A little background

2019 saw the launch of the new Telegraph employer proposition … You make the story. This was the creative articulation of the research, findings and definition of their employer value proposition carried out during the Spring of 2019.

For over 160 years, The Telegraph has had a clear purpose – to lead the news agenda, spark debate and provoke comment through journalism. In today’s constantly changing landscape, our purpose is more important than ever. As their business continues to evolve, they asked us to help them define what it is that makes them a great place to work. To build creative and meaningful marketing to help them engage creative, digital, editorial, professional services and sales job seekers. And to help them tell their employer story.

Our approach

What The Telegraph needed was an employer brand that:

  • Reflects the culture of today’s Telegraph

  • Resonates with job seekers across creative, digital, editorial, professional services, and sales roles

  • Feels warm, inclusive, and genuinely engaging

  • Puts the spotlight on the people who make The Telegraph what it is

  • Is flexible enough to work across a range of media and platforms

At its heart, the goal of this new people proposition was simple: to attract, engage, and retain the right talent.

In the short term, success would be measured by a few key indicators – more traffic to The Telegraph’s careers site, an increase in quality applications, positive feedback from candidates, improved employee engagement survey results, encouraging input from hiring managers, and fewer new starters leaving within their first six months.

Our research

The Telegraph identified five key audience groups: creative, digital, editorial, professional services, and sales job seekers. These groups became the backbone of both internal and external research, playing a vital role in focus groups, online surveys, and in-depth interviews. They also helped validate the research findings—acting as a sounding board for the initial themes and proposition, and ultimately confirming the core messages designed to engage them.

Based on this research, an employer proposition was developed, shared, and agreed upon—not just by the target audiences, but also by the recruitment team and senior leadership. While having a defined proposition was valuable, it was the five supporting themes that truly struck a chord. Each audience group said they could clearly see these themes reflected across the organisation.

Key themes

Using the findings of the research, The Telegraph were able to map the importance of each of these pillars with the expectations of their five key recruitment audiences. These were then translated into short statements and assigned to a key audience of job seekers. This message matrix would form the foundation of the creative development – a message or sentiment that would strongly resonate with its intended audience.

This is an exciting place to work

We’re united behind our purpose

We want you to be yourself

We have a clear vision

We’re ambitious for growth

It soon became evident, however, that different themes resonated more strongly with different parts of the business. Because of this, the messaging needed to be flexible – certain themes would need to be dialled up or down depending on who The Telegraph was trying to connect with.

The creative execution

Throughout the research it quickly became clear that success was often achieved when the company and its people worked together. Recognising that as the company grows so do the opportunities, rewards and, ultimately, security for their colleagues. And to do this the company will support their aspirations and encourage them to bring their whole self to work. The full visual identity consists of:

  • The employee’s image
  • The diamond overlay
  • The key message which is taken from the message matrix
  • The ‘You make the story’ line reinforcing the people proposition
  • The Telegraph logo

The people proposition is now lovingly referred to internally as ‘You make the story’.

That Little Agency - Employer Branding - Telegraph Media Group Employer Brand Billboard Image
That Little Agency - Employer Branding - Careers Websites - Content Marketing - TMG Video Image ThumbnailPlay Video

The employer brand film

Film has little impact if it doesn’t have a story. And The Telegraph have a fantastic story to tell. In this case it is the story of the people in the organisation and the impact that work has on them and the world around them.

Using our employer propositions as a guide to shape the narrative of the film, we cut together archive, Telegraph-produced and new workplace footage to help articulate The Telegraph’s vision, values, behaviours and proposition. The result is a 90 second film that we believe positions the purpose of The Telegraph, the importance of their people to delivering it and what they need now to keep moving forward.

That Little Agency - Employer Branding - Careers Websites - Content Marketing - Telegraph Careers Website Image

The careers website

You never get a second chance to make a great first impression, so the new Telegraph Media Group careers website has been designed not only to be interesting and informative, but to have a real, lasting impact on the job seeker. To position them as an employer of choice to a wide range of editorial, creative and corporate services professionals in London, Chatham and Manchester. The result is the new Telegraph careers website.

Visit Telegraph Careers

The impact

Having launched in 2019 the ‘You make the story’ employer proposition is still very much in its infancy with the messaging still being rolled out both internally and externally. But we can already see some very encouraging trends.

That Little Agency - Employer Branding - Careers Website - Hires Icon

89%

of recruitment done through the team

44%

increase in hires made through referral scheme (2020 vs 2019)

That Little Agency - Employer Branding - Careers Website - Applications Icon

47%

increase in applications from BAME candidates

55%

decrease in the cost per hire (2020 vs 2019)

£0.5m

saved on agency fees in 2020 compared to 2019

The final word

“What stands out most about The Telegraph’s employer proposition is how well it captures the spirit of our organisation. It reflects the culture, the talent, the diversity, and the energy I see every day – and that’s no small achievement.

Partnering with That Little Agency was a great experience. They really took the time to understand what we needed, collaborated closely with us, and approached the entire project with patience and a consultative mindset. They also made the process genuinely enjoyable. Even after the project wrapped, they stayed engaged – offering ongoing support, advice, and helping ensure the work gained the visibility it deserved.”

Head of Talent Acquisition
Telegraph Media Group