A key client
ČEPRO is a key company for the Czech Republic. It is responsible for safeguarding the country’s strategic material reserves. It also transports, stores and sells petroleum products. Every day, its 800 employees ensure that we have fuel to fill our tanks at petrol stations. To do this, it constantly needs new and qualified people across a range of professions throughout the Czech Republic. And that’s quite a HR challenge, which the people at ČEPRO decided to tackle with a new careers website.
They needed a solution where applicants could find vacancies in one place, understand what the roles entail, learn about the company culture… in short, get a good idea of whether to send their CV to ČEPRO. Among other things, the more precisely they know what to expect from a new job, the higher the likelihood that they will ultimately stay with the company. Which is one of the key factors that reduces the financial costs of recruiting and onboarding new staff.
A plan everyone can agree on?
We already know the result. It is an attractive, comprehensive website full of information, videos and employee stories, which attracts relevant candidates to interviews.
But the starting line? There were lots of people there with lots of different ideas that we needed to bring together. Our tried-and-tested client workshops help us with this, and they helped again this time.
What does a production operator think of their job? What is the company culture like, and what were people worried about when they first joined? What information did people feel was missing, and what would they like to pass on to future colleagues? In short, how does it all work here? What does the HR department, people from various fields, and the company’s board of directors expect from the new website?
We never regret the time we invest in interviews with the company’s employees. After all, we won’t find a better source of authentic information elsewhere, and a career website needs this like salt. The time invested in workshops pays off handsomely for both the client and us.
Data, data, data
Once again, the preparatory phase yielded a wealth of data and information. From the client, from the workshops, from the HR sector, and from our own marketing analysis. We summarised all of this in an initial study, which serves as the starting point on the journey towards our goal for every project. Thanks to this, we knew exactly what, how, and why we would be creating. Once we have the initial study in hand and know the target groups, we can design the website’s structure, its content strategy, and also the marketing campaign that will follow the website’s launch. Has anyone ever offered you a quick and beautiful website off the cuff, without gathering all this data? There are only two ways this is possible: they’re a magician, or they’re not a professional.
Investing in videos and stories? A smart move!
It’s a pleasure to work on a website where the client is willing to invest everything the project requires. ČEPRO is just such a client. Thanks to this, we were able to forget about stock photo and video libraries and design bespoke visual content. Sophisticated videos including scripts, photographs of specific people from the company’s operations… in short, everything tailored to the content strategy and 100% authentic. The finished website conveys a sense of real people and the company’s working atmosphere. We would never have achieved this with borrowed or stock photos.
The specific stories of the employees featured on the website are just as meaningful. A young woman who is glad to have found a role at the company even with three small children. An experienced operator of a certain age who knows why he has been working for the company for 20 years. None of this needed to be invented; it was simply a matter of drawing on the right sources and incorporating them into the website. The result is a visually striking site that will appeal even to those who might not otherwise have considered looking for work in heavy industry.
We’re launching!
Working for major clients is also specific in that the result usually has to be approved by several levels of management, including the board of directors. We ultimately managed to deliver the entire project to ČEPRO ahead of schedule. And this despite the fact that the person responsible for the project at the client’s end changed during the development process.
We know from past experience that it pays to set up the process precisely, adhere to agreed procedures and communicate thoroughly. Then a new team member can easily hop on board, and we’ll reach our destination without stopping.
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