Optical Express choose TalentTracker to power their online application process
Business Context
Optical Express is a world leader of selected healthcare services. Its operations encompass optical stores, refractive laser eye surgery clinics, dental clinics, medical hospitals and cosmetic treatment centres. The Optical Express Group employs more than 2,500 staff at more than 200 locations in the UK and Europe.
Optical Express had a requirement to streamline and structure their existing recruitment processes and to implement an applicant tracking system to replace their existing (largely manual) process. They asked Logical Innovations to provide a solution that would meet the following key requirements:
- Low cost solution to centralise and streamline recruitment across circa 200 UK optical stores, and a number of laser surgery clinics, dental centres and private hospitals.
- Scaled to deal with an estimated 1,000 new appointments per year across a range of vacancies from optical assistants to call centre roles.
- All administrative functions to be undertaken by a small, head-office based HR team.
- Stand-alone careers website with integral job board and branded consistently with the Optical Express Group website.
Solution
The solution comprised a customised careers-website styled to provide full brand continuity with the Optical Express corporate website, a standard build of Logical Innovations' TalentTracker Application Tracking System configured to the specific needs of Optical Express, and a common back-end SQL database. The solution was provided as a fully hosted and managed service.
Key features of the solution:
- Multi-stage online application process including role-specific screening questionnaires and comprehensive structured application form with real-time data validation.
- Integrated workflow model including automation of emails based on defined trigger events.
- Full application tracking providing authorised back-office users with visibility of all applications received and user facilities to record progress decisions.
- Integrated analytics and reporting to generate various management reports and Key Performance Indicators.
- User-level application security model providing fine grained access control, e.g. to restrict the data that each user can view, the tasks that can be undertaken, and the organisational units that a user can manage (e.g. one or more specific stores or departments).
- Inbuilt audit trail providing tractability and accountability.
Benefits
The solution was successfully used by Optical Express to manage recruitment for more than 30 different roles across some 200 UK stores, with a small team of HR professionals processing more than 1200 applications per month. The quality of applications was improved by automatically screening against role-specific requirements as an integral part of the online application process which in turn has benefits in terms of better utilisation of staff resources since unsuitable applications are automatically identified and screened-out at the earliest possible stage. The provision of a dedicated careers website allowed Optical Express to successfully promote its brand message and to engage with candidates in a more effective way than is possible with generalist job boards. The dedicated careers website also allowed job seekers to register their interest in working with Optical Express thus providing a talent-bank of potential candidates to fill future vacancies. This has benefits both in terms of cost saving (e.g. by reducing the need to spend on candidate attraction for each new vacancy) and reduced time-to-hire by tapping directly into a pool of interested, pre-screened candidates as new opportunities arise.
