How Henry Boot have found recruiting success

We spoke to Gemma Godwin, Group Talent Acquisition Advisor at Henry Boot, about her experience using the Jobtrain ATS and how our robust implementation plan and clear communication have taken their hiring to the next level. 

Why did you start looking for an applicant tracking system? 

Before Jobtrain, we were using the recruitment bolt-on in our HR System. The application process took about 10 minutes because of how clunky it was, and it wasn’t a good experience for our candidates! It’s excellent for what it’s designed for – to manage HR related tasks - but the recruiting module didn’t come close to meeting our recruitment needs.  

It left our recruitment team with little control and visibility of recruitment campaigns. Recruitment tasks were also admin-heavy, where we often found we had to use different systems and manual, paper-based processes.

What goals did you set for the new ATS? 

We had several objectives in mind when we made the decision to implement a specialised ATS. One of our main goals was to improve and streamline the application process to make it quick and easy for candidates to complete. We also wanted to reduce our reliance on recruitment agencies and manage those relationships better, as well as ownership of applicants.

Before Jobtrain, we were experiencing a lot of personal data coming into our company via email. We are very careful with the handling of that personal data but wanted to remove the manual admin time we spent on ensuring we adhered to GDPR. We knew with Jobtrain we would always be compliant even if regulations shift and change in the future. 

We knew implementing an entirely new system and transitioning from some manual processes would be a philosophy shift, but we knew it would be worth it. We wanted to bring our recruiting together, all in one place. Given that we have numerous Hiring Managers across various locations, we wanted to establish a centralised job approval process to streamline the entire process.

Why did you choose Jobtrain? 

We had about 6 months’ worth of demos and research to ensure we found the right fit. We looked at all the typical main providers, and during that research stage, I heard about Jobtrain through a recommendation in a Facebook group from an industry colleague. 

We had a detailed list of must-haves and dealbreakers, such as a public-facing careers site, an easy-to-use approval process, robust reporting functionality, to work with a partner who continuously improves our candidate experience and quick apply methods where candidates aren’t required to create an account – and I’m pleased to say Jobtrain offered all this and more!  

When we saw the wealth of functionality in the system and the service we’d get, we knew Jobtrain was the one for us.

How would you describe the implementation process? 

Extremely easy and helpful. Helen and Rachel from the Project Implementation team at Jobtrain were absolutely fantastic.  

If we needed some extra support or if there was anything we didn’t know the answers to, they were dealt with quickly and clearly.  

We worked especially closely with our Project Implementation Co-ordinator, Helen, through the User Acceptance Testing stage. When we needed some additional support, Helen stepped in and became one of the team!  

With her experience of implementing many other applicant tracking systems, she was able to share best practice with us so we could make the most of our platform from the very start. And the brilliant service continued after we went live when we were introduced to our very own Continuous Improvement Consultant (CIC), Jules. She’s there to support us throughout our partnership to help us make sure we’re making the most of the platform.

What improvements have you seen since using Jobtrain? 

For a start, we’ve seen a reduction in our recruitment agency spend. We’re never going to move away from the need to use recruitment agencies, however streamlining the process and having everything in one platform with clear timestamps has ensured we can evidence clear ownership of applicants and means it won’t become a time and money drain.

From our arduous application form pre-Jobtrain, we’ve now reduced the time it takes to complete an application to just 4 minutes!

We are also taking full advantage of our ATS by starting a candidate referral scheme and offering up to £1,500 for referring a successful candidate.

The system is incredibly user-friendly and navigation is effortless. It's easy to make changes and the interface is very simple to use.

Our Hiring Managers have fully embraced and our process has sped up as a result. 

How did you roll it out to Hiring Managers? 

Transparency and communication across the company was key. We sent communication messages  to all our Hiring Managers and then additional comms to all employees in our internal portal, informing them about our new processes and ATS.

Our messaging provided information about us moving to a cloud-based recruitment system - and importantly, we highlighted the reasons why we were doing this. We explained how easy it was going to be to use, that everything would be managed in one platform and that we wouldn’t have to worry about managing GDPR compliance. 

As for direct feedback, our Hiring Managers have said Jobtrain is simple and easy to use. They don’t need to look at lots of different platforms and systems to find, review and shortlist candidates’ CVs and applications. 

In all, everyone got very excited about it! I thought we might have seen some initial resistance, but that’s not been the case. There has been real buy-in from both stakeholders and Hiring Managers. 

Wow, sounds like you had a great plan! 

Thank you! 

What features and services have been the most important so far? 

Jobtrain’s support team and our CIC, Jules, are absolutely fantastic. We’re on a first name basis with the support team. Their knowledge and patience means that no question is too big or too small - they can help us with all sorts of queries. Nothing is overcomplicated. The service has been so good that we’ve recommended Jobtrain back into the Facebook group where we first heard about you!

It’s been a first-class service, second-to-none and an absolute pleasure to work in partnership. 

I’ve found Jobtrain’s How Talent webinars incredibly useful too. Covering so many different HR and recruitment topics, it really shows the knowledge that’s at Jobtrain.

About Henry Boot 

Henry Boot PLC boasts 500 employees and has been successfully operating in land, property and development for over 135 years. With a unique, sustainable business model they’ve built a market-leading Group of Companies that source, develop and deliver across the whole property value-chain.