Case Studies

Multinational optical retail chain Specsavers, using Thomas assessments to streamline their recruitment process and improve the candidate experience

Specsavers is a multinational optical retail chain with major online presence and over 350 stores across Australia. With a complex organisation structure and thousands of staff across the country, they are using Thomas assessments to streamline and improve their recruitment process, which directly affects their revenue and brand perception.

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The Challenge

While recruiting for senior talent (Department Heads, Managers etc.), the recruitment team at Specsavers Australia faced several challenges. Firstly, there was no objective way to gain insights into a candidate’s personality and behaviour - which is as important as technical knowledge, especially for a mid to senior level professional.

Secondly, it was hard to make an objective decision when reviewing two candidates with similar experience. Finally, as a popular online and retail brand with 350 optometrists across Australia, providing a positive interview experience was essential for Specsavers, especially for candidates that were not hired.

The Solution

Specsavers Australia now use Thomas International’s Behavioural assessment (PPA) which gives accurate insights into how people behave at work along with a diverse range of bespoke reports that enable the recruiters and hiring managers to understand and interview candidates more objectively.

After a screening call, the recruiters send the Thomas Behavioural assessment (PPA) which takes 6-8 minutes for a candidate to complete. Once the candidates have completed the assessment, the recruiter downloads and compares the Graphs and Scores report.

All the recruiters at Specsavers Australia are Thomas accredited practitioners. It means they can administer the behavioural assessment (PPA), feedback results to the ideal profile for the position, read all the reports, and use the insights to make objective hiring decisions.

Having further shortlisted the candidates based on their PPA profiles, the recruiter shares them with the hiring manager. The hiring manager then uses the Interviewers Guide to add depth into the second round interviews and gain further insights into the candidates’ behaviour in the workplace.

After extending an offer to the selected candidate(s), the Recruiter sends feedback to the candidates who were unsuccessful, using the Candidate Feedback report.

The Results

With the help of Thomas’ behavioural assessment, Specsavers can gain more insights into the candidates and add more objectivity to their hiring decisions, therefore recruiting the right people. Over 700 candidates have taken the assessment this year, making it possible for the company to eventually benchmark the ideal profiles and have more data on recruitment decisions. Overall the candidate experience is far more positive, with several candidates expressing delight at the level of insights they get at the end of the interview process, regardless of the outcome.

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