Restaurant company forms unifying employer brand
UK restaurant and pub operator, Mitchells & Butlers, owns a host of popular brands including All Bar One, Harvester, Toby Carvery and Sizzling Pubs.
However, employees were largely unaware that their distinctive companies were united by this one, overarching parent brand. This led Mitchells & Butlers to create a new employer brand proposition that ensures that all of its staff are, firstly, aware of its presence, and secondly, are aware of the career opportunities made available by that.
Liz Philips, director of resourcing and employee relations at Mitchells & Butlers, says, “Working for a large organisation like Mitchells & Butlers offers huge opportunities for career development and we wanted to make sure our employees could engage with and take advantage of this. We also wanted to communicate the important role they play not only in their own places of work but as part of the Mitchells & Butlers’ family.”
Problems affecting the organisation included staff retention and the business’ profile in the job market. Internal communications agency, Good Creative, helped Mitchells & Butlers to create a unifying parent brand that would make employees feel part of a cohesive whole, while attracting new employees. ‘Pride’ and ‘service’ were coined as two business-defining words.
The new employer brand strategy was communicated to employees through print and digital outlets, and the ‘Serving with pride’ concept was illustrated through an employee photoshoot.
Jim Campbell, design director at Good, says, "We based the visual brand around the two circles of the logo. They symbolise an occasion – people coming together to enjoy food and drink – which is at the heart of what Mitchells & Butlers do every day. Together with a warmer tone of voice, colour palette and brand photography we developed a new set of internal brand assets, designed to help build the recognition they deserve.”
Philips says, “Good quickly grasped the values of our company and brought them to life in an engaging way. The response from employees has been extremely positive.”
