What We Did
In April 2017, with a new CEO and strategy, our client’s focus was stronger than ever before on delivering for the customer. To support their strategy, and as their partner, Cpl took ownership of a full review of customer engagement and to further support performance.
This identified some key areas to improve on delivery and strengthen our partnership with the client, and therefore deliver for their customers. Key issues identified were:
1. Attrition
Upon review of attrition levels, 28% was identified as negative. Significant investment from the client was made on training, which was over 12 to 18 weeks. The loss of trained people then had a direct impact on delivery to the customer, and therefore Cpl looked to address this as an urgency
2. Staff Screening Process
A minimum competency of Leaving Certificate had been the ask of the client. The screening for this needed to be robust on the basis that to move from Cpl to Client contracts, this minimum competency needed to be met.
3. Onboarding Process – Induction
The Cpl induction was held in Cpl Offices in advance of joining the client site. This was no longer fit for purpose and was not a great experience overall for the candidate. Other onboarding issues arose with IT Access on the client-side. We looked to understand what could help alleviate this, while not directly in control.
4. Absence Management
While all absences of Cpl staff remained unpaid and typically lower than their permanent counterparts, the impact on the day to day delivery to the customer suffered from short term absence. In partnership with the client, overall absence and performance was identified as another area for review and reform.
5. Period of Notice in Contracts
The notice period of 1 week was called in to question, based on the investment in training and the lack of commitment asked of the Cpl employee to their role and their career with the client. The short notice period did not allow enough time to backfill, therefore an agreement on the notice period needed to happen and be made workable for all.
How We Did It
The following was implemented within 6 months, and by the next QBBR significant improvements had been made.
1. Tackling Attrition – Screening
Attrition was broken in to good and bad – good being Cpl to Client, and Bad being terminations/resignations.
The overall employee value proposition (EVP) of Cpl & the Client was addressed via:
Job Description - reviewed, re-worded and provided to candidates to prepare for their interview.
Advertising - Cpl website (60% of all applications come to Cpl), Irish Jobs, Jobs.ie, Monster, Facebook, LinkedIn.
Cpl Screening - Fully scripted throughout the process to ensure consistent delivery through each stage and MMC checked at each stage. Recorded on HR files for reporting & Audit. All screening, ID Check and Bank Paperwork completed face to face in Cpl office.
Interview Pack - Fully redesigned to ensure better candidate engagement.
Pipeline Management - Moved to a consistent sourcing & pipeline model, offering real transparent updates to maintain engagement. Only interview when Governance approved (sometimes if high volume, interview in advance). Allow for drop-offs.
Implementation of candidate experience CSAT's.
2. Onboarding
Onsite induction - A new more engaged and conversational Cpl presentation developed and conducted on the first Friday of induction to coincide with timesheets submittal.
Restriction to IT system – Introduced SRN paperwork into initial stages so that it was in place and available for submission as soon as offers were accepted, resulting in a quicker process.
CSAT Surveys issued in Week 2 of joining to gather feedback
3. Absence & Performance Management
As part of the overall EVP and opportunity to move to a perm role, the Attendance & Performance record was cited as a key driver to success. A proactive approach was implemented to enforce this, time and attendance were monitored closely and a traffic light process aligned to managing performance was implemented.
Monthly meetings were used to discuss issues around performance before they escalated and dealt with in a timely manner. Standard ER policies & procedures enforced by both parties.
4. Period of Notice
All Notice periods moved from 1 week to 4 weeks post probation period, adhering to all employment legislation, ensuring greater collaboration on probation reviews and greater commitment from the employees.
Outcome
1. Attrition & Screening (total headcount of 452 in 2019)
To measure our performance and the process changes we heavily invested in our reporting and insights to ensure the highest standards and that the ask of our client is met.
27% positive attrition (62% of all leavers were converted to perm contracts)
9% negative attrition (36.6% balance of attrition for permanent, return to education or travel)
0.6% performance managed (1.47% of leavers due to performance-related issues)
87% interview to offer ratio
0.64% drop offer after offer acceptance
4.9/5 CSAT for recruiter engagement
4.88/5 for on-site interviews
Invested in new video & gamification platform to further enhance our delivery
2. Onboarding
By aligning the Cpl onboarding & Induction onsite with the employees in their first week has resulted in a better understanding of policies and procedures, therefore reducing misunderstanding or lack of compliance to polices.
Our surveys for Candidate Experience in 2019 show the following satisfaction rates:
Extremely Good – 71%
Somewhat Good – 20%
Neither Good nor Bad – 5.7%
Somewhat Bad – 2.2%
Extremely Bad – 0%
Our Surveys allow for manual responses to each question, so where there is an issue it can be addressed in real-time and shared with the client.
3. Absence & Performance Management
In 2019, our proactive approach to managing performance resulted in 153 employee meetings including the following issues:
9 cases related to health
37 cases related to Absence
11 cases related to serious performance issues
Our proactive approach to managing performance resulted in 1 informal PIP being in place in 2019, compared to 17 in 2017.
4. Notice Period
By moving to a 4-week notice period, employees have felt further invested in and valued, therefore leading to greater investment in their roles and overall greater job security. Engagement score overall in 2019 was 76% positive.
We believe in being able to stand over our performance, and that is why investing in reporting and analysis is part of a long-term strategy to support our customers is essential.
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