Category: Talent Advisory

HMRC: Creating a New Virtual Assessment Center for Greater Diversity

Posted on by akessler
HMRC: Creating a New Virtual Assessment Center for Greater Diversity

HMRC: Creating a New Virtual Assessment Center for Greater Diversity

Every year, His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) hires 40 lawyers in an annual campaign. Ahead of their annual hiring effort, they turned to PeopleScout to help them modernize their assessment center to secure more qualified talent.

56 Qualified Candidates Found for 40 Vacancies
40 % of Offers Made Were to Candidates Who Identified as an Ethnic Minority
33 % of Offers Made Were to Candidates Who Identified as Being from a Lower Socioeconomic Background

Situation

The HMRC team was concerned that their current assessment center was no longer a good predictor of performance in the role. They had also received feedback from a number of candidates who said they’d experienced functionality and formatting limitations while completing the written exercise. 

The HMRC wanted PeopleScout to evaluate their assessment strategy to ensure they were evaluating for the right traits, to improve the candidate experience, and to reduce potential hidden bias within the process since diversity was a critical goal for their recruitment program.

Solution

Reassessing the Assessment Center

Our tech team and assessments experts had several sessions with the HMRC team. The HMRC team was able to share the skill and behavior requirements for the legal roles. Each skill and behavior was weighted to ensure the online assessment was tailored to their specific needs. This collaborative approach gave the HMRC team opportunities to provide direct input into the direction of the assessment center and develop trust in the outcomes as well as PeopleScout.

The new assessment center consisted of a behavioral test which also assessed for verbal and cognitive aptitude. This combination gave HMRC the opportunity to evaluate a broader skillset to better judge a candidate’s fit for the role. The new assessment was accompanied by tweaks to the technology platform which created a smoother experience for candidates.

Our PeopleScout team trained HMRC’s internal teams on administering the new assessment center as well as a new video interviewing tool. In addition to the training session, each interview panel member received a detailed guide to minimize the likelihood of any disruption for the candidate.

Creating an Excellent Candidate Experience

We designed and delivered a webinar to engage candidates and educate them about the new virtual assessment center. This gave them the opportunity to ask questions and feel confident going into the testing stage.

A PeopleScout assessor was present during all virtual assessments to support the HMRC team with their assessment expertise and ensure a consistent experience for all candidates.

Results

Of the applications received, 62% were passed to HMRC for sifting and to complete the assessment center. Just under half passed and completed a virtual interview with HMRC. Ultimately, 56 qualified candidates were identified against 40 vacancies, giving HMRC a talent pool to draw upon for future openings.

Great strides were made against HMRC’s diversity recruitment efforts. Of the offers made:

  • 7% of candidates identified as having a disability
  • 60% of candidates identified as female
  • 40% of candidates identified as minority ethnic
  • 33% of candidates identified as being from a lower socio-economic background

Feedback from candidates was positive with many saying they felt the new platform was easier to navigate.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
  • INDUSTRY
    Government & Public Sector
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Advisory
  • ABOUT HMRC
    His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is a department of the UK Government responsible for administration of taxes, national insurance contributions, the national minimum wage and more.
Let’s Connect

Legal Ombudsman: Reducing the Time Investment from Hiring Managers by 80%

Posted on by akessler
Reducing the Time Investment From Hiring Managers by 80% for the Legal Ombudsman

Reducing the Time Investment From Hiring Managers by 80% for the Legal Ombudsman

The Legal Ombudsman were finding it difficult to attract the volume and quality of candidates for legal investigators in a highly competitive candidate market. Plus, a time intensive recruitment process meant their hiring managers were spending hundreds of hours on recruiting rather than their daily work tasks. They turned to PeopleScout for expert candidate management, employer branding and talent attraction help.

80 % Reduction in Time Investment by Hiring Managers
87 % Satisfaction Rate Amongst Surveyed Candidates
5 Stars from Hiring Managers

Scope & Scale

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) is a regulatory organization that holds the UK’s legal profession to the highest standards by resolving consumers complaints about legal services providers. The organization was growing and turned to PeopleScout for a candidate attraction campaign and partial-cycle recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) to fill approximately 40 complaints investigator roles.

Situation

The organization was struggling to get engagement with their target audience and attract the volume and caliber of investigator candidates they needed. The market was highly competitive, with multiple organizations recruiting for similar roles. This put the LeO behind their hiring target by approximately 20%.

In addition, the recruitment process required the LeO team to invest significant time—400 operational hours per campaign—which was taking them away from their important work supporting consumers.

Solution

PeopleScout’s in-house creative agency built a recruitment marketing campaign and followed this by sifting candidates, scheduling assessment days and supporting an assessment center.

Attracting the Right Candidates

Our team started by doing a deep dive into the roles and existing employees who were successful as legal investigators. This helped us understand the kinds of candidates we should target and their needs and motivations. Armed with this information, we developed messaging and content that resonated with key audiences and stood out in a highly competitive market. This was used in digital advertising through job boards, search engine ads and social media campaigns which pointed to a bespoke landing page.

Supporting a Streamlined Recruitment Process

With a focus on improving the candidate experience and creating efficiencies in the process, we built a bespoke application form which connected to the Legal Ombudsman’s existing application tracking system (ATS). Upon our suggestion, the LeO added a written exercise to the application process which helped them assess writing competency and assist with the sift process.

PeopleScout completed the first sift. In fact, the attraction campaign generated so many applicants that we extended the time allotted for sifting to accommodate them. We also advised the client to adjust the scoring after the first round of sifting, because candidate quality was so high.

Upon passing the sift, our RPO team scheduled candidates for a virtual interview with the Legal Ombudsman team. From there, candidates participated in a virtual assessment center. We supplied 15 trained assessors to support LeO interviewers in conducting a role play for 104 candidates. The role play mimicked the type of calls and inquiries investigators field in their daily work and gave both the organization and the candidate a sense of how they’d perform in the position. The assessors’ involvement let the LeO representatives engage more with candidates without having to worry about taking notes or keeping an eye on the clock.

“Every assessor I was partnered with was welcoming, easy to talk to and genuinely cared about the candidate experience.”

– LeO Hiring Manager

We handed back a cohort of candidates that were successful in the selection and assessment process and were ready for LeO to extend offers to. The offer and onboarding process was handled by the LeO HR team and supported by our recruitment delivery team.

Results

The client was so happy with the quality of the applicants they received that they increased the number of hires from 30 to 40. In the end, a total of 42 offers were accepted as a result of this campaign.

In feedback surveys, candidates gave a satisfaction rating of 87% for the recruitment process. Many said they enjoyed the assessment center, which can often be stressful for candidates.

“Different by actually enjoyable.”

“Very professional and informative. Enjoyable experience even though it was an assessment. Positive day with some very good staff.”

Legal Ombudsman staff gave the process 4.9 out of 5 stars. They particularly appreciated that the assessment was a true-to-life reflection of the skills required for the role. By streamlining and taking over parts of the recruitment process, we were able to reduce the number hours LeO staff were putting into recruiting by approximately 80%.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Legal Ombudsman
  • INDUSTRY
    Government & Public Sector
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Advisory
  • ABOUT THE LEGAL OMBUDSMAN
    The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) is a regulatory organization that holds the UK’s legal profession to the highest standards by resolving consumers complaints about legal services providers.
Let’s Connect

[On-Demand] Resourcing Revolution: How to Hire in a Candidate-Led Marketing

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[On-Demand] Resourcing Revolution: How to Hire in a Candidate-Led Marketing

Tables have turned. For the first time in decades, candidates rather than employers have the upper hand in controlling their fate.

Those involved in recruiting new staff, whether it’s the hiring manager or the professionals working in talent acquisition and HR, are facing candidates in the driving seat: prospective hires who are able to command more negotiating power when it comes to not only salary, but the entire package.

In the era of hybrid working, your next hire may also want to dictate where they work and when.

This Personnel Today webinar, in association with RPO specialist PeopleScout, will provide insights into how you can succeed in the current candidates’ market.

Editor Rob Moss is joined by deputy managing director of PeopleScout, Robert Peasnell, who shares a special market update, and Direct Line Group’s talent acquisition centre of excellence lead Craig Morgans, who will provide practical real-life advice from the resourcing frontline.

Three Potential Pitfalls of High-Volume Hiring and How to Avoid Them

Posted on by akessler

A fairly large handful of colleagues and clients are aware that my family and I are having some fairly extensive renovation work done on our home. Partly because I have moaned about it on a weekly basis since January. Partly because the endless background sounds of drills, hammers and circular saws— and on one particularly fraught occasion, a builders exposed backside descending from a loft ladder behind me—have all permeated some of my Zoom video calls. 

Now that the work is 90 percent finished, I look back on the project, and there are some aspects of it that I wish we had done differently. In doing such a lot of work at one time, we inevitably compromised on our standards in some small ways when faced with the size of the project ahead. 

Hopefully, you can see where the analogy is leading. When we, or our clients, are faced with a mountain to climb in terms of the complexity or scarcity of required talent in big numbers, it’s easy to deviate away from best practice. And this is never more common than now. 

As organisations switch from hiring freezes to acute growth mode, we are seeing a dramatic shift back towards a candidate-driven market. As the next 12 months play out, I personally believe this will prove to be one of the most dramatic shifts in several decades, and employers will be scratching their heads at just how they are going to close the hiring gap. 

During these impending and inevitably large-scale campaigns, there are three potential risks that stand out to me:

1. Introducing new people will impact the company culture.

Firstly, hiring lots of new people can present a risk to the company culture you’ve spent a lot of effort crafting. This may be more prevalent within smaller organisations or for those hiring at the leadership level, but no organisation is truly immune. With any hiring that significantly impacts a team, you must consider not only the skills and competencies match, but also how the existing cultural makeup of that group will be affected. One way to counter this is through thorough training to help align old and new employees on the same cultural path. This should be led by leadership and serve as a catalyst for people—old and new—to embrace your organisation’s mission and values. 

2. High-volume hiring can increase the risk of compromising on quality.

When it comes to high-volume hiring, hiring managers are more inclined to drop their standards on quality-of-hire. Not so much in terms of matching skills and experience, which tends to be a more objective. Plus, a deviation away from the requisite profile can be harder for the hiring manager to justify in their own mind. However, I’ve seen a “lowering of the bar” when it comes to the softer skills—the personality traits and competency matches which are naturally more subjective. One effective antidote here is robust candidate assessment practices. Backing up your gut feel with a bespoke or even “off the shelf” assessment package can help make your judgement more objective. 

3. Diversity amongst new hires suffers.

Thirdly, there is naturally a risk to diversity in your hiring. We’re all hopefully well-versed on the myriad benefits that fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce can bring. But, what is a valid, primary consideration when hiring one or two team members can begin to feel like an added challenge when filling a large number of openings starts to weigh down on a manager. Is there a temptation to let diversity standards slip if the challenge of filling critical gaps on your team already feels impossible? Is one allowed to be pragmatic in the circumstances and just hire, regardless of the diversity credentials? 

I would argue that you wouldn’t hire someone who has the wrong skills for your team, so you shouldn’t be any more inclined to lower standards on diversity. As we all know, the wrong hiring decision now, only costs us in the long-term when we have to re-hire down the line. Better to get it right first time, whether that be a diversity match or a skills match. 

Ultimately, any short-term concessions we might be tempted to make under pressure to hire at the time will be a source of regret. So, don’t lower your standards and suffer from these pitfalls. Take it from me—the decision not to fit underfloor heating in our family bathroom will likely haunt me for the next decade or two!

[On-Demand] Why Hybrid Hiring is Critical for Talent Acquisition Leaders

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[On-Demand] Why Hybrid Hiring is Critical for Talent Acquisition Leaders

What comes after your essential transition to virtual recruiting, when teams have shrunk and hiring needs are volatile? How do you ensure sufficient capacity and capability as organisations activate renewed growth strategies? The answer is hybrid recruiting.

Hybrid recruiting blends the expertise of both core in-house and flexible outsourced recruiters, powered through a deliberate mix of human contact and digital technology. In this series of events we will research, debate and inform on:

  • How you can get the best from hybrid recruiting.
  • How you can determine the right hybrid approach for your organisation.
  • How to embed flexibility, agility, and scalability within your approach.
  • How you can create the change required within your organisation.

We are delighted to invite you to join us as we investigate this hiring adaptation.

This series is now on demand. Please fill out the form to gain instant access. 

 

Meet the panelists:

Adam Britten from Amey

Adam has been working in the Resourcing and Talent space for 18 years and currently operates as Head of Resourcing and Talent for Amey PLC, a leading infrastructure services and engineering company. In his role Adam is responsible for the end to end Talent strategy for Amey ensuring they attract a skilled and diverse applicants whilst ensuring diversity. Adam specialises in Change Management and Transformation in Talent Acquisition having worked as an internal TA leader and also as an RPO  implementation director.

Panellist 1Ewa Zajac from Zendesk
With experience in all aspects of TA ranging from top of funnel employer branding & sourcing, through interview process efficiency, all the way to offer negotiation and new hire onboarding, Ewa has an excellent candidate experience at the heart of her strategy. In her role at Zendesk she focuses on building effective workflows and developing diversity partnerships that help Zendesk hire outstanding talent.

nullLesa Molinari from Colt Technology
Lesa has 14 years of global talent acquisition experience working in healthcare, telecoms and IT. In her current role she leads a high performing, inclusive and collaborative team which enables business leaders to; innovate, drive meaningful value against current and future business needs and, create opportunities to build the business in terms of scale and transformation.
Lesa understands how to drive significant cost savings in a complex matrix environment (down to 5% agency) while balancing best in class solutions. Her pragmatic approach is always focused on delivering business performance. Lesa is an RL100 member, Mentor and Panellist.

Panellist 3 Lisa Kelly from Heathrow Airport
An HR leader and a specialist in talent and resourcing with experience of working in consultancy and internal HR functions. Lisa is passionate about delivering successful business outcomes by enabling organisations through talent acquisition, talent development, performance management, diversity & inclusion, succession, and workforce planning.
Panellist 4 Jon Hull from Nationwide Building Society
An HR and Talent management leader with 20 years experience, Jon is the Head of Resourcing Delivery at Nationwide Building Society. Helping drive the transformation of the customer facing recruiting and the tech & transformation agenda, Jon is passionate about creating a multi channel offer using the latest technology. A real team player, Jon knows that technology alongside human interaction will nurture and attract the best talent, whilst driving innovation, customer delivery and value into the community.

Candidate NPS: What are Candidates Saying About You When You’re Not in the Room?

Posted on by akessler

We hear a lot about ‘customer-centricity’, putting the customer at the heart of everything you do. For years, organisations have been using Net Promoter Score (NPS) to measure their customer experience and to generate feedback that boosts data-driven decision making. However, when it comes to measuring the candidate experience, companies are missing out on candidate NPS.

What is NPS?

Net Promoter Score, or NPS, began as way for organisations to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty. By asking one question—“On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this product/company to a friend or colleague?”—organisations can gauge which customers are promoters, and which are detractors.

Graphic depicts how candidate NPS is scored.

Overall NPS score can range between -100 and +100, and the higher the score the better.

Why Candidate NPS?

Why is NPS an important measurement for talent acquisition leaders? Our research into candidate experience revealed that: 

  • Only 5% of candidates rated their experience excellent
  • But 66% of candidates have never been asked to provide feedback on their recruitment experience.
  • Yet, 9 out of 10 have provided feedback when asked.

With such a small percentage of candidates having an excellent recruitment experience, it’s imperative for organisations to start benchmarking their candidate experience in order to make data-driven improvements.

Yet, so few organisations are leveraging Candidate NPS. In a recent poll, we asked whether our database currently use, intend to use or have no plans to use NPS to measure their candidate experience. Our audience told us the following:

  • 7% currently use NPS
  • 21% don’t plan to 
  • 64% intend to start
  • 7% have other plans

Getting Started with Candidate NPS

Consider adding a communication to your CRM after critical stages in your recruitment process like the assessment centre or hiring manager interview—regardless of outcome. By asking one simple question and the candidate’s reasoning for their rating, you can gather valuable data to drive continuous improvement in your candidate experience.  

After gaining an initial benchmark, you can measure Candidate NPS overtime to see how your process improvements are impacting the candidate experience. Combined with other metrics, you’ll be on your way to understanding the impact of your talent acquisition program and improving your recruitment outcomes.

Virgin Media: A Virtual Approach to Call Center Recruiting

Posted on by akessler
Virgin Media: A Virtual Approach to Call Center Recruiting

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.

5,500 Applications Delivered
1,800 Virtual Interviews Assessed
300 Offers 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.
Let’s Connect

“We have built a strong and effective partnership with PeopleScout, shown through the complexities brought about by the pandemic and then a large merger.”

Client feedback

London College of Fashion: Shedding Light on Potential Barriers to Engagement

Posted on by akessler
London College of Fashion: DE&I Consulting to Boost Workplace Diversity

London College of Fashion: DE&I Consulting to Boost Workplace Diversity

PeopleScout helped the London College of Fashion understand what might be preventing them from recruiting a more diverse workforce and provided strategies to start addressing them.

Situation

The London College of Fashion, part of the University of the Arts London (UAL), wanted to increase the number of its employees from ethnic minority backgrounds. Specifically, they were finding it challenging to attract applications from diverse candidates in sufficient numbers. As part of their journey to addressing this issue, they commissioned PeopleScout to help them understand the experience they offered to existing ethnic minority employees and to advise on whether the insight gained could shed any light on potential barriers to engagement amongst diverse external audiences.

Solution

We conducted research amongst a sample of people from both ethnic minority and non-ethnic minority backgrounds to identify any differences in how they experienced the College as an employer. Our research took the form of one-to-one interviews and involved academic and non-academic staff, as well as a selection of alumni to provide a somewhat external perspective.

While the initial focus was on ethnicity, it turned out that this was not the key challenge.

Where differences appeared to exist in the employment experience, they were not between minority ethnic and non-minority ethnic colleagues. They appeared to be related to socio-economics, with non-minority ethnic members of staff who (unprompted) identified themselves as working class sharing very similar perceptions of senior management to their minority ethnic counterparts.

The common perception was that to do well at the College you had to have a certain background and set of social experiences. Without these, there was a sense that the top of the organization was unattainable. This sense appeared to be reinforced by the comparatively optimistic perspectives of those minority ethnic staff members who had achieved senior positions in the organization.

The challenge was not therefore about ethnicity, it was about addressing seemingly class-based factors.

Results

Identifying and Breaking Down Perceived Barriers

Following completion of the research, we advised the College that, from a communications perspective, they needed to focus on breaking down any perceived barriers between senior management and the wider staff body. We recommended using personal stories to position the management group as more relatable and their level within the organization as achievable with hard work. We also recommended that the College check its internal promotion processes for any signs of unconscious bias.

Taking a Personal Story-Telling Approach

To further challenge misperceptions, we advised the College to extend the personal story-telling approach beyond internal communications into its recruitment communications, and to review the channels through which these stories are shared to ensure the College was positioned as more accessible to people from all walks of life, including those from minority ethnic or “working class” backgrounds.

The College has adopted this approach for their attraction and engagement activity.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    The London College of Fashion
  • INDUSTRY
    Higher Education
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Talent Advisory
  • 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.
Let’s Connect

Department For International Trade: Securing the UK’s Future Trade Deals

Posted on by akessler
Department For International Trade: Securing the UK’s Future Trade Deals

Department For International Trade: Securing the UK’s Future Trade Deals

The Department for International Trade (DIT) commissioned PeopleScout to help them recruit professional candidates to staff the new Trade Remedies Authority (TRA).

1,600 Applications Generated
92 % Assessment Center Attendence
48 % of Applicants were from Minority Ethnic Backgrounds

Situation

In preparation for Brexit, the Department for International Trade (DIT) in the UK needed to create a Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) that would govern and monitor the UK’s future trade deals with the rest of the world. DIT commissioned PeopleScout to help them hire 75 exceptional lawyers, investigators and economists to join them in their new Reading, England office.

These roles hadn’t been seen in the UK for over 45 years, which created a complex challenge. Firstly, many candidates might not know whether they were qualified to do the jobs as these opportunities were unique in the market. Secondly, we had to populate a department that could operate post-Brexit, taking into account changing immigration laws. Thirdly, we faced an extremely tight deadline.

Solution

Full-Cycle RPO Solution

We provided a dedicated account team that was responsible for every element of the process including:

  • An attraction campaign
  • Application management
  • Assessment and selection material
  • A microsite
  • Candidate management
  • Interviewing
  • Offer negotiation
  • Onboarding including BPSS security check

Crucially, our team was media trained to deliver approved messages, receiving explanations of what they could and could not say in case journalists tried to apply for the roles to find out more about this high-profile organization.

Creative Candidate Attraction & Engagement

Our approach was two-fold. We combined free and paid-for advertising with a strong social media campaign. At the same time, we undertook market mapping and candidate identification whereby we engaged with key candidates directly. All activities ultimately directed candidates to our carefully crafted microsite which detailed the uniqueness of the roles.

Bespoke Tools

As these roles were brand new in the UK, we developed a “Match Me” tool that helped candidates understand the role that would best suit their ability, skillset and experience. We also devised a tailor-made application process that included screening questions, an online ability test that evaluated numerical, verbal and inductive reasoning, a telephone or video interview, and a face-to-face assessment. Throughout the campaign, we provided DIT with weekly updates.

Results

Overwhelming Interest

We generated a staggering 47,522 visitors to the microsite with 1,597 applications submitted. Candidates remained engaged throughout the process with an impressive 92% assessment center attendance.

Exceptional Candidates

DIT were spoilt for choice with 43% of candidates passing the assessment center. They eventually made 93 offers, are 75 of those were accepted. As a result, they now have 75 high-caliber members of staff who are committed to governing and monitoring the UK’s future trade deals.

Enhanced Diversity

Diversity was very high on the priority list for both DIT and PeopleScout, and while we didn’t have specific targets, we did track applications. To everyone’s delight our diversity statistics were extremely positive, with 38% of applicants identifying as female and 48% identifying as a person of color.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Department for International Trade (DIT)
  • INDUSTRY
    Government & Public Sector
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ANNUAL HIRES
    75 professional roles including lawyers, investigators and economists
  • ABOUT DIT
    The Department for International Trade (DIT) was a department of the UK Government responsible for trade agreements between the United Kingdom and foreign countries. The department was replaced by the Department for Business and Trade in 2023.
Let’s Connect

Surrey Police: A Video Call to Action for Detective Constables

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Surrey Police: A Video Call to Action for Detective Constables

Recruitment Video

Surrey Police: A Video Call to Action for Detective Constables

PeopleScout created a compelling call to action to attract Detective Constables for Surrey Police with documentary-style video.

Situation

With Surrey bordering the Greater London area, Surrey Police are often in the shadow of The Metropolitan Police in the capital. There’s a perception that only detectives serving in the big city get the chance to work on big cases and solve serious crimes, and that Surrey is quiet and boring. The truth is that Surrey offers that opportunity, plus the training, career progression and work-life balance detectives looking for.

It’s complex. It’s challenging. And it’s rewarding.

Surrey Police needed to recruit experienced Detective Constables from other forces. They engaged PeopleScout and our industry-leading in-house creative team to challenge perceptions about crime fighting in Surrey.

Solution

Surrey Police asked us to create a video that would show experienced Detective Constables from other forces that they could have the career and development they wanted while reassuring the public that Surrey is a safe place to live.

A Research-Based Proposition

Conducting research to understand why detectives worked for Surrey Police, we developed the underlying proposition, “Be the detective you have always wanted to be.”

Compelling Visual Approach

We wanted something that would stand out and resonate with our target audience, inspiring them to uncover the truth in Surrey. So, adopting a compelling TV documentary trailer style, we worked with the filmmaker behind the groundbreaking BBC2 series The Detectives to shoot it—making the result truly cinematic.

Authentic Content

It was crucial to involve real detectives in the video, and at every stage, we worked with the detective team to ensure our film was as close to reality as possible. By conducting audio interviews with the detectives, we were able to match powerful, authentic, statements with the visuals.

Results

The video and accompanying campaign were highly successful in attracting Detective Constables to the Surrey Police.

Significant Increase in Hires

Surrey Police hadn’t expected the campaign to be so successful—they thought a handful of people might apply. But, with 24 hires in 9 months (up from 5 hires in 13 months), the results have really impressed them.

Cost Effective Campaign

With the typical cost to train a new starter as much as £100,000, this campaign built around attracting experienced detectives proved dramatically cost effective at £1,250 per hire.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Surrey Police
  • INDUSTRY
    Government & Public Sector
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Talent Advisory
  • ABOUT SURREY POLICE
    Surrey Police fights crime and protects communities in the country of Surrey, the third most densely populated county in SE England.
Let’s Connect