How Refined elevated their employer branding with TalentBee in the tech scenes of Malmö & Helsinki

There's a visionary, Malmö-based company that's been making waves by enhancing the user experience of the Atlassian business software – Refined. Refined’s mission is to empower and uplift the UX of essential Atlassian tools like Jira and Confluence. With its ingenious interface tools, Refined is transforming these platforms into visually appealing, customizable sites that any non-technical person can master.

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Their impressive client roster boasts giants like Coca Cola, Spotify, Airbnb and Samsung, showcasing their capability to deliver tailored, scalable solutions through a subscription model. With an organic growth trajectory, Refined enjoys a stable financial situation with 5,000 customers in 100+ countries, underpinned by a team of 54 diverse individuals spread across Malmö, Helsinki, and beyond.

Refined’s business need for employer branding

Refined prides itself on its Scandinavian engineering ethos, prioritizing quality, stability, and a stress-free work environment over aggressive expansion. This philosophy resonates through their distributed team of 23 nationalities, where autonomy, ownership, and a passion for problem-solving are valued. It’s an organically grown company where driven individuals can thrive, embodying a culture of creativity and responsibility.

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However, despite their solid core offering and strong cultural proposition, Refined faced a challenge common to many in the tech industry – employer branding. Until recently, EB efforts were minimal, with some content creation and a presence at developer conferences being the extent of their strategy.

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Refined realized that their remarkable internal culture and innovative work weren't enough to attract the bright minds they needed to fuel their growth. The company needed a strategic approach to showcase their unique value as an employer, especially since they’re not competing on salaries alone.

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This is where TalentBee buzzes into the story, bringing its expertise in Employer Branding as a Service. Recognizing the untapped potential in Refined’s existing culture and values, TalentBee saw an opportunity to craft a narrative that would resonate with the exact demographic Refined aimed to attract – medium to senior level tech & SaaS talent in the Malmö & Helsinki tech scene.

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The employer branding collaboration between Refined and TalentBee is essentially about enhancing Refined’s visibility in the tech job market in Malmö and Helsinki. It’s about telling a story that could bridge the gap between Refined’s internal achievements and the external perception of the company.

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Kicking off the employer branding collaboration between Refined and TalentBee

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The collaboration between Refined and TalentBee was spearheaded by Chloe Nauta, the Head of People at Refined, and Siiri Laaksonen, TalentBee's Employer Branding Strategist and Lead. Together, they aimed to redefine Refined's employer brand.

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Goals, objectives, and expectations for employer branding

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In the beginning, Chloe shared about their objectives for employer branding: "We need to clarify the message for potential candidates, why working with us is enticing. We also want to communicate the pride our employees have in their work and company, and to build brand recognition within the Malmö & Helsinki tech scene.”

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This statement became the guiding star for the partnership, focusing on creating a compelling narrative that would resonate with potential candidates and the wider tech community.

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Key priorities included:

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• Creating unified messaging: Developing a consistent script for introductions, ensuring anyone involved in the hiring process could articulate Refined’s mission, culture, and work environment cohesively.
• Utilizing digital platforms: Leveraging the career site more effectively to host information that aids candidates in understanding Refined's work and ethos.
• Building awareness and pride: Enhancing brand recognition and sharing the inherent pride Refined's team has in their company and projects.

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The talent segment Refined aims to attract

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Focused on the Atlassian ecosystem and large companies familiar with operating at scale, Refined aims to attract talents who are eager to make a significant impact. This talent segment includes engineers, along with professionals in go-to-market functions such as marketing, sales, and customer success.

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Chloe and Siiri recognized that understanding the specific type of individual who is both aware of Refined as an employer and motivated by the company’s mission would be critical in tailoring their EB efforts effectively.

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Tackling bottlenecks in talent acquisition with employer branding

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Refined faced bottlenecks in talent acquisition, primarily around awareness and perception. Potential candidates often had little understanding of what Refined does or the significance of its products, leading to a need for a clearer and more engaging explanation of Refined’s role in enhancing the UX for business software.

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The collaboration identified key areas for improvement:

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• Clarifying Refined’s offerings for candidates: Simplifying the message about what Refined does, making it accessible even without prior context.
• Elevating digital brand presence: Addressing the lack of brand recognition in tech circles.
• Enhancing activation and retention: Ensuring that the recruitment process not only attracts but also retains talent through better communication of the company culture, values, and the pride employees take in their work.

First steps in the EB collaboration

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The employer branding project between Refined and TalentBee embarked on a meticulously planned journey, starting with an initial kickoff in December 2023 that saw Chloe, Siiri and Janette, the COO at Refined, laying the groundwork for the EB strategy.

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The real momentum began in January 2024, with an engaging workshop involving six Refined employees. This two-hour session not only facilitated active participation but also generated valuable insights into the employee experience at Refined.

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The workshop and subsequent analysis provided crucial takeaways, such as insights into the career aspirations of Refined employees before joining the company, how they discovered Refined, and their views on its unique selling points compared to competitors. It also highlighted areas for improvement, viewing them as opportunities to enhance the workplace.

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Feedback from the workshop underscored the positive impact of such initiatives, with one participant noting, "the takeaway was that everyone really loves working at Refined. If we have anyone who is thinking of leaving we should send them to that workshop." This sentiment reflected the sense of belonging and satisfaction among the team members.

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Following the workshop, Siiri dove deep into:

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• Creating an EB playbook and action plan by February. This comprehensive document included goals, a vision for the employer brand, positioning, recommended channels, and core messages, setting the stage for the tangible steps that would follow.
• The development of a career page update plan alongside a commitment to continuous EB content marketing on social media. This dual approach aimed to enrich potential candidates' understanding of Refined, portraying it as an attractive workplace.
• Cornerstone content creation and ongoing content production were outlined to spotlight Refined's chosen EB communication themes, ensuring a dynamic and engaging narrative.

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On the side, we focused on quick successes in recruitment marketing

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Parallel to these strategic EB efforts, agile methodologies were employed to bolster ongoing recruitment activities.

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A streamlined process for creating job ads was established, emphasizing discussions with hiring managers to identify and communicate the unique selling points of each open role. The creation of social media content, including blog posts, LinkedIn updates, team member testimonials, and employee spotlights, successfully drove traffic to open job positions.

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This innovative approach to recruitment marketing led to a consistent influx of inbound candidates, many of whom praised the clarity and informativeness of Refined's job postings as the best they had encountered.

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Hiring managers received positive feedback during screening calls, affirming the effectiveness of the newly adopted strategies. These concerted efforts already significantly enhanced Refined's appeal as an employer and streamlined its talent acquisition process.

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