West Midlands Police - Case study

West Midlands Police (WMP) is the second largest force in the UK. With a wide geographical spread of just under 350 miles sq., their team covers a diverse and vibrant region across the Midlands.

Situation

Prior to working with Tazio, WMP were struggling to attract the right candidates to their roles, suffering with high employee attrition and various skills gaps. With subsequent interest in working for the police force being impacted by Covid-19, it became more evident for WMP that they would need to update their recruitment process.

After identification of their pain points, Tazio decided that the best solution for WMP would be to take advantage of a system that offered candidates a real insight into what it could be like to work within the force. It was also outlined that WMP’s new recruitment process would need to improve candidate engagement and increase their likelihood of securing genuinely interested candidates.

The Goal

WMP launched a new campaign for Police Constable (PC) recruitment. This is a key role within the force and often sees high application volumes. Furthermore, their recruitment team identified a need for change in the interview process, a change that would save them time and resources. Traditionally, WMP had used a phone-based assessment to review candidate aptitude. This process proved time consuming for assessors and lacked candidate engagement. This meant that the new recruitment process would need to maintain candidate quality, but also guarantee an effective use of budget.

Solution

Working with Tazio and leading RPO provider, PeopleScout, WMP developed a values-based assessment. This assessment included video interview questions that could be completed online at the convenience of the candidate. Implementation of this virtual interview system helped to solve many of WMP’s pain points, offering an anytime and anywhere solution to accessing the interview platform. The Tazio platform also provided mobile and tablet compatibility, allowing for a more flexible approach to their application process. To date, Tazio has achieved the hiring goal set by WMP, with an assessment completion rate of 94%.

Results & Benefits

WMP have been using Tazio video interview and assessment platform for the past twelve months. They found the system has made a significant difference in the way that they recruit Police Constables and select candidates for their Direct Entry Inspector programmes. WMP have assessed and tested over 1,500 candidates so far using the system and have found that it offers unique flexibility and ease in shortlisting. Allowing their recruitment process to engage candidates in a much more meaningful way.

• WMP have benefited from using the shortlisting process as it has helped them to clearly identify their ideal standards for the most fitting candidates.
• The system negates the need for traditional paper sifting and can be accessed from almost any remote device.
• Therefore, it offers assessors the opportunity to work remotely and at times to suit them when required.

Testimonial

“The support offered by the Tazio team can only be described as exceptional. The team are always on hand to help, and no task is ever too much trouble for them. I would have no hesitation in recommending Tazio to any high-volume recruiter.” - Graham Bradley, Resourcing Manager.

In Summary

As the simplicity and success of Tazio’s recruitment software have become apparent, WMP has expanded its use of the system to all its uniformed recruitment positions. The online assessments combine both values-based questioning with video interview, providing a balanced overview of each candidate and an excellent foundation for the deciding which candidates make it through to further stages and onboarding.

This assessment is a great example of how switching to a virtual interviewing platform can make a serious impact on the efficiency of your recruitment process. Whilst also, demonstrating the assistance it can provide in the delivery of more suitable talent to your roles. Overall, the project with WMP has proved as a great template for all our current and future clients in the public sector. Providing evidence to the successful implementation of process streamlining.

Looking to the future, WMP and Tazio hope to maintain its outstanding 91% candidate satisfaction rate. Whilst also continuing to streamline its recruitment process, Tazio will work with WMP to help deliver a greater variety of candidates and even greater returns on their time and resources.