Case Study

Building a World-Class Candidate Experience for Atkins

Background

Atkins is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies. They are the largest engineering consultancy in the UK and have over 80 years of expertise.

Atkins dare to see things in a different way and want to build a better world, driven by discovering new ways to answer the world’s biggest challenges, to help clients bring their projects to life and to make a real difference to people’s lives globally.

Candidate experience is extremely important at Atkins. Treating candidates with consideration and respect is enshrined in the Atkins values. With reports showing a shortfall of 69,000 engineers per year, they know it’s essential to meet the consumer-centric demands of a new, tech-savvy workforce in order to achieve their ambition to be the world’s premier engineering solutions partner.

The Solution

Atkins believe in continually developing and evolving and wanted to transform the candidate experience for their Early Careers talent streams, to provide a clear and seamless digital experience with a human touch.

Candidate experience is extremely important for volume campaigns, where the number of candidates to recruiter ratio is extremely high. This means it can be a challenge to provide consistently high levels of engagement for candidates. Especially when early talent applicants often have no prior recruitment experience, so the support they need can be greater.

Research and Insight

By drawing on insight and feedback and utilising our in-house expertise, Amberjack designed a customised and interactive process, which was industry relevant and reflected the roles candidates are applying for. This increased face validity and the ability to find the best fit.

Technology

We managed Atkins candidates through the process using our revolutionary digital platform. This enabled candidates to access personal accounts and useful information while we provided regular, reassuring communication to keep their interest warm. We also helped initiate a new candidate experience portal that enabled them to receive coaching and feedback from digital mentors – support that was hugely welcomed by candidates.

New Process

Graduates and placements faced six stages, while apprentices faced four.

Stage 1: Degree matcher tool
Stage 2: Immersive situational judgement text
Stage 3: Online application form
Stage 4: Psychometric tests for graduates
Stage 5: Telephone interview hosted by Atkins employees
Stage 6: Engaging assessment centres