It s not an easy time for HR and Recruitment. With a complex storm of furloughs, downsizing, apps and ZOOM calls, the pandemic has resulted in a complete reworking of the UK's recruitment funnel. Here, Alica Melvin, Client Engagement Manager at Jobtrain describes some of the solutions they have been able to provide for Scottish care provider Cornerstone.
With so many people expected to look for new roles post lockdown, many organisations are anticipating huge increases in the volume of applications they currently manage.
Nobody knows this better than the recruitment team at one of Scotland's leading care providers, Cornerstone. Working with an outdated, in-house built recruitment system,
Cornerstone found that many applicants would register interest with them, and then give up applying halfway through. When we consulted with Kerri Bellingham a recruitment coordinator at Cornerstone, she was able to provide us with a good account of how they wanted to improve the candidate journey.
"One of the biggest challenges was the clunkiness of our system for both candidates and colleagues" said Kerri.
"Our platform wasn't mobile and tablet friendly, which proved to be a barrier for many potential candidates, and it would take our admin colleagues 11 clicks just to reject one candidate. We were looking for a system that would improve our candidate journey and make applying simple and straightforward with the added bonus of a reduction on time spent navigating and administering the recruitment process for our colleagues."
Kerri is a busy lady. Not only is she working as part of a small, dedicated recruitment team that's been inundated with applications in the past year, but she also fosters dogs. Our chat was regularly coloured by the curious snout of a gorgeous puppy, eager to hear more about how Jobtrain and Cornerstone were going to work together.
For such a busy recruitment team, automation and efficiency is key to dealing with these volumes and making sure that the application process is as streamlined as possible.
Handling the volume is challenging, but the frustration is heightened when your chosen talent slips through your fingers! A 2018 Glass-door study found that 35% of applicants believed a company's culture to be one of the most important factors in accepting an offer.
1 in 10 candidates pull out of the process mid-offer, and if an ATS can't keep a candidate supported and excited about your company, what's the point in investing in job board postings or online ads?
With Cornerstone, the solution was in Green Room Onboarding; Jobtrain's portal which the applicant is granted access to once they've accepted an offer. You can provide them with video content, information about your organisation, share LinkedIn profiles of people in the team, and essentially build a rapport and a bond with your new colleague before they walk through the door on day one.
Cornerstone loved this feature so much that they're looking to create a Green Room for each of their 200 plus teams to give new colleagues a real sense of belonging and welcome to Cornerstone.
When the vaccines are in all our arms and the storm has cleared, it might be time to revisit your current technologies to ask that all-important question; does it save time, money, and puppies?
This article first appeared in Hr NETWORK Scotland Magazine in May 2021.