Household helpers are worth their weight in gold, yet nearly impossible to find. In early 2022, Helan faced a dual challenge: as a new brand following a merger, they needed to build trust, while demand for household helpers far exceeded supply. The labour market had shrunk by 7.7% compared to the pre-pandemic period, and more people were resigning than applying. Helan approached iO for recruitment marketing that works in a tight labour market. Together we built a strategy combining employer branding, targeted performance and continuous optimisation, resulting in a significant increase in quality applications.
Recruitment marketing for a tight labour market
Three-layered approach: employer branding, performance and optimisation
Audience insights via GWI Audience Insight tool
CRM data linked to campaign results
Performance and branding in one integrated strategy
The challenge
Attracting household helpers as a new brand in an extremely tight labour market where more people leave than apply.
The solution
A three-layered recruitment marketing strategy combining employer branding with targeted campaigns and data-driven optimisation.
Helan x iO: building a strong employer brand together in a competitive market
Helan is an independent Belgian health insurance fund, created from the merger of Partena and OZ in 2022. With approximately 1 million members, Helan offers services including household help.
As a long-term partner for performance marketing, first for Partena and OZ, now for Helan, we work together on sustainable growth. Our collaboration goes beyond individual campaigns: we think strategically about employer branding, audience targeting and translating data into action. This case shows how we tackled the recruitment challenge together.
Why traditional recruitment no longer works in a tight labour market
The market for household helpers is extremely competitive. The sector shrank by 7.7% compared to the pre-pandemic period, while sick leave and staff turnover increased. Moreover, Helan was a new brand that still needed to build trust with potential candidates. Standard job postings were not enough: Helan needed a complete recruitment marketing strategy.
Step 1: positioning Helan as an attractive employer
Before candidates apply, they need to know and trust the brand. That's why we started with a broad employer branding campaign. Using the GWI Audience Insight tool, we identified the right target groups and channels. We then reached potential candidates with messages positioning Helan as a dedicated, reliable employer.
Step 2: putting the household helper role in the spotlight
To convince more people to consider a career as a household helper, we expanded the target audience based on new research. We targeted three personas with personalised ads via Display, Discovery and YouTube. People who showed interest in the employer branding campaign were retargeted with specific job content. Search campaigns captured actively searching candidates.
Step 3: data-driven optimisation for recruitment marketing
Following the merger, Helan had to rebuild its entire performance marketing operation. We consolidated fragmented search campaigns and continuously optimised based on results. Crucially, we looked beyond Google Ads data, linking it to Helan's CRM. This allowed us to identify which campaigns and channels delivered the lowest cost per valuable applicant, enabling us to continuously refine budgets and targeting.
From hypothesis to proof: iterative improvement
The success of this recruitment marketing approach lies in the iterations. We formulated hypotheses based on data from GWI, the CRM and Google Ads, tested these in campaigns and evaluated the results. This cycle of testing, learning and optimising ensured that target audiences, ads and always-on tactics were continuously sharpened.
Thanks to three precisely targeted campaigns and continuous optimisation, we were able to drastically increase the number of applications.
The numbers
1,7%
sector shrinkage compared to pre-pandemic
1
integrated campaign layers: branding, performance, optimisation
1
Helan members in Belgium
The outcome: from waiting list to recruitment success
The three-layered approach delivered more than just applications. Helan built a recognisable employer brand in a market where name recognition and trust are decisive. The waiting list for household helpers, who are worth their weight in gold, was significantly reduced. More importantly, Helan now has a scalable recruitment marketing machine that continuously learns and improves, ready for future hiring challenges in the tight labour market.
