In our post-pandemic world, the business of recruitment is highly competitive. To attract candidates, companies have had to up their game, sharpen their strategies and focus on delivering an exceptional employee experience – from first contact through to the selection process and beyond.

But at The Workshop, we love a challenge. Over the past few years, our dedicated talent acquisition (TA) team and exceptional hiring squads have worked hard to hone our selection process, taking it to the next level by building a holistic candidate journey that’s designed to leave new hires informed and energised, and other applicants eager to reapply.

Laying it all on the table

When it comes to delivering an unforgettable candidate journey, one of the key ingredients is transparency. During the selection process, our teams prioritise honest, open communication with applicants, making sure we understand their unique needs and uncover any possible red flags quickly and painlessly.

Here, we don’t simply hire skill sets. We understand that with each new team member, we’re building our organisational culture and community, and we consider every candidate to be a potential future colleague. For this reason, we want to ensure we’re always on the same page with applicants, gathering and sharing as much information as possible during the selection process to make sure every hire is a perfect fit.

In short: We do everything we can to make sure they’re as excited about joining The Workshop as we are about welcoming them!

A holistic approach

Collaboration is a big part of life at The Workshop. Our team structure and hybrid working model prioritise in-person connection and relationship-building – and we like to integrate this spirit into the hiring journey wherever possible. 

With our “whole self” approach to candidate selection, hiring squads take a genuine interest in the personality, background and personal experience of each candidate, in addition to their professional skill set. We also do everything we can to help them succeed during the interview process, providing support and detailed info to help them confidently prepare in advance.

Finally, we recognise the many unknowns that candidates are dealing with when considering a potential new role. Factors at play can include relocation, schedule modification, expanding responsibilities or new team dynamics. We always acknowledge the unique circumstances of each applicant, and provide targeted information and support wherever possible – and we’re always delighted to hear that our personal approach made a candidate’s experience outstanding. 

Keeping an eye on the clock

Sometimes, speed makes all the difference. Often, candidates are involved in parallel selection processes, so we’ve streamlined our hiring journey in several key areas to reduce the average time to hire without compromising the quality of the process. (Some of our recent hiring processes have taken as little as a week to finalise!)

We’ve accomplished this in a few ways. Firstly, our specialised TA team filters candidates from first contact, ensuring that only suitable applicants enter the interview stream. After this, hiring squads spend time discussing potential candidates’ skills in detail before progressing them to the official interview stage.

Next, we’ve implemented a two-stage interview process for some technical positions. This consists of an initial call with the TA representative, followed by a longer interview incorporating technical elements, as well as an opportunity for the candidate to ask questions.

In the case of engineering roles, for example, this interview is hosted by a manager along with two software engineers or subject matter experts. All technical elements are covered in this interview, and there’s also dedicated time for the candidate to ask any questions they may have. Candidates also have the option to conduct this interview onsite to get a sense of our workplace and company culture.

This unusually quick process removes the hassle of the traditional three- or four-round interview process other companies often require. It’s a process that has proved very successful for us, and we’re looking to roll it out more broadly across our organisation.

Finally, we always aim to provide feedback within 24 hours of an interview, adding value where possible by proposing areas for possible improvement or suggested learning tools, reading resources and more. We want the hiring process to be valuable to every candidate, whether or not their application ends in a new role. 

Always striving for more

For our TA team and incredible hiring squads, succeeding means exceeding. We’re not satisfied with guaranteeing a good candidate experience – we want to go further. That’s why we always solicit NPS survey feedback to uncover ways to improve our process. We also make sure our team members are aligned on best practices, and we stay up-to-date on all the latest recruitment trends.

When we’re not meeting with candidates, you can find us out and about in the community, sponsoring local and international conferences, participating in networking sessions, attending job fairs and creating our own events.

We’re so proud of The Workshop’s hiring process, and our incredible team members from TA and Engineering who dedicate themselves to excellence. When you apply to become an Inventor at The Workshop, you’re in good hands! 

Want to find out more? Visit our Careers page and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram for more #LifeAtTheWorkshop.