When Jardine Motors Group needed help resourcing a new Connections Centre during the pandemic, we helped implement a new solution in less than 2 weeks. The new candidate experience is faster, more inclusive and has improved the quality of candidates at interview stage.
Jardine Motors Group, which operates 60 car dealerships across the UK, relies on its 2,700 employees to make it ‘the best motor retailer, as judged by you. Recruiting the right people to be the first point of communication with customers across the business, is crucial.
To recruit a large number of Connection Centre staff in a fair, safe, and consistent way during the COVID-19 pandemic – with no extra resource.
In March 2020, the recruitment team faced a unique challenge. They needed to staff a new Connection Centre in Birmingham, but social distancing meant they couldn’t invite shortlisted candidates to assessment centres. And while the team had video interview technology in place, they had to sift CVs manually to decide who to put forward. Reviewing the videos afterwards was manual, too.
The process was very resource-intensive, and the team wasn’t in a position to hire more people to help. As recruitment manager Christopher Cuthbert says:
“The business was counting on us to deliver. We needed to find the right tool to help us do it.”
An end-to-end solution for quickly selecting the best candidates – implemented in just over a week.
Outmatch was one of several suppliers Christopher spoke to. Our differentiator was the ease with which we could implement the solution.
“We needed a platform that would give us a fair selection process and come fully formed, but be adaptable to our own requirements. We also needed it to be ready in a very short time,” explains Christopher. “Outmatch offered the standout platform for the situation we were in. And by enabling us to deliver a premium, digital and future-focused employee experience from the outset, it sets the tone for what we’re striving to provide as a team.”
It helped that Jardine Motors Group started small, with a specific focus on resourcing the new Connection Centre. Having all the branded content ready to go online was a plus, too. And because the Head of Connections was involved from the start, she was very keen for the project to succeed.
These factors meant we could roll out the solution quickly and easily. “From the start of implementation to when we first got candidates through the initial parts of the system wasn’t much over a week,” recalls Christopher. “It was a hugely straightforward process, and we managed it while everyone was working from home.”
“Outmatch offered the standout platform for the situation we were in. And by enabling us to deliver a premium, digital, and future-focused employee experience from the outset, it sets the tone for what we’re striving to provide as a team.”
Christopher Cuthbert, Recruitment Manager, Jardine Motors Group
A fair, fast, and efficient process for identifying the strongest candidates, irrespective of background.
Now, clicking on ‘Apply’ in Indeed.co.uk sends candidates directly to the Outmatch platform, with Jardine Motors Group branding and a welcome video.
Next, they:
This end-to-end, automated solution maintains SuccessFactors ATS as the system of record, while transforming the experience for both candidates and recruiters. And because the candidate journey is hosted entirely on Outmatch, it’s much faster than before: in some cases, candidates receive an invite to the live video interview the day after completing the process. Second, it’s more automated. Candidates can opt out at any stage, which cuts the numbers substantially; the screening then selects only those who display the relevant skills for the role. So, from the first batch of 1,750 candidates, 260 completed the on-demand video interview. This equates to live interviewing just three people per hire (compared to sifting 1,750 CVs in the old process).
The quality of the candidates has been impressive, too. “By the time we get to the final stage, the ratio of live interview to hire is very high, which shows that the system is working,” says Christopher. And finally, cutting out CVs has allowed Jardine Motors Group to select candidates in line with its business values, removing any bias and making the process as inclusive as possible. In this expanded talent pool, returning mothers and people whose lack of experience has shut them out from the industry before have been among the strongest candidates.
“The feedback around how easy the system is to set up and use has been massively positive. And through the project’s success, the news has spread around the business. People have heard about it and want to see how it can support them.”
Christopher Cuthbert, Recruitment Manager, Jardine Motors Group
Candidates and stakeholders alike love the platform, which Christopher will now be extending to other roles across the business.
Feedback from candidates has been glowing – important for a business that recognises them as potential future customers. Candidates particularly appreciate how quick the process is from applying to being invited to interview. They can also opt out when they want and complete the stages at any point in a three-day period.
Christopher’s colleagues have been similarly enthusiastic. “From my team, the feedback around how easy the system is to set up and use has been massively positive,” he says. “And through the project’s success, the news has spread around the business, too. People have heard about it and want to see how it can support them.”
“We’re committed to using Outmatch to support recruitment activity on a greater number and wider variety of roles across the Group,” says Christopher. “We will be looking to see how we can use the blind application process to further encourage diversity in our hiring practices.”
It sounds as if our process is there to stay. If Christopher had his time again, would he still choose Outmatch? “Absolutely I would!” he says. “The team understood our situation and implemented a system very quickly. They’ve given us a tool that’s proven invaluable for our new Connection Centre. It’ll be interesting to see how we can integrate this system into the Group more widely.”
“The feedback around how easy the system is to set up and use has been massively positive. And through the project’s success, the news has spread around the business. People have heard about it and want to see how it can support them.”
Christopher Cuthbert, Recruitment Manager, Jardine Motors Group
Outmatch delivers the data that’s been missing from your hiring process. With clear, measurable insight into candidates and new hires, your managers will make better hiring decisions, and your HR organization will finally be able to measure the impact of hiring on your company.
Let candidates drive their assessment and evaluation and humanize the hiring process at scale with Outmatch.
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