How do you build an employer brand on purpose?

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Combining purpose and personality for the National Audit Office

The NAO had a great story to tell

The National Audit Office scrutinise public spending for Parliament. They make millions of lives better, by bringing about improvements in the way public services are delivered.

This means that everyone there does work that has huge value, real purpose, and, in many cases, remarkable influence.

Like we said, it was a great story. They just needed to make more people aware of it through an employer brand that could tell it.

We started by doing our research

It was vital that we understood how the NAO was perceived today, the character and personality of the organisation, the reality of life there, their values and exactly how they wanted to be known in the future.

So, we held six leadership interviews, ran focus groups with trainees and experienced hires in both London and Newcastle and gathered further insight through analysis of exit interviews and research into the competitor landscape.

We looked beyond the purpose

Sure, the purpose was a big part of this story. But there were far more reasons to join than just that. We discovered a whole host of things, from great training and generous rewards to fascinating work and an open, inclusive culture. And we developed these key themes into attributes that would underpin the employer brand. These were:

  • A purpose to believe in
  • Work that means more
  • Opportunities you create
  • A culture to feel part of
  • Challenges to rise to
  • Learning that inspires
  • Rewards beyond the work

It was clear that when someone joins the NAO, they don’t just do work that changes the world around them – they positively change their own professional world too. And this gave us the hook we needed.

From a visual point of view, we’ve given the NAO a bold and bright identity that better reflects the impactful and influential organisation they are. The headlines are bold and confident, and they’re supported by imagery that shows the sheer range of areas in which their work makes an impact.

We’ve mixed in some working culture shots too, to make sure the whole picture is being painted.

Video profiles bring the site to life.