Due to the sheer volume of roles that River Island was trying to administer, the company was failing to fill vacancies. It just didn't have enough time and candidates were sometimes not receiving feedback. Considering that customer and candidate demographics overlapped, this posed a serious problem for the retailer.
River Island launched a recruitment portal, which was completely led by technology. The system incorporates: quotas to control the numbers of applicants; online interview booking; text message reminders for interview appointments, as well as Google maps to help interviewees find where to go for interviews; attendee lists for store managers carrying out interviews; automatic generation of reference requests; onboarding/induction; instant messaging within the recruitment team; and monitoring tools.
The system was designed to make the business more streamlined and, although it incorporated automated processes, the company has set it to feel 'human'. Both applicants and line managers learn the outcome of application processes in a timely fashion.
In addition, River Island adopted a social media strategy, incorporating Facebook and Twitter, which both act as successful viral marketing tools allowing users and their friends to blog about River Island, saving costs in advertising jobs.
The reduction in screening time has saved River Island an estimated £300,000. The HR team has saved 100% of the time it previously used to deal with recruitment administration - the time to fully recruit a new store (200 staff) is now less than nine days. In total, since the launch of the system, River Island estimates it has saved £1.1 million.
Considering the sheer volume of applicants competing for retail jobs, the panel of judges was impressed with the system and the results River Island was able to measure. In short, one judge described the system as "brilliant for the industry".
Highly commended
BSkyB
BSkyB recruits in the region of 5,000 members of staff every year. With just under 100 staff on average to place every week, software has to be foolproof. Following the launch of the company's onboarding portal last year, BSkyB set out to create a 'world class' onboarding experience for its recruits.
Previously, the company used a paper-based system, but the new platform, which combines two providers' software, has saved the company £20 per recruit, made the candidate experience more straightforward, is more efficient and more environmentally friendly.
Judges were satisfied the company proved the business case for the system, as well as measurable and promising results.
Finalist
Cabot Financial (Europe)
