Goal to Future-Proof Talent Acquisition
The applicant tracking system implemented in 2005 had outlived its usefulness by the time Adam Reynolds joined Frasers Group in 2020 as Head of Talent. Frasers’ ATS was primarily an advertising platform that only allowed recruiters to access candidate CVs when jobs were open. “It wasn’t purpose-fit for a business that needed to be agile and candidate-focused,” Adam said. “We needed a system that matched the current need, but could also be future-proof for where we’re going.”
Receiving demos of applicant tracking systems was an exciting prospect for his team. “It was nice to look at fancy bits of technology, but we had to focus on what we could use in our business,” he said. Frasers needed features to engage candidates and hiring managers in an increasingly competitive market for talent. They also needed analytics and reporting, integration with LinkedIn, and the ability to scale across the many business lines that Frasers operates.
After running tests with several systems, Frasers chose SmartRecruiters for its ease of use. “Ultimately, the decision came down to simple things like: How easy was the UI? How easy was it to navigate?” Adam said. “We found it quite appealing that we could configure the system to suit all the different needs of what is, in essence, a sprawling estate: 22 countries, 30,000 employees, and 3,000 users of the system,” he added.
About Frasers Group
- Industry: Retail
- Region: Global
- Employees: 30,000
- Offices: 25 countries
- Headquarters: London, UK
- Hiring Model: Decentralized
Frasers is a retail and intellectual property group with a collection of the world’s most iconic brands, including Sports Direct, House of Fraser, Frasers, FLANNELS, GAME, Jack Wills, Sofa.com, Evans Cycles, USC, and Everlast.
Head of Talent
Automation Supports High-Volume Hiring
In 2021, the SmartRecruiters team worked closely with Frasers to integrate SmartRecruiters with their HRIS and develop a training program. A launch date just before the peak holiday hiring season put the system to the test. “It was like going from a Nokia 3210 to an iPhone 12 overnight,” Adam said.
Automation features made the process easier for managers who typically hire 100 retail associates over a two-to-three day period. “It was a game changer to have the templated job profiles, automated messages in our branding and tone of voice, and calendar integration,” he said. At recruitment events, recruiters can now take a picture of a CV, and the candidate’s information is immediately populated into SmartRecruiters.
The matching system SmartAssistant helps Frasers prioritize candidates by role fit. In the previous system, the 1,000 applications that might come in for a holiday role were alphabetized by first name, and recruiters would sort through them in order. “SmartRecruiters allows us to get to the right people quicker,” Adam said.
Head of Talent
Frasers Increases Candidate Volume in a Competitive Market
Market conditions have made hiring more competitive. “We used to be in a position where we could pick the cream of the crop because everyone was looking for a job,” Adam said. “Now everyone is competing for the same people.” With the help of a streamlined application process, branded campaigns, and job board advertising from within SmartRecruiters, Frasers’ candidate volume increased by 40%.
In its second year on the platform, Frasers is engaging more deeply with SmartCRM to build talent communities and stay engaged with potential future hires. “SmartRecruiters has allowed us to harness the EVP and seamlessly slot our branded content into the CRM,” Adam said.
Overall, SmartRecruiters’ ease of use, automation, and talent attraction capabilities allowed Frasers to hire more people in one year than ever before. Adam summed up the experience, “With SmartRecruiters, we moved through hiring 20,000 people more fluidly at a higher pace, with fewer issues along the way.”
Key Outcomes
In 12 months on the SmartRecruiters platform, Frasers achieved:
- 20,000 hires, a record for the company
- 40% increase in candidate volume
- 18 days average time to hire across business and retail associate roles
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