Case study
Contact centre recruitment: Rewriting the rulebook
Sometimes a challenge comes along with the opportunity to rewrite the rulebook. This rewrite involves smart assessment psychology, bespoke video, props, and codes to crack. All to seek out the best-fit talent for a financial services’ contact centre recruitment programme.
0
No show rate
at the assessment centre0
Offer acceptance
Rate up from 73%0
days saved
of recruiter time in 4 monthsThe challenge
Around 7,000 applications a year. 250 entry-level roles to fill. And a process that was working against itself.
Our client had a traditional, single-stage competency-based interview process, which prioritised financial services experience above all else.
Successful candidates could answer technical industry-related questions, but often brought poor behaviours and attitudes, resulting in high attrition and troubling absence levels.
A bold shift was sought that focused on behavioural potential over experience, hiring the right candidates who would perform and stay.
Our solution was an industry-first immersive assessment for contact centre recruitment that changed the client’s recruitment process for good.
The solution
A close collaboration between our Talent Advisory and Assessment Psychology teams, our solution was equal parts theatre and scientific rigour. Candidates expected a standard, corporate assessment process. Instead, they were parachuted into an alternative world where – for one day only – they joined a fictional underground resistance tasked with stopping ruthless art thieves from pulling off the heist of the century.
By creating this fantasy world of unexpected challenges, candidates relaxed and almost forgot they were being assessed. As a result, they revealed their true selves to assessors, who could easily identify the core attributes the client needed in its recruits.
Delivery & design
The science came first. Our Occupational Psychologists defined the capability, skills and behaviours needed, building an assessment framework that supported diverse, inclusive hiring. By focusing on potential and using standardised assessments and scoring, we ensured every decision was fair, objective and consistent.
Gamified online assessment
Bias is hardest to spot at the sift stage. This is where we designed it out. We removed CVs from the hiring process, so decisions were unbiased and behaviour-based. In their place, a gamified task-based assessment simulated real scenarios and tested the core success behaviours defined in the framework. The highest scorers moved forward, irrespective of work history.
Immersive assessment centre
The Creative team used the science as a springboard to create a fictional, immersive experience. Candidates had the ultimate goal of stopping a gang of thieves from stealing art. They did this through piecing clues together and solving puzzles.
Bringing fiction to life
From invite to final task, candidates received bespoke video content, and the assessment room was dressed with props — ticket stubs, Instagram posts, plane tickets and maps — bringing our fictional world to life. Alongside the group exercise, each candidate completed a customer conversation and an evidence‑based behavioural interview, all within two hours.
Results
The stats paint the picture of our success:
- 2% assessment centre no‑show rate – down from 25%
- 86% assessment centre pass rate, more than doubled from 41%
- 6% attritionm, now at the lowest level since before the pandemic
- 75 days of recruiter time saved in four months by removing CVs from the pre‑assessment centre stage
- 98% offer acceptance rate, up from 73%
- 92% new joiner satisfaction rate
- 98% candidate satisfaction following the assessment centre
- 87% of hires now come from outside financial services or contact centres, up from just 10%. New joiners have included nail technicians, chefs, employees from a world-famous golf course and a football club, and former retirees returning to work.
- 89% of candidates felt more positive about the client than about its competitors
“Since we launched the new process, I feel I have much greater insight into the candidates. When we have new candidates join, I already feel I know them, and I am confident they will have the right behaviours to thrive here.”
Hiring Manager feedback
Related Case Studies
Ready to turn recruitment into your competitive advantage?
Let’s talk