Tried and tested online selection

Citation

Hodgson, A. and Harbottle, M. (2008), "Tried and tested online selection", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 7 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2008.37207aaf.002

Tried and tested online selection

Tried and tested online selection

How technology is changing the way HR works

Alison Hodgson, Head of Resourcing, and Maurice Harbottle, Head of Recruitment Services, explain how the Royal Mail Group has radically improved its recruitment process by introducing online candidate testing.

With 250,000 people applying for postal vacancies at the Royal Mail each year, the organization is always looking at ways to improve the effectiveness of its recruitment process. This led to the introduction of a new recruitment website (www.royalmailgroup.com/jobs) to provide a faster and robust system.

The new website was phased in from April 2006 and is helping Royal Mail to compete in tight labor markets that are increasingly driven by candidate demand to search and apply for jobs online. It is also providing the business with the right profile of candidates, leading in turn to a more engaged and motivated workforce.

A new online dimension

An integral part of the new look system is online candidate testing. After a lengthy tendering process, Royal Mail chose Kenexa, a recruitment and retention specialist, to design two bespoke online psychometric tests to assess candidates applying online. Kenexa carried out detailed analysis of the business requirements, which involved reviewing existing processes and tests, visiting sorting and delivery offices, working with industrial relations people and asking managers what they look for in an ideal candidate. The assessments were then developed and tested before replacing the previous paper-based sorting and numerical tests. Implementation support was provided with one-day workshops for Royal Mail’s recruitment development team to ensure they fully understood the tests and the system.

The challenge

At any one time Royal Mail can have up to 4,000 people per week applying for its vacancies. In the past candidates could apply online but the manual sifting process that followed was lengthy, labor intensive and costly. Members of Royal Mail’s recruitment team would hold initial telephone interviews with candidates to help choose who should go through to the assessment center stage to sit numerical and sorting tests and attend an interview. For varying reasons, a high percentage of candidates typically failed to turn up at the center.

An added challenge was that some candidates clearly had little understanding of the demands of the job for which they were applying. This meant they would either drop out after the assessment stage, or leave the job within weeks of starting, which did little to improve people’s perceptions of Royal Mail as an employer.

The solution

As a result, the screening and assessment processes for Royal Mail Group’s three main brands – Royal Mail, Post Office and Parcelforce Worldwide – had to be improved. The new system invites applicants to fill in a few biographical details online and answer some simple screening questions including a self-selection questionnaire. The questionnaire is designed to provide candidates with a realistic job preview of the role for which they are applying and to give them an understanding of their suitability for the role.

Candidates can search for jobs by role or location and, if none are available, they can register for e-mail vacancy alerts. Once candidates have found a vacancy that interests them, they are invited to carry out two psychometric tests – an online sorting test and a work style questionnaire. The sorting test is a timed simulation exercise asking people to sort mail by postcode and then by full address. The work style questionnaire measures nine key personality traits – agreeableness, compliance, conscientiousness, drive and energy, leadership and influence, management of emotions, openness to change, positivity and social confidence – that were identified as essential for a career with the organization. The scores are then combined for sifting candidates.

Today, approximately 2,000 tests are completed online and evaluated every week. While a full evaluation of the system is still to take place, at this stage the benefits include:

• •

  The recruitment cycle has been shortened by five days so that suitable candidates can now be lined up for interview within a week.

• •

  There is a higher caliber of candidates.

• •

  The assessment process is much less resource intensive.

• •

  Perception of the organization as an employer has improved.