Industry: Telecoms, Energy & Utilities

Virtual Volume Hiring for Front-Line Workers

Posted on by nfuqua
Virtual Volume Hiring for Front-Line Workers

Virtual Volume Hiring for Front-Line Workers

PeopleScout delivered high-volume contact center hires in just two months for this telecommunications provider with a virtual candidate experience.

16 different volume vacancy types
60 % managing over 60% of all external hiring
300 offers made in just 4 weeks

PeopleScout has been working with a large telecommunications company for more than seven years. The company supplies telephone, television and internet services to customers throughout the UK.

PeopleScout provides RPO services for volume hiring to the client’s front-line workers. In the highly competitive telecommunications industry, the client needs to ensure the company attracts the very best talent, particularly across their sales and technician functions. PeopleScout manages up to 16 different volume vacancy types or about 60% to 70% of all external hiring. This fast-paced market requires an agile partner who can respond to quickly changing requirements.

Situation

The client had recently decided to reduce the number of sub-contractors and outsourcers for front-line jobs. PeopleScout had been briefed to replace these workers with permanent employees.

As the UK started restrictions for COVID-19, some of the company’s outsourced overseas contact centers were threatened with the risk of closure due to lockdown in those countries. To maintain excellent service, the client created more than 550 new contact center jobs in the UK, to help keep customers connected during this critical time.

The task was to find 550 new starters within two months of the project launch, using a completely redesigned process while taking into account social distancing measures. Candidates would not be able to attend assessment centers and interviews onsite, contact center managers would not have the capacity to interview while maintaining stringent service levels and right to work/onboarding checks could not go ahead using a visual review of original documentation as normal.

Additionally, the client introduced a number of protocols to ensure its people remained as safe as possible while continuing to help answer customer calls and queries. This included providing remote working capabilities where possible and flexible working patterns.

Solution

An agile working group was formed and met twice daily to track project implementation and delivery progress. A new virtual hiring process was designed and implemented in less than two weeks. PeopleScout fast-tracked application and assessment by using video interviews, dramatically reducing processing time and allowing candidates to be selected within days and start within weeks.

To generate candidates, PeopleScout built a new page on the client’s careers site and created an enhanced attraction plan to drive applicants there. This included diverting existing candidates (whose roles had been cancelled) into the new process and creating two microsites to improve quality of applications and speed-up hiring – a hints-and-tips site and a site illustrating the overall application process.

Hiring capacity was ramped up, using PeopleScout’s global delivery centers to score nearly 5,000 video interviews and to support the onboarding of successful candidates without delay.

Results

  • Delivered 5,550 new applications
  • Conducted more than 1,800 online video interviews
  • Completed 400 final stage qualification calls
  • Made nearly 300 offers within four weeks
  • Created a hiring manager audit step with 95% of qualified candidates approved for hire

Process Improvement

Throughout this agile process, PeopleScout continually used data to understand where interventions could be made to improve the recruitment journey. We created two microsites to help prepare candidates for each step of the process.

The sites were created, signed-off and live within the first three weeks of go-live. They enabled candidates to find out more about key steps in the process such as getting access to an onboarding site which outlines what they need to do prior to starting, as well as what happens on day one.

“Due to the COVID-19 situation, we needed a new hiring process in an extremely short period of time. In less than two weeks, PeopleScout had candidates moving swiftly through the process. PeopleScout’s agility ensured candidates could start within one month of applying.

As the situation continued, we found that we needed additional onboarding support. PeopleScout created microsites to educate and move people through the process which, at the same time, reduced email traffic to our teams.

Most importantly, PeopleScout has helped us build a new level of trust with our hiring managers, enabling us to work in a far more efficient and safe way. The success of this project means that we now have a new way of recruiting to build on in the future.”

Head of Resourcing, Telecommunications Company

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: Large telecommunications company
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ANNUAL HIRES: 550 virtual call center professionals in two months
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Openreach: Recruiting for Hard-to-Fill Engineer Roles at Scale

Posted on by skatz
Openreach: Recruiting for Hard-to-Fill Engineer Roles at Scale

Microtitle

Openreach: Recruiting for Hard-to-Fill Engineer Roles at Scale

Openreach approached PeopleScout to help recruit for hard-to-fill trainee engineer positions. Our postal code-by-postal code attraction and simplified recruitment process enabled Openreach to fill all roles and to increase applications from diverse candidates.

413 trainee engineer hires
70 percent of applications were from diverse candidates
3 months to fill all vacancies

Situation

Openreach recruits 3,500 trainee engineers on an annual basis, with a large proportion of hires made in areas with strong candidate pipelines. However, hiring in Southern England and London proved challenging. So, they approached PeopleScout to support the delivery of 413 trainee engineer hires in these hard-to-fill locations in just three months.

Solution

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS

  • Microsite hub
  • Bespoke, postal code-tailored attraction program
  • Simplified application process
  • All roles filled with increased diversity interest

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: Openreach
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ANNUAL HIRES: 413 trainee engineers
  • LOCATIONS: Multiple areas across Southern England and London
  • ABOUT OPENREACH: Openreach is a subsidiary of BT Group providing phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses across the UK.
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MICROSITE HUB

We worked with Openreach to scope and build a microsite to act as the hub for trainee engineer hiring. 

TAILORING BY POSTAL CODE

Deploying a bespoke attraction program by specific postal codes allowed us to be highly targeted in driving candidate pipelines. All attraction materials drove candidates to the microsite. 

LIGHT-TOUCH PROCESS

In addition, we developed a light-touch simplified recruitment process, which included video interviews and a one-page online application. 

Results

FILLED IN THREE MONTHS

From sign-off to implementation, the service was set up, configured and ready to go live in six weeks—and all 413 roles were filled within three months. 

DIVERSITY BOOST 

Nearly 70% of applications in London postal codes were from diverse candidates, translating into a 53% offer rate. 

TRANSFORMATIONAL

Openreach has said that collaborating with us has been “transformational,” and we’re now working with them on 150 additional hires.

Virgin Media: Hiring More Women Technicians

Posted on by akessler
Virgin Media: Hiring More Women Technicians

Virgin Media: Hiring More Women Technicians

Virgin Media asked their RPO partner PeopleScout to improve diversity for their field technician roles.

2 x More Women Hired to Engineering Roles
20 % Early Attrition Reduction
20 % Reduction in Candidate Attraction Budget
376 Hours of Hiring Manager Time Saved

Situation

After publishing their gender parity report, Virgin Media set PeopleScout, their RPO partner, the challenge of recruiting more women technicians or Field Sales Advisors—a role which has 99% male incumbents.

The previous year we successfully hired 275 Field Sales Advisors. This year, Virgin Media increased that number to 450, but has less budget available for candidate attraction.

With requisitions up, budget down and a remit to hire more women, we met the challenge head on.

Solution

PeopleScout collaborated with Virgin Media to set up a “Women in Field” working group. We listened to existing female employees and involved them in the recruitment process, making sure they were present for female candidates attending assessments.

We wanted to be bold and disruptive in our approach, particularly around how the role was advertised and positioned. By exploring new avenues to tap into a demographic which previously wasn’t engaged with this opportunity including developing new channels. The PeopleScout social media team helped the client post across social channels such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Our Field Sales recruiters were then able to engage those interested and convert them into applicants. We streamlined the application process and introduced the option to register interest.

To improve the vetting experience, we used our existing partnership with Security Watchdog to identify ways to dramatically reduce the three-week clearance period. With better signposting and a clearer process, we reduced the clearance period to just 11 days.

“We’ve made more than 30% more hires this year, with a 20% smaller attraction budget.”

Results

The “Women in Field” campaign was launched in four key locations. In just two months, we received triple the number of applications from women that we received in the previous year. The client is now using a similar approach in order to increase their gender diversity in more regions across the UK.

We made more than 30% more hires Field Sales Advisors with a 20% smaller attraction budget compared to the previous year. Plus, we more than doubled the number of female employees.

The new vetting process has helped to reduce early attrition by up to 20% across sales channels.

Overall, we’ve dramatically improved our application to hire ratios across all of the UK, saving 376 hours in interview time for hiring managers.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: Virgin Media
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ABOUT VIRGIN MEDIA: Virgin Media is a telecommunications, providing telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Virgin Media O2.
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A Higher Performing Recruiting Model

Posted on by Kate
A Higher Performing Recruiting Model

RPO for Telecommunications

A Higher Performing Recruiting Model

A major telecom provider faced multiple recruiting challenges as a result of its decentralized and fragmented recruitment processes. PeopleScout partnered with this provider to implement a first-generation RPO program to migrate to a higher-performing recruiting model.

13,000 annual hires in the first year
8 days average time-to-hire
1,400 Built a scalable, centralized process across 1,400 retail stores

Situation

The telecom provider wanted to reduce store-to-store inconsistencies and migrate from a highly decentralized recruitment into a high-performing recruitment model. The provider wanted to improve response times to seasonal demands and decrease poor candidate quality and below-average customer experiences.

PeopleScout established the foundation for an RPO program that today supports more than 1,400 stores and nearly 13,000 hires. 

Solution

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS

  • Centralization and standardization of the recruitment process
  • Scalable recruitment model to address changes in hiring needs
  • Targeted and innovative grassroots and digital sourcing strategy

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: Telecom provider
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ANNUAL HIRES: 13,000
  • LOCATIONS: 1,400 stores
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INNOVATIVE, TARGETED SOURCING

PeopleScout implemented a consistent workflow for the company’s businesses and initiated digital interviewing with additional screening. Adding additional screening reduced the hiring manager’s overall effort in the process and created efficiencies. PeopleScout also facilitated “same day interview, next day offer” practices to qualified candidates.

BRANDed PARTNERSHIP

The telecom provider provided a library of images for use in digital and advertising campaigns that greatly enhanced recruitment marketing. PeopleScout and the telecom talent acquisition team collaborated closely to make sure outbound marketing was targeted to their talent audiences.

Results

A targeted and innovative sourcing strategy and a solid branding partnership were influential in the program’s evolution. In the first year, PeopleScout hired nearly 13,000 employees for this telecom provider and improved average time-to-clear from 11 days to eight days. The scope of work also expanded into a strategic partnership with one of the world’s largest pharmacies where the telecom provider’s products could be sold at additional retail locations.

SSE: Recruiting Engineers with Project RPO

Posted on by akessler
SSE: Recruiting Engineers with Project RPO

SSE: Recruiting Engineers with Project RPO

PeopleScout helped SSE hire hundreds of engineers with project RPO.

Situation

As part of the UK government’s smart meter rollout, energy company SSE needed to hire 1,500 Smart Meter Engineers in a short time-frame—in direct competition with all the other energy companies looking for the same talent. SSE turned to their RPO partner PeopleScout to help with this project.

Time was of the essence. The hiring process needed to be transformed, streamlined and made more consistent, as the existing process was time-consuming for hiring managers and candidates alike. Hiring managers were incredibly busy so we needed a process that required minimal commitment.

The next challenge we faced was the limited talent pool of candidates. So it was essential that SSE made an impact with highly targeted communications.

Solution

The occupational psychologists on our Assessment Team designed a new online application process that removed the need for SSE hiring managers to interview candidates. Now they would only need to meet the candidates on their first day of training. Our newly designed online 3D model and multiple-choice tests allowed us to assess candidates much more efficiently. And along the way, our Bristol-based delivery center supported candidates at each stage, ensuring that they remained engaged and satisfied.

“We’ve been really pleased with the speed of project set up, the PeopleScout team and the value that they continue to provide.”

Lee Newbold, HR Business Partner – Metering and Smart Transformation, SSE

Results

In the first year, PeopleScout recruited over 900 Smart Meter Engineers with the number of women hired into these roles increasing by 800%.

The average time-to-offer was reduced to 69 days, and new joiners now start after 104 days on average.

We have also increased the quality of the candidates, with 90% of trainee candidates attending the assessment center and 64% passing. 

The application process was nominated for an Innovation Award by the Association of British Psychology.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: SSE
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ANNUAL HIRES: 1,500 engineers
  • ABOUT SSE: SSE is a FTSE 100 energy company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. SSE energy services became part of OVO Energy in 2020.
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