Virgin Media: A Virtual Approach to Call Center Recruiting
Virgin Media was receiving high customer call volumes and needed to hire 500 new customer service roles across the UK. During the COVID-10 lockdown. In just two months. Enter PeopleScout and our fully virtual RPO solution.
5,500Applications Delivered
1,800 Virtual Interviews Assessed
300Offers Made
Situation
As the UK entered lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, enquiries to Virgin Media contact centers—including customer video calls—increased by up to 95% during daytime hours. To maintain excellent service and keep customers connected during this critical time, Virgin Media created more than 500 new contact center jobs in the UK based in Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Teesside.
All 500 new hires needed to start in just two months, with the added complication of taking into account social distancing measures. Due to lockdown, candidates could not attend assessment centers or interviews onsite.
Plus, contact center managers did not have capacity to interview so many candidates while maintaining stringent service levels, and right-to-work onboarding checks could not go ahead as normal with an in-person visual review of original documentation.
Additionally, Virgin Media introduced a number of measures to ensure its people remained as safe as possible while continuing to help answer customer queries. This included providing remote working capabilities, where possible, and flexible working patterns.
All of this experience needed to be brought-to-life for candidates at the outset of their application to ensure swift hiring of the right caliber people. Virgin Media engaged PeopleScout for recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and tech-charge talent assessment solution.
Solution
With a tight turnaround in play, we formed an agile working group which met twice daily to track project implementation and delivery progress. This rigorous schedule resulted in the deisgn and implementation of a new virtual hiring process in less than two weeks. This new fast-tracked application and assessment process used video interviews, dramatically reducing the processing time and allowing new staff to be selected within days and start within weeks.
To generate applications, we built a new page on the Virgin Media careers site and created an enhanced attraction plan to drive applicants there. We diverted existing candidates (whose roles had been cancelled) into the new process. To improve quality of applications and speed-up hiring, The microsite was built with two areas: a hints and tips page and a page illustrating the overall application process.
Recruiting capacity was scaled up, utilizing our global delivery centers to score over 5,000 application and nearly 2,000 video interviews and to support onboarding of successful candidates without delay.
Results
Within two weeks of launch, PeopleScout’s RPO team had:
Designed a virtual interview process from scratch
Delivered 5,500 new applications
Conducted over 1,800 online video interviews
Instigated 400 final stage qualification calls
Made nearly 300 offers within 4 weeks of kickoff
95% of qualified candidates approved for hire during the Hiring Manager audit step
At a Glance
COMPANY Virgin Media
INDUSTRY Telecommunications
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS Recruitment Process Outsourcing
ANNUAL HIRES 500 new call center hire
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.
“We have built a strong and effective partnership with PeopleScout, shown through the complexities brought about by the pandemic and then a large merger.”
Transport for Wales: Recruiting a Crucial Tax Expert
As Transport for Wales’ RPO partner since their inception, PeopleScout helped TfW find a Tax Accountant to support the management of their finances.
Situation
Transport for Wales (TfW) is on a mission: to deliver an integrated travel system across Wales and revolutionize travel. To achieve this, they quickly expanded their workforce in partnership with PeopleScout, their RPO partner.
They were now looking for a new Tax Analyst, a qualified VAT subject matter expert, to provide guidelines in line with legislation to help TfW reclaim VAT to reinvest into the transport network. This is a highly competitive sector, and the Tax Analyst needed specialty skills.
Solution
This was a particularly challenging role to recruit. There is a very small talent pool of qualified candidates in Wales. This market is competitive, and many candidates are reluctant to move jobs unless for a significant increase in salary. Plus, these roles are known for low turnover; tax professionals are risk-averse and require significant consultation before considering a new opportunity. In addition, the global COVID-19 pandemic was at its height—a climate that contributed to candidates’ reluctance to change jobs.
We adopted a fully consultative approach and took a detailed brief from the hiring manager. By using a blended approach of media, advertising across a number of well-known recruitment websites to drive applications, and hands-on sourcing of passive candidates.
Attraction did not produce results, so we doubled down on a thorough search of the passive market. Our specialist recruiter knew straight away when they found a candidate that would be a good fit for TfW. This candidate had worked as a tax expert for a similar government body, they understood government processes and they were a strong fit culturally for Transport For Wales.
Results
In total, we approached over 100 qualified professionals in South Wales and beyond. Our strategic passive candidate search produced an ideal candidate who has moved into the Tax Analyst role.
At a Glance
COMPANY Transport for Wales (TfW)
INDUSTRY Public Transportation
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS Amplifiers
ABOUT TfW Founded in 2016, Transport for Wales (TfW) was set up by the Welsh Government to make sustainable travel a reality in Wales. Their multimodal, integrated transport network aims to increase the number of journeys on public transport by 40% by 2040.
London College of Fashion: Finding the Perfect Professor for a Vibrant New Enterprise
PeopleScout helped the London College of Fashion find a one-of-a-kind professor to support their new research center.
Situation
As part of the University of the Arts London (UAL), London College of Fashion has been nurturing creative talent for over a century. They offer courses in all things fashion, from business to design and fashion curation.
LCF’s newly established Center for Fashion Business & Innovation Research operates at the intersection of fashion business and the economy, culture and society. To successfully launch the program, they needed a professor who could lead the direction of research, funding and collaboration.
They engaged PeopleScout to provide a shortlist of high-caliber candidates to set the direction of the center.
Solution
We took an in-depth, face-to-face brief and from this created a candidate profile. Exhaustive research built an international target which they client approved before engagement commenced.
We developed a unique approach to find candidates with the following characteristics:
Professors could come from different disciplines but would need relevant research interests aligned with the new center.
Our approach: Extensive international candidate research to ensure they met the criteria.
Professors needed experience in motivating and mobilizing other researchers.
Our approach: All candidates were consulted on their Research Excellence Framework (REF) and coordination experience.
London College of Fashion has a leadership team that is open, creative and generous. This Professor would need to thrive in that culture.
Our approach: All candidates were consulted on their leadership style and culture preferences to ascertain their fit.
Throughout our sourcing engagement, strong, professional relationships were fostered with each candidate, ensuring they had an excellent experience whether they applied or not. Regular reports and calls occurred weekly to ensure the client was fully informed and could contribute to the direction of activity.
Results
Our comprehensive solution created results the client was delighted with:
16 final applications
Four shortlisted for interview & assessment
One offer accepted
The successful candidate was a referral from another passive candidate on the target list. If we hadn’t formed this relationship, she wouldn’t have been aware of the opportunity.
At a Glance
COMPANY The London College of Fashion
INDUSTRY Higher Education
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS Amplifiers
ABOUT THE LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION The London College of Fashion offers undergraduate and postgraduate study, short courses, study-abroad courses and business training in fashion and related topics.
Fife Sports and Leisure Trust: Sourcing a Brilliant Female CEO
With the CEO of Fife Sports and Leisure Trust retiring within a month, PeopleScout delivered executive search for an experienced, dynamic and strategic leader who hit the ground running.
Situation
The Fife Sports and Leisure Trust (FSLT) manages and operates 14 leisure facilities on behalf of Fife Council. They’re one of the largest employers in the town with 550 staff. Their mission is improving health and wellbeing across Fife, Scotland, offering facilities for people of all abilities.
The CEO of FSLT announced his retirement and the organization needed to recruit a leader quickly. The new CEO would need to foster good relationships with the Council and balance the social and economic purposes of the organization to develop a sustainable leisure service. This meant finding further funding and delivering a long-term vision for FSLT, after coming back from a whole industry closure during the COVID-19 in 2020.
Finding senior strategic leaders to lead FSLT through an important stage in their history meant recruiting a current Managing Director or CEO who had held profit and loss accountability for a leisure service. There are a finite number of leisure trusts in the UK, so it was vital to present this fascinating opportunity to the sector in a highly engaging manner to attract the highest-caliber candidates.
Solution
FSLT engaged PeopleScout to find this unique individual.
We took a detailed brief from the outgoing CEO, and it became very clear that FSLT needed an accomplished new leader capable of creating an immediate impact. We searched the entire UK, engaging with the CEO at Community Leisure UK, the industry association, who shared the role within her network. It’s a close-knit community and the Trust has a good reputation.
We leveraged this expertise in the sector to ensure we had a comprehensive shortlist of the most recommended professionals.
Results
We achieved:
72% engagement amongst passive candidates
Four candidates were invited for interview (three men and one woman)
Two candidates were invited for second interview (one man and one woman)
The female candidate appointed to the role
At a Glance
COMPANY Fife Sports and Leisure Trust
INDUSTRY Government & Public Sector
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS Amplifiers
ABOUT FSLT Fife Sports and Leisure Trust was established is a non-profit organization responsible for the operational management, delivery and development of Fife Council’s sports and leisure facilities.
Bristol City Council: Recruiting a Leader at the Heart of a Mayor’s Vision
Bristol City Council engaged PeopleScout to search for a strategic leadership role to advance their housing plan.
Situation
Bristol City Council’s Housing Delivery Plan identified a need for 800 new affordable homes per year. The Housing Strategy and Enabling Manager provides the strategic leadership to develop, enable and deliver this ambitious annual program.
This role is all about affordable housing strategy across the public and private sectors. The Council engaged PeopleScout to find a professional who could build great relationships in both areas and work collaboratively with partners and local communities. A persuasive advocate of the need for more homes to meet real human needs—today and tomorrow.
Solution
We were looking for an individual with Finding an impressive professional working at the scope and scale of a large authority was the key challenge. This person had to hit the ground running in a new structure.
The hiring manager brief highlighted three essential search criteria:
Detailed knowledge of housing and planning legislation in local authority and housing association sectors; a qualified Chartered Town Planner (RTPI) or Chartered Surveyor (RICS) with membership in a relevant association.
Proven leadership track record in a local authority, housing association or housing organisation
Exceptional stakeholder management skills to advocate for the housing sector at a local, regional and national level
Candidates who met the first two criteria were numerous but most lacked the senior stakeholder experience. So we searched at a national level, positioning Bristol as a city where people could make a real impact on reducing inequality through housing strategy.
This message resonated, and we found good levels of gender diversity in the field. The final shortlist of four had a 50/50 male to female ratio.
Results
We found healthy numbers of potential candidates in similar roles in other councils and housing associations. Despite the relocation obstacle, a shortlist of four candidates was created, and the role was filled with one outstanding leader.
At a Glance
COMPANY Bristol City Council
INDUSTRY Government & Public Sector
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS Amplifiers
ABOUT BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL Bristol City Council is the local authority of Bristol, England, consisting of 34 wards and 70 elected councillors.
Transport for Wales: Growing the Workforce of a Newly-Created Organization
Supporting the launch of Transport for Wales with recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) for specialist engineering, transportation, project management and support roles.
92%of Candidate Rated the Experience as Excellent
Grew Workforce from 9 employees to 140 During the Initial Engagement
2Languages, English and Welsh
Situation
Transport for Wales (TfW) was created to drive forward the Welsh Government’s vision for a high quality, safe, integrated, affordable and accessible transport network that the people of Wales would be proud of. As a new rail franchise operator, their initial focus was to grow at speed, recruiting 100 or more key staff within challenging timescales, in preparation for a rail franchise switch over.
As a newly-created organisation, Transport for Wales had no recruitment expertise or talent technology to support their ambitious resourcing plans for roles at all levels, from apprentices and graduates to Directors with every level in between.
TfW selected PeopleScout as their sole RPO partner to build their workforce from just nine employees to over 140 and growing, most of which are permanent with some temporary staff and contractors. Another key requirement was to work in both English and Welsh.
Solution
A Unique Service Model
To establish the Transport for Wales recruitment strategy, we placed a senior recruiter on site with expertise and industry experience who could consult and provide solutions to market challenges and engage with hiring communities and other key stakeholders. The immediate challenge was to identify and hire for key senior positions, starting with the Directors. We then worked with these leaders to build their teams from the top down in order to deliver on their goals.
Best-In-Class Candidate Experience
Our off-site recruiting team provided full-cycle RPO, from sourcing to onboarding services, to ensure that candidates received a best-in-class experience right through to their first day and beyond.
Attracting a Wider Talent Pool
As an RPO provider with a creative flair, we were able to help TfW move away from a more traditional marketing style to something which attracted diverse talent. As leaders in employer brand and candidate experience, this extended into a go-to-market broadcasting strategy that encompassed social media, community management and talent pooling. It also maximized the TfW employer brand story and reduced pressure on budgets.
Results
95% offer fulfilment across all levels of roles
Rapid identification and hiring of crucial roles
92% of candidates rated their hiring experience as excellent
Talent pools created for future hiring
A developed and refined future-proof recruitment strategy
PeopleScout have been excellent in the delivery of the recruitment services into Transport for Wales. They are transparent, hardworking and qualitatively focused. All the team have been dedicated to our growth ambition and have represented our brand well to external candidates. I am delighted to work with the whole team as we share our continued success with our partners.
Recruitment Leader, Transport for Wales
At a Glance
COMPANY Transport for Wales (TfW)
INDUSTRY Public Transportation
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Affinix
ANNUAL HIRES 100+ roles across specialist engineering, transportation, project management and admin support
ABOUT TfW Founded in 2016, Transport for Wales (TfW) was set up by the Welsh Government to make sustainable travel a reality in Wales. Their multimodal, integrated transport network aims to increase the number of journeys on public transport by 40% by 2040.
Transport for London: Early Careers Recruiting to Represent Modern London
Transport for London (TfL) worked with PeopleScout to boost diversity in their early careers program through an employer branding and talent attraction campaign.
2xDouble the Percentage of Minority Ethnic Graduates Hired
16%Increase in Female Apprentice Hires
London’s population is projected to reach 10.5 million by 2041. Plus, 16 to 18-year-olds are experiencing rising youth unemployment with some of the most deprived areas in the country set in London.
As the government body responsible for the day-to-day operation of London’s public transport network, naturally Transport for London (TfL) plays a major role in contributing to the capital’s growth, and opening doors for people from disadvantaged areas was absolutely vital. Supporting this growth means recruiting, retaining, and developing a workforce of Londoners who will take part in the design of their city.
Transport for London (TfL) values the importance of diversity and inclusion and social mobility. Being representative of London is something their success is measured on, and the same standards apply to their apprenticeship and graduate schemes.
These early careers schemes had proven successful in the volume of applications received but weren’t reaching talent from all walks of life. TfL needed a diverse pipeline that truly represented modern London. It was time to rethink their entire student attraction activity. That’s where PeopleScout came in.
Situation
TfL needed to recruit 32 graduate roles and 109 apprenticeships. As their talent partners, our primary objective was to champion these fantastic opportunities to a broader apprentice and graduate talent pool in order to increase female applicants and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.
This meant removing barriers to recruitment, challenging stereotypes and overcoming negative perceptions. We needed to change TfL’s attraction process so that people from every pocket of society would be interested in the unique opportunities available. And we needed to re-position their early careers employer brand as a progressive organization in which everyone—regardless of background or financial situation—could excel.
Solution
A New Brand To Make Better Connections
Together, we transformed the way TfL recruit diverse talent. Ensuring skilled people from all walks of life have a chance to shine in the application and assessment process, our creative team used their audience knowledge to build a dynamic unexpected youth brand, “The Next Move”, which was designed to look different from other TfL communications, using vibrant, colourful graphics that would better connect with female and diverse applicants. We then shaped a comprehensive outreach program and a completely new assessment process with the aim of helping these candidates show TfL who they are and what they’re truly made of.
A More Targeted Approach
For Tfl’s apprenticeships, we designed a new strategy for our school outreach program, “Moving Forward.” We identified 251 of the poorest secondary state schools and ran over 50 events, with additional events in three of the most deprived boroughs in London: Newham, Tower Hamlets and Haringey.
Boosting Success in Assessment Centers
From experience, we know that young people often need to build their confidence by filling gaps in their knowledge. To address this, we created “Route-into-Work,” a pre-employment course for all candidates to fill gaps in their knowledge and provide them with the tools, insight and confidence to be successful at assessment centers.
Results
We achieved amazing results with the graduate recruitment campaign, comfortably filling all of the roles and meeting the social mobility criteria.
Doubling the Percentage of Graduate Hires from Minority Backgrounds
Most importantly we doubled the percentage of minority ethnic graduates from 27% to 54%, and we substantially grew the proportion of female hires from 18% to 29%.
Growing Female Apprentice Hires by 16%
Similarly strong results were achieved in the apprentice pool, as we dramatically grew the proportion of female hires from 20% to 36%. The Route-into-Work program delivered apprenticeship hires, of which 33% were female and 67% were minority ethnic.
At a Glance
COMPANY Transport for London (TfL)
INDUSTRY Public Transportation
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS Talent Advisory
ANNUAL HIRES 32 graduate roles and 109 apprenticeships
ABOUT TfL Transport for London (TfL) is the government body responsible for the day-to-day operation of London’s public transport network and management of the capital’s main roads.
For the past few years, the recruitment and staffing industry have been under constant pressure to reevaluate their service delivery strategies. Despite the recent turbulence we’ve been experiencing due to COVID-19, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) offers organisations the opportunity to augment their recruitment functions to support growth in other regions.
Business Growth in Europe
For the past 10 years, the offshoring market in countries like Poland has beenan increasingly large component of the global business operations. Offshoring certain business functions offers savings, and enterprises have become more comfortable with managing remote teams—whether through an outsourced provider or their own offshore service centers.
In addition, global businesses are looking to other countries to access a wider, well-educated and experienced talent pool. Some jobs require highly skilled talent, and in order to fulfill all their requirements, expanding to a new region—and acquiring the best skills at a lower operating cost—will become a kay component of organisational resilience going forward.
5 Ways RPO Can Support Your European Expansion
Europe is made up of 44 countries, all with their own distinct traditions and languages. A homogenous approach won’t delivery against your European talent acquisition goals. An EMEA RPO partner can help you navigate these differences and find talent as rich as the cultures this continent has to offer.
Here are five ways a global RPO partner can help your organisation expand in Europe.
Access local recruitment expertise. With a regional presence and experience, your RPO partners can provide insights into local labour markets and what matters to talent in different areas of expertise or the region.
Expand your talent pool. Whether you’re opening a new factory or looking for top software engineers, RPO can open up a whole new pool of talent for your organisation.
Gain efficiency and agility. Access to flexible teams and leading recruitment technology means your RPO can help optimise your processes and reduce the burden on local hiring managers.
Adapt your approach to cultural nuances.Global RPO partners have multilingual teams who can tailor your recruitment processes to account for the location and role.
Ensure compliance. Each country has its own recruitment regulations and laws, and an RPO partner can help you stay compliant and mitigate risk.
Need an RPO Partner in Europe?
Looking for help with talent acquisition in Europe? Contact us to learn more about our talent acquisition solutions in EMEA.
As a graduate resourcing consultant, 2020 is my fourth graduate recruitment cycle. I currently work on the Lendlease team at PeopleScout, supporting our client by sourcing bright minded graduates who will help to shape and deliver the future of the construction and property industry.
And, despite the uncertainty in the world right now, I am confident that this move to digital graduate recruitment will stick.
Graduate Roles are Still Important
Graduates are the future of every business. Lendlease has a two-year graduate program, and the people hired for those roles use that program to grow their skills and experience before moving on to other roles within the business. We have even seen some of those graduate hires grow to become senior leaders at Lendlease.
Furthermore, it is critically important to continue recruiting for graduate roles during this uncertain time. Graduates futureproof the business by bringing in diverse, new talent with different perspectives, new ideas and an understanding of current trends. By actively filling these roles, we are preparing for the future beyond COVID-19.
But, the Graduate Recruitment Process Needs to Change
Normally, the planning for a graduate recruitment cycle begins in the previous year. For 2020, we started planning in November and December of 2019. We prepare through January and February, and then the campaign goes live in March. In previous years, we would attend career fairs, flying to different universities and presenting information about Lendlease in person. Throughout the next few months, candidates would apply and interview online, and finally attend an in-person assessment center.
But, in 2020, we needed to adapt rapidly. We stuck with our normal timeframes, but moved the entire process online – career fairs and assessment centers included. Earlier this year, I attended one of the virtual career fairs.
The fair was run by a university, and nearly 1,500 students registered. We advertised on social media to get students excited to speak with Lendlease. On the day of the fair, about 300 students visited the digital booth – making it one of the most popular. I was able to present to larger groups of students at once – something that isn’t possible at a traditional booth. Students also came with questions, which I was able to answer and talk with them about one-on-one.
The virtual fair I attended was held using Zoom video technology, along with the help of a third-party provider to ensure everything ran smoothly on the day of the event. Each employer had a unique booth and logo, so students could easily identify them and talk with employer representatives. Many graduates registered to come talk with us, allowing us to target hundreds of students in just three hours without having to travel.
Best Practices to Make the Transition Smooth
For the process to be successful, consider the types of technology you use. For virtual career fairs, the university may already have a preferred platform. However, you will still need to consider virtual interviews and virtual assessments. At PeopleScout, we use Affinix™, our proprietary talent technology. With Affinix, we can schedule and conduct virtual interviews – live or recorded – on a candidate’s own time.
Likewise, it is important to focus on communication. Graduates want to hear from you. Something as simple as a message to check in can be powerful. Communicating with candidates, even if it means admitting you don’t have all the answers, builds trust in an uncertain time.
Graduate Recruitment Won’t Go Back
With the COVID-19 crisis, we are always facing new surprises. However, with graduate recruitment, the surprise was how well the process worked – even with changes taking place under a tight timeline. We had to adapt quickly, but we saw that the digital process works. Students responded well to online career fairs. We saved money by avoiding air travel and lodging. We communicated with and assessed candidates in ways that kept everyone safe.
Based on our experience, 2020 won’t be a one-off year in which graduate recruitment looks different than normal. It will be the first year where digital graduate recruitment is normal.
In light of the workforce disruptions caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, talent leaders are quickly adapting and transforming their organization’s talent function to match our present reality.
The current crisis gives talent leaders the opportunity to assess and fine-tune recruiting practices in a way that will keep both candidates and recruiters safe while better positioning their organization for the future working conditions.
Technologies such as text messaging tools built for recruiters offer enormous opportunities to improve recruiter efficiency, time to hire and build stronger relationships with candidates. What’s more, text messaging, when paired with a virtual hiring solution, is a safer alternative to traditional recruiting.
Before you implement a texting solution, you need a solid understanding of use cases and best practices that can help ensure success and mitigate risk. In this article, we will outline the case for texting and share best practices for leveraging texting in your recruiting program.
The Case For Text Recruitment
Recruiters and talent leaders understand that good recruiting begins and ends with building strong relationships with candidates. So, why add yet another communications channel to the recruiting mix?
The answer is simple: Times keep changing, and so do the ways we communicate. As that happens, the effectiveness of tried and true methods also changes as demographics and preferences shift.
Texting Recruitmentis Straightforward: Text messages are typically short and to the point, which makes them easier to read and respond to than email messages. Texting also carries with it an expectation of informality which makes it easier to communicate. For example, saying “yes” instead of “Yes.” is totally acceptable via a text exchange.
Text Recruitment is Convenient: Candidates can respond to texts whenever and wherever while they are running errands, on break at work or home watching a movie.
Text RecruitmentHas Greater Reach: Many hourly and elderly workers don’t own or have access to a computer and rely on their mobile devices exclusively for job searches. Texting is also more accessible for job seekers who don’t have unlimited data plans or who do not have a smart phone, making your application process more accessible to a broader population.
Text RecruitmentBuilds Dialogue: The nature of conversation is constantly evolving. That means candidates are becoming increasingly open to beginning conversations via text.
Use Cases for Text Recruitment
There are as many ways to integrate texting into your recruiting process as there are topics to communicate about. Below, we cover some of the best use cases for text recruitment.
Automating Candidate
Reengagement
Many organizations already have a large database of candidates in their ATS. Sending automated text messages is an extremely effective way to reach out to those contacts at scale to rapidly generate interest in new positions. You can also use automation to reach out to previous employees, if they have opted-in for texting. To gain that opt in, you could ask for consent as part of the off-boarding process for departing employees.
Automated Updates
Sending automated texts to candidates to confirm that their job application has been received and is under review can be a great way to keep them engaged in the process. What’s more, you can set up automated messages that are triggered at each phase of the hiring process to keep candidates up to date with their status. This makes the recruiting process feel more personal and less like their application was sent down a black hole.
Automated Scheduling
Interview coordination is ideally suited to texting. Your organization can send text links for candidate self-scheduling to streamline interviews.
Enhanced Screening
Capabilities
When handling a high volume of applicants, it can be difficult for recruiters to respond quickly and individually to each candidate. Using texts, you can qualify applicants faster using response templates and automated screening questions. Recruitment texting platforms can be programmed to send back follow up questions, job application links, or other content based on candidate responses.
This exchange is an example of not just interview scheduling, but also actual interviewing over text. At PeopleScout, we have seen client’s receive an 85% response rate for this type of question and answer exchange, which is higher than other communication channels.
Better Interview
Completion Rate
Recruiters know that coordinating with the candidate is only half the hiring battle. Recruiting teams can use texts to send automated interview reminders to hiring managers and colleagues, so nothing slips through the cracks. Fewer missed or reschedule interviews means a shorter time to hire.
Field Recruiting
Retail, hospitality
and other employers with large physical footprints can also utilize text short codes to capitalize on walk-in
applicants. Signage placed on doors, at the register, or elsewhere connects job
seekers directly to the online job application forms and minimizes distractions
for managers in the field.
SMS short codes are five to six-digit numbers that are often paired with keywords for use in text recruitment (e.g. ‘Text JOBS to 123456’). You can utilize them on signage at job events to maximize ROI.
Best
Practices for Text Recruitment
While mobile phones and texting have become ubiquitous tools in everyday life, it is important to realize that communication preferences vary from individual to individual. It is also critical to recognize that the attributes that makes texting such a powerful recruiting tool – that’s it is direct, convenient and personal – are the same things that make observing best practices so important.
Secure
Permission from Candidates
Text messages are governed by different laws and standards than email. Employers in the U.S. will want to consider how the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), or similar laws such as the European Union regulations regarding electronic communications, namely the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), apply to different types of recruitment texting activity. Talent leaders should consult their legal counsel and get comfortable with the ins and outs of the TCPA when formulating a text recruitment strategy and all related policies.
Before you text candidates, you must first obtain express consent from the candidate and it must be easy for them to opt-out of communications. As a starting point, review your organization’s website and application process and add simple, clear language stating that phone numbers may be used to message applicants. The notice should be placed near the phone number entry field, rather than buried in lengthy terms of service statement and privacy policy should also be updated.
Consider Compliance
Requirements
Even if your
organization does not have a text recruitment
platform, chances are that some recruiters are using personal devices to
communicate with candidates via text.
This may produce positive results, but places you at greater compliance risk because
there is no centralized record of communications. Using personal devices, or
even dedicated company devices, also makes it difficult to exercise effective
oversight to ensure that organizational guidelines are followed.
Text messaging activity is increasingly likely to be included in compliance audits, so make sure your bases are covered. Follow all of the same protocols – business and legal – that you would in writing, email or telephone conversations.
Define
Messaging Guidelines for Recruiters
Texting should be professional and consistent with your employer brand, just like any other type of communication. So, it’s helpful to provide high-level guidelines to your recruiting team to ensure that everyone is on the same page about internal text messaging practices.
Communicate
Clearly with Candidates
The best text outreach messages get straight to the point. In
any initial conversations, the recruiter should answer a few key questions
candidates may have to get the best possible response:
Who are you and why you are reaching out?
What are the next steps?
Setting context and expectations up front maximizes engagement. What’s more, these questions can be set up as automated responses, so recruiters may only have to step in once the initial screening questions have been asked and answered.
Timing is Everything
Text only during the workday, from 8 a.m. at the candidate’s local time to 5 or 6 p.m. Texting a candidate during off-hours, may lead them to do the same and set an expectation of a response from your team. If job seekers do reach out on weekends or evenings and you do not want your recruiters to engage, you can steer their communications back to the normal business hours. For example, if you receive a text on Saturday, you might set up an automated response that you will follow up first thing Monday.
Texting is Not Always Appropriate
Some aspects of the recruiting process require a more personal touch than others. While many consider messaging “personal” and “immediate,” you may want to deliver important information (ex. “you didn’t get the job”) or discuss sensitive topics like salary using other means such as a phone call or email depending on the situation.
Closing Thoughts
Automation
of the recruiting process is where the candidate experience is headed. As a
result, it is going to free up time for your recruiters and allow them to
seamlessly connect one-on-one with candidates and holding meaningful conversations.
Texting has become such a big large part of
modern life that embracing it can make your organization an employer of choice
to top candidates in your industry.