Attracting and retaining the right employees – challenges that every business must face in the current market. In the logistics industry, the problem is greater still. Drivers, planners, operators, … The industry is constantly on the lookout for the right people, and those people are particularly hard to come by. In addition, intense competition between businesses means that the turnover rate is fairly high.

Van Moer Logistics took up the challenge with creative communications agency Oddball. The goal? To attract the right candidates in a way that was convincing and to better retain current employees.

Recruit talent, retain employees

Van Moer Logistics is a familiar and respected name in the logistics industry. It employs some 2,300 people, which brings challenges in terms of employer branding, recruitment and employee commitment.

Oddball decided to take a well-considered, strategic approach. ‘When prospective employees recognise themselves in an employer brand, it’s easier to attract them and integrate them into the business. The latter is of particular importance because committed employees have more loyalty,’ explains Stefaan Van Weverberghe, Employer Branding Expert at Oddball.

Van Moer Logistics took up the challenge with creative communications agency Oddball. The goal? To attract the right candidates in a way that was convincing and to better retain current employees.

Recruit talent, retain employees

Van Moer Logistics is a familiar and respected name in the logistics industry. It employs some 2,300 people, which brings challenges in terms of employer branding, recruitment and employee commitment.

Oddball decided to take a well-considered, strategic approach. ‘When prospective employees recognise themselves in an employer brand, it’s easier to attract them and integrate them into the business. The latter is of particular importance because committed employees have more loyalty,’ explains Stefaan Van Weverberghe, Employer Branding Expert at Oddball.

A powerful identity for a persuasive employer brand

Oddball tackled the challenge in well-considered, strategic steps. ‘There were twelve workshops with 104 participants in which we analysed the way in which employees perceive the Van Moer Logistics employer brand,’ explains Stefaan. ‘We also put out a survey, which 241 employees from all areas of the business completed and returned.’

‘With that information, we developed a powerful employer value proposition (EVP). That vision statement clearly describes what the employer stands for and where its strengths and weaknesses lie. We also spent considerable time on the employee experience – how do they view their employer, the recruitment procedures and follow-up during their careers? Plus, how does the business handle employees when they leave the business? We took a closer look at the complete employee journey. The information from the survey and workshops was the basis for a comprehensive people plan.’

A powerful identity for a persuasive employer brand

Oddball tackled the challenge in well-considered, strategic steps. ‘There were twelve workshops with 104 participants in which we analysed the way in which employees perceive the Van Moer Logistics employer brand,’ explains Stefaan. ‘We also put out a survey, which 241 employees from all areas of the business completed and returned.’

‘With that information, we developed a powerful employer value proposition (EVP). That vision statement clearly describes what the employer stands for and where its strengths and weaknesses lie. We also spent considerable time on the employee experience – how do they view their employer, the recruitment procedures and follow-up during their careers? Plus, how does the business handle employees when they leave the business? We took a closer look at the complete employee journey. The information from the survey and workshops was the basis for a comprehensive people plan.’

When prospective employees recognise themselves in an employer brand, it’s easier to attract them and integrate them into the business.

A careful balance of authenticity and creativity

The assets of Van Moer Logistics formed the foundation for the EVP. With this as a basis, Oddball developed a nicely creative campaign that was consistent with how employees view Van Moer Logistics as an employer. The cross-media campaign had its go-live in October 2021 and is still up and running more than one year later.

‘We used different channels to attract profiles and retain employees,’ explains Stefaan. ‘For recruitment, we established social media campaigns and campaigns on search engines. We also arranged a fun truck pulling experience at a job fair. Our creative campaign on HGV(*) Driver’s Day centred on appreciation and respect for HGV drivers, not just our own, but drivers at other companies as well. We also linked it with a competition, which resulted in several new contacts,’ explains Stefaan.

A careful balance of authenticity and creativity

The assets of Van Moer Logistics formed the foundation for the EVP. With this as a basis, Oddball developed a nicely creative campaign that was consistent with how employees view Van Moer Logistics as an employer. The cross-media campaign had its go-live in October 2021 and is still up and running more than one year later.

‘We used different channels to attract profiles and retain employees,’ explains Stefaan. ‘For recruitment, we established social media campaigns and campaigns on search engines. We also arranged a fun truck pulling experience at a job fair. Our creative campaign on HGV(*) Driver’s Day centred on appreciation and respect for HGV drivers, not just our own, but drivers at other companies as well. We also linked it with a competition, which resulted in several new contacts,’ explains Stefaan.

Creative campaign with great success

The results of the collaboration have been impressive. The advertising campaign on Facebook attracted 50 applications for HGV driver positions in one month. For a bottleneck profession, that’s a large number of applications. Van Moer Logistics was quickly able to recruit several new HGV drivers as a result. The authentic, creative translation of the employer brand has also had a major impact internally.

In the coming months, Van Moer Logistics and Oddball wish to capitalise on that momentum. A new multilingual job website will help to significantly increase the conversion rate of online visitors. Furthermore, the logistics provider is also hoping to achieve results with content creation, with authentic stories that prospective candidates can connect with.

Interested in employer branding for your business? Arrange a discussion with Oddball to learn more.

Download or order your free Gumption magazine.