Recruitment risks from a rebrand
Now bear with me, but I'm going to link a failed rebrand within the automotive industry to recruitment. I promise the link makes sense.
Towards the end of 2024, British staple Jaguar decided to go through a rebrand. The company was going through a tough period of sales decline and decided it needed a shakeup. Not a bad idea on paper, but it ended up being a catastrophic error. Jaguar decided that they didn't need to be associated with jaguars anymore, opting instead for a logo that is a minimalistic nameplate. They also launched their rebrand with an advertising campaign that many felt missed quite the crucial element: cars!
Nowhere in the slogans, adverts, logos, or on anything else that was released did it mention that Jaguar was still in the car business. The general consensus? It looked more like a rebrand of a high-end fashion retailer than an automotive manufacturer. Safe to say the rebrand really didn’t work, with European sales dropping 97.5% between April 2024 to April 2025.
Not only does a rebrand performing this badly impact financial performance, it can also have a severe impact on recruitment efforts (told you I'd get the link to make sense). But in what ways will it impact the ability to attract talent? And is there any way to overcome these potential hardships?
Budget cuts
This is quite a simple one to explain. A failed rebrand that affects the revenue will reduce budgets for a lot of departments, including HR and hiring managers. Lower budget means less leeway for salary demands, so top talent may be harder to attract.
To counteract this, work on the other aspects of the proposition that aren't strictly financial. Why is the role itself an exciting opportunity? What non-financial benefits are on offer that could be of interest? What's great about the culture in your workplace? From our experience in the market, these non-financial incentives are becoming more and more sought after and could make all the difference if your salary offering is slightly below competitors.
Reputation damage
This may be the hardest to come back from as a company, as for some talent, especially in the automotive industry, the pull of working for a top brand can be a huge difference maker. The proposition of working for a brand that is received poorly in the industry can itself be a deterrent; top talent typically want to work for the top brands. Jaguar may be able to recover from this setback; despite the marketing campaign being received so poorly, the name Jaguar is still so iconic in the industry that it would take many repeated failures for them to lose the loyalty that has been built over many successful years previously.
Combatting reputation damage may require an ounce of humility and owning up to the mistake made. Job adverts could be key to enticing ambitious, talented workers by focusing on the need for a bounce back in performance. Certain characters are attracted by a fresh challenge, so making this tweaking job adverts to highlight this may help bring in the talent needed.
Higher staff turnover
When a rebrand affects business performance as much as Jaguar's has, high staff turnover is almost a guarantee. Whilst some may be let go or made redundant, there will also be talent that decide to leave on their own accord. This will only heighten the immediate need for new talent, adding additional workload and pressure onto hiring managers to replace potentially top talent.
To help aid talent retention in situations like these, there needs to be certain assurances in place. This could be putting steps in place to show the potential for professional growth is still very real, or it can be around the benefits package being offered. Whilst the option for financial incentives may not be feasible, there are ways to adjust your offerings that can help in retention. Think about flexible working patterns and company culture benefits.
Longer hiring times
The final side effect is all about the length of hiring processes. A damaged reputation in the market can create slightly more hesitance from job candidates in a recruitment cycle, not necessarily because they don't want the job, but they may just hold off a little bit longer to ensure they want to accept when compared to a strong brand in the market. And as we know, longer hiring processes mean it takes longer to get new starters integrated into the team and make the desired impact.
As the issue is from external sources rather than anything internal here, it's harder to come up with a defined strategy to overcome this. The best suggestion is to ensure your recruitment process is as streamlined as possible. Define clear targets for when to respond to candidates, give clear timelines to candidates from the start of the process, and maintain contact throughout to keep the process tidy.
Whilst no rebrand will come without its risks, the impact it can have on internal recruitment should not be swept under the carpet. That being said, a successful rebrand could also have a positive impact on recruitment, with the likes of increased talent pools and greater budgets being made available.
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