Embracing e-recruitment has allowed B&Q to process 10,000 job
applications in three months and reduce costs by 30 per cent.
Its new TalentTracker eRecruiter system will enable B&Q to quickly
select the most talented applicants, manage workplace diversity and better
protect itself against discrimination.
During the application process, unsuitable candidates are encouraged to
deselect themselves, and the programme goes on to identify the skills and
personality traits of suitable applicants, to match them to appropriate roles.
It also keeps all personal details anonymous so that managers can only base
their views on an applicants’ abilities, and not other factors that could lead
to charges of discrimination – such as race, gender or age.
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Mike Cutt, HR director at B&Q, said the results of the e-recruitment
drive were ‘astonishing’, but that it was important for it to be used as more
than just a way of saving money.
"It’s about enhancing each applicant’s experience, communicating
B&Q’s culture, and most of all, finding the right person for the job,"
he said. "Applicants can now apply 24 hours a day, seven days a
week."
