Spark HireThe Ashburton District Council is a dynamic local government organisation consisting of a Mayor and elected councilors representing Ashburton, Eastern, and Western wards of New Zealand. Their diverse workforce of 200 employees spans all Council activities and are dedicated to serving their community. Jim Henderson works as the People & Capability Advisor for the Council, helping to reach government hiring goals.
Initially, Henderson and his team were looking for a way to establish an accessible and consistent interview experience. They wanted the process to reflect the culture and values of the Council. Additionally, they were looking to improve team collaboration amongst departments and hiring managers, leading to more confident hiring decisions.
They found their solution in Spark Hire’s video interviews. With a standardized interview process, customizable branding, and seamless team communication, the platform enabled the Ashburton District Council to achieve its government hiring goals.
Easy to use, cost-effective
Before using video interviews, the hiring team for the Ashburton District Council conducted phone screening interviews with all potential candidates. All screenings were done by recruiters, meaning hiring managers relied heavily on recruiters to understand the skills and responsibilities needed for the position. Overall, the process was time-consuming and not all that informative.
“We wanted an interviewing method that would allow the hiring managers the ability to actually screen their own candidates,” explains Henderson.
Henderson and his team were immediately sold on Spark Hire’s software based on ease of use and cost-effectiveness. It didn’t take them long to recognize the full benefits of the platform. Their screening process was instantly more efficient, and establishing buy-in from hiring managers was effortless.
“The Spark Hire system is simple to use, and did not require a huge amount of work for our busy team or the managers,” adds Henderson.
Establishing instant team buy-in
The initial training sessions were so intuitive, in fact, that the whole team was clearly on board from the start.
“We conducted a briefing to the hiring managers as a whole and the buy-in was obvious from the beginning. We also received the recommendation to move forward from the CEO and general managers involved as they saw video interviewing as a great improvement on the hiring process,” says Henderson, adding, “Since starting with Spark Hire, we have received nothing but positive feedback from the managers.”
With hiring managers now able to screen their own applicants efficiently and effectively, the team has seen a huge boost in the confidence of their hiring decisions when reaching government hiring goals.
“Question sets for different positions and their requirements are easily swapped out between the many types of roles we hire for,” says Henderson, so hiring managers are able to tailor interviews to gain valuable insight from the very beginning.
More confident hiring decisions and hiring goals
With a more streamlined and efficient hiring process in place, the Ashburton District Council has successfully tackled its hiring goals. Empowering hiring managers to conduct their own screen interviews seamlessly with Spark Hire’s easy-to-use platform has resulted in more confident hiring decisions across the organization.
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