Waitrose's graduate programme online sifting tool aims to eliminate unsuitable candidates at an early stage

The tool, provided by A&DC, helps assess the highest-calibre applicants quickly and easily online and it is hoped it will help Waitrose sift through the thousands of applications received for its yearly graduate recruitment campaigns. 

 

It hopes that the ultimate return on investment will be demonstrated by high scoring applicants becoming high-performing employees. 

 

The system, Graduate DILEMMAS, is an online situational judgment test that assesses graduates’ judgement and decision-making skills in relation to common work situations, based on an overall judgment score.

By introducing the online sifting tool, the graduate recruitment team filtered out less suitable candidates and ensured the 150 applicants who got to Waitrose’s Selection Centres would have the potential to succeed as future store managers.

 

The graduate recruitment process starts with applicants completing an online form and personality questionnaire.  They then pass through to Graduate DILEMMAS which, in this campaign, reduced the candidate numbers by 800. At the next stage, applicants attend assessment centres, where successful candidates move forward to interview. Anyone who has applied is asked not to reapply within a year, but Graduate DILEMMAS automatically stops any that try within that time period. 

Waitrose anticipated an uplift in applicant numbers last year because of the challenges of the recruitment market and the growing number of applications.  It wanted to use a robust selection tool as part of their graduate assessment process to save time and costs.

The scoring of the system has been tailored to reflect ‘what good looks like’ for graduates within Waitrose. Store managers with detailed knowledge were asked to complete Graduate DILEMMAS and indicate how effective candidates should respond.  Based on their responses, A&DC created a bespoke scoring key for the company.

Suzie Young, graduate recruitment manager at Waitrose, said, "The online sifting tool paints a great picture of current situations candidates could face if working at a Waitrose branch. It’s a cost-effective way of giving candidates a view of the role and us an insight into their decision-making ability if in that situation.

"We have found that some people subscribe to do the test but read a couple of situations on Graduate DILEMMAS and realise it’s not for them.  This means it’s a win-win as it reduces time wastage for them and for us. They find out very quickly if it’s the right role for them as they can quickly see what the job can involve.  For us, it tests competencies so we can screen out the people who aren’t right for the role and assess them easily. Ultimately, we can see how they will deal with everyday situations, which is what we want to measure."

From its winter campaign, Waitrose has hired 12 graduates from 2,500 applicants.  A summer campaign is expected to hire a further eight graduates. Successful Waitrose graduates are placed into store-based retail management roles and have the opportunity to reach department manager level within 12-24 months.