WELLBEING SERVICES COUNTY OF VANTAA AND KERAVA – Communication

Hyvantekijät – Drum designed the employer image of the Wellbeing services county of Vantaa and Kerava

Drum designed an employer image for VAKE, the Vantaa and Kerava wellbeing county, which was established in 2023, with the aim of engaging existing employees in the new community and attracting new employees. The communication addressed a social sector struggling with a shortage of employees. The successful employer image won, among others, the award for Communications Work of the Year at the 2023 Finnish Comms Awards.

An employer image that supports employee retention and employer attractiveness

While good workers and workforce retention are vital, the sector of healthcare and social welfare is struggling with both retention and attractiveness. While good workers and workforce retention are vital, the sector of healthcare and social welfare is struggling with both retention and attractiveness. VAKE, in need of both existing and new recruits, wanted to put a large effort into employer image work, and in close collaboration with branding work, comprehensive employer image work was carried out before the organisation started its operations on 1st of January 2023.

In a changing situation, it was important to quickly build a strong employer image that would engage existing employees in the new community and attract new employees.

An employer image was created that reflects joy, enthusiasm and pride, drawing on values, meaningful work and the new organisation’s core mission. The aim was to show appreciation for the employees and their work.

We help, we treat, we rescue

The long and complicated name of the organisation and its original abbreviation, Vakehyva, were translated into a communicational asset. The vision was summarised as:

Good, better, the best.

This was done to underline the growth path towards becoming the best wellbeing services county in Finland.

The value proposition was summarised as:

We help, we treat, we rescue,

and it was decided to start talking about workers as do-gooders (hyvantekija).

These became the premise for the marketing communication concept of the Hyvantekijat, in which the experts in the sector of healthcare and social welfare are presented as heroes.

Hyvantekijat is easy to engage with

The materials and theme of Hyvantekijat have been utilised extensively in VAKE’s channels, events and recruitment marketing. The staff are happy to be part of the Hyvantekijät team and the hashtag has taken off.

VAKE’s brand has attracted the attention of jobseekers, both at events and in recruitment. The number of applicants doubled immediately after the launch and continued to increase. There has been a high volume of applications in a sector facing a huge workforce shortage.