Case Studies
Diagnostic Mapping. Decision Advisory. Outcome Support.
Navigating Change with Stakeholder Confidence
HireRoad is a recruitment technology provider whose Acendre platform is used across Australian government departments.
As cybersecurity requirements, government expectations and technology markets continued to evolve, Acendre wanted to ensure its communications kept pace with the business.
The challenge was not simply explaining technical compliance. It was helping government clients and stakeholders understand Acendre’s current capability, security standards and long-term value as a public-sector technology partner.
CLIENT
Hire Road
SECTOR
Recruitment Technology Provider
PARTNERS
Australian Government Departments
The challenge
Technology providers working with government operate in an environment where trust depends on more than the product itself.
Government buyers and users need confidence in data privacy, system security, governance, service reliability and the organisation behind the platform.
Acendre had continued to invest in its technology and cybersecurity approach, including alignment with ISO 27001, the Essential Eight and IRAP requirements. However, technical credentials alone did not necessarily provide government stakeholders with a clear understanding of the business or address all the questions arising across procurement, usability and service delivery.
There was also a need to ensure that Acendre senior leaders communicated consistently across government meetings, procurement discussions, and external engagements.
What Codex Communications saw
The underlying issue was partly one of stakeholder perception.
Different government audiences had varying levels of knowledge about Acendre, its platform, and the changes occurring within the business and the broader technology environment.
Providing more technical information was not, by itself, the answer. Acendre needed a clearer and more consistent way to explain:
It’s value to government
Its approach to security, privacy and governance;
How it was responding to changing government expectations
The role of its Acendre platform in supporting public-sector workforce needs; and
Why it remained a responsible and credible government technology partner.
It also needed a more deliberate approach to stakeholder engagement, including clarity about which relationships should be prioritised and what different government audiences needed from the business.
What Codex Communications did
Codex worked directly with Acendre’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific, regional leadership and senior management team.
The engagement combined strategic communications, senior executive advice and stakeholder planning.
Codex helped Acendre:
- Conduct, through the discovery stage of the project, a client perception audit of all major customers
- Refine its government value proposition
- Develop a clear and consistent messaging framework
- Explain its cybersecurity, privacy and governance position in accessible language
- Align senior executives around common messages
- Map priority stakeholders and engagement pathways across state and Commonwealth government
- Prepare briefing materials and talking points for government meetings
- Improve transparency around service, technology and usability concerns
- Advise leadership ahead of procurement and policy discussions
- Manage communications and stakeholder risks as government expectations evolved.