, a rapid move to (more) staff working remotely, and an increasing talent shortage. A household name, the company has become locally owned, with a fast paced environment and a super strong staff culture. Where people are empowered to make a real difference led by a refreshingly ‘non old-school’ CEO and management team.

We needed to work with the people and culture and recruitment teams, and a cross section of staff, to capture the company’s EVP ‘X factor’. And develop a positioning, story and creative platform that would ring true and articulate what was so good about the culture. As with all EVPs the dual purpose was creating a differentiated recruitment platform that would cut through effectively.

Together we developed a working EVP positioning and hypothesis (referencing current vision and values work). We then facilitated Zoom workshops with staff to test the evolving thinking. Their feedback had direct impact, driving changes to the messaging. The consultative process also ensured buy-in.

The result was Vodafone’s ‘Freedom’ EVP. A flexible and multi-level idea, and communications platform that really captures the spirit of the company’s dynamic culture. Celebrating the current team, while ‘showing and telling’ prospective candidates what working at Vodafone is all about — and what kind of people reach their potential with the company. The ‘Freedom’ EVP will ring even stronger with the new ‘One New Zealand’ master brand and over the coming months the look and feel will be evolved to accommodate the new brand identity.