CEO John Herfkens || \N
| umber of employees 400 | Company turnover €30m |
Brand values creative, entrepreneurial, market-oriented, honourable
and pride | Brand promise ‘Where do you want to start?’ | Target group
private companies, governmental institutions, individuals | Primary
advertising media national and local magazines, internet
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Cradle to grave
Baker and Gardiner. Fletcher and Miller. As surnames became neces-
sary due to the Norman habit of re-using personal names, the trade by
which one earned a living became important as a means of identifica-
tion. For cen­turies, these trades were subsequently passed down entire
family lines, creating sixth, seventh, even eight-generation tradesmen
who lived and breathed their trade from the cradle to the grave.
No longer. Now we go to school, college or university, and can/have to
choose what we want to do with the rest of our lives before we reach matu-
rity. Then, when we have a job, even that is not secure. The days of lifelong
employment are well and truly over. So what happens if you’ve worked all
your life to ensure you have employment? Endured the endless maternal
and paternal cries of “No homework, no dinner!”, only to hear there are
going to be forced redundancies in your company. Or perhaps you were
made redundant a long time ago and have absolutely no confidence in
your own abilities any more. Or maybe you simply want to change your
Coolbrands: Mark in discussion with John Herfkens
current profession. What do you do?
USG Restart is specialised in this sort of situation. With 25 branches lo-
cated throughout the Netherlands, it is the result of a merger of three
companies, United Restart, Carela and Accea. All three were specialised
in HR services and solutions. Bringing together the skills from all three,
the new company’s function is to help people get back to work and to help
companies with their employment issues. This includes those who are let
go, people who need to get to work again or people who have to keep their
job yet are lacking the necessary skills to succeed as needed. All solutions
have an association with development, work and income. However, as any
commercial organisation, USG Restart is subject to market developments
and the market is changing.
The change in the market is in part due to one of the positive develop-
ments mentioned above - company’s social responsibility. Whereas in the
past companies may not have devoted much attention to redundancies, it
is good business practice nowadays to help anyone in your company who,
for whatever reason, needs to find another job. As a result, USG Restart
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finds itself being asked to help out far earlier in the value chain. Whereas
it used to be called in at the very end of the process – helping those who
had been made redundant – it is now involved in integrated HR services;
matters such as job coaching, assessments, outplacement, career coach-
ing, and so forth. How then, do you adapt an organisation that previously
had little experience in these areas, especially when you need even a new
name following the merger of three separate companies?
A brand new day
Back to the drawing board to Restart
First things first – like with a newborn baby - the company started out by giv-
ing the new operation a name. An extensive survey showed that most of the
brand association was with Restart, with a strong link to quality, attention to
people and doing what they promised. Another point was that 70% of the 300
companies interviewed believed Restart was already offering the new, extended
portfolio, so in using the name there would be less need to market the new of-
fering. Restart is also a good concept for all the activities and can be used in all
sorts of communities, such as Restart Communities, Restart 45+, etc. Another
reason for using the name was the company’s international ambitions and USG
Restart’s applicability throughout Europe. Finally, a survey showed that the
staff were also happy with the new denomination.
So, with the name decided, time for a logo. As with all good logos, they were
looking for a logo that would immediately show what the company stands for
– hence the puppet representing a human being. The ‘more than’ symbol means
that people are the most important thing for USG Restart or, better said, the
company makes people better. A logo needs a tagline as well, of course. Seeking
something to meet the same issues as the brand name, the company decided on
‘Where do you want to start’, aiming to show that it’s never too late, whatever
your position in the job cycle.
With the identity in place, the issue remained as to how it should reposition itself
so that clients/potential clients knew about the broader service package the com-
pany had to offer. Another survey showed that HR services are anything but top-
of-mind services or products, so that they are not easy to remember. It clearly
would not be any use to advertise nationally at prime time, as designated peo-
ple only need these services at particular times. Accordingly, the new company’s
advertising campaign focused on a few specific national and local magazines
and the internet. The latter aimed to attract visitors to the new company web-
site, which went live on 1 June 2007.
The campaign and new positioning has worked. Restart finds itself called in
far higher in the value chain (a person’s career) as intended, is therefore more
pro­fitable and capable of connecting to possible clients earlier. John Herfkens,
USG Restart CEO: “The market is completely different to even ten years ago.
Nowadays we need to connect and discuss solutions before the problems start
arising. If not, both USG Restart and our potential clients will miss the boat. We
have managed to keep the best of what we had, and have created the ideal set-
ting for what we need to grow. There are exciting times ahead.”
So now you know, if it all goes pear-shaped…