We Rise brought together a group of diverse young aspiring lawyers and social media natives to advise the Crown Prosecution Service on how their recruitment campaigns can really connect with their target audience.
Our client brief
The Crown Prosecution Service asked We Rise to help develop its new apprenticeship recruitment campaign to reach a younger and more diverse audience. The CPS works within a strong corporate, legal and brand framework and is developing a new employer brand identity. They asked us to help them make their content more appealing to young people aged 18-25 and to help them create a digital campaign that appeals to a diverse audience.
Specifically they asked us to:
- Suggest ways to improve the reach of recruitment collateral
- Suggest ways of increasing appeal of content to a more diverse audience
- Create content that can be used to reach and appeal better to our target audience, particularly from a digital focus
What we did
The We Rise team acted as consultants to help our client understand how young people from diverse backgrounds think, how they respond to messages and how they access content.
Our young team:
- reviewed the current recruitment process and looked at how it could be improved
- spoke to apprentices to understand what’s great about working at the CPS
- brainstormed together to come up with ideas about what most resonates with them and how they would like to receive information
In the process we came up with lots of ideas and examples of the sorts of things that would make them notice the CPS and feel positive about it as a future employer.
Our client was based in Liverpool so we brought our young team together and worked with the CPS team via email, google drive and Zoom. This included an online workshop and Q&A with CPS apprentices so our young team got a real understanding of the benefits of the CPS as an employer.
Value to our client
Our young team were aged 16-18 and all aspiring to enter a legal career. Many of them were interested in finding out about CPS apprenticeships and the career progression routes on offer.
“I learnt about the different roles within the CPS and gained knowledge that there are actually other routes to university.”
Jesse
They came up with lots of ideas and suggestions which we brought together in a detailed report that the CPS could use internally to help them make decisions and brief their communications teams.
The CPS team found this feedback incredibly helpful.
“We have used ideas the young people came up with to inform our recruitment campaign. Their insight into what they didn’t understand about our current recruitment process was really useful. We will be able to use their ideas and guidance to tailor it to their perspective.”
Charlotte Clynch, Marketing & Communications Manager (Resourcing), Crown Prosecution Service
Value to young people
We recruited nine young people from local schools and brought them together for a series of workshops in April. This was the first time they had been able to work face to face since the winter lockdown so it was a really valuable opportunity during a time when young people’s lives had been so constrained.
“A lot of young people have been affected in work experience as a result of the pandemic, some require particular grades to get into Uni. However, WE RISE gives every young individual a chance to actually gain skills in the greatest of career paths, which are transferable. They also believe in you and your dreams by providing mentoring to help you excel in every way possible.”
Rani
The project improved young people’s employability skills, in particular business and customer awareness, organisation, and project management skills.
Working in a team and learning to collaborate with professionals is a really important skill to learn.
“I enjoyed working with professionals and other young people who I share a common interest with.”
Jesse
The team really enjoyed working with a client and providing useful information for them.
“I learnt about working with clients and how to create plans for them with little to some information about their aims, and hurdles they would like to jump over”
Rani
A We Rise project is a great boost for personal statements and university applications, as well as helping young people gain the experience and connections they need to get paid work.
Rani is now employed by We Rise to run our social media channels which she can keep doing while she goes to university. Jesse has been working in Pop Brixton over the summer and is starting a degree in Law and Business at Sussex University.
