How Rockaway shortened screening by 30 minutes per candidate and increased the number of hires by 166 %

12 June 2018

A simulation game in the hands of an innovator

The Rockaway company needs no long introductions. This investment group owning brands such as Mall, CZC, Košík, Invia or Heureka is one of crucial innovators on the Czech market and internet. Apart from investing into innovation projects, Rockaway also invests into its company culture. Their HR workers ask themselves questions – how to attract job candidates, make employee experience as pleasant as possible or provide employees with sufficient support for their development – virtually on a daily basis. How did Virtubio help them find answers?

Eva Krausová, whose position in Rockaway is eloquently called HR 2.0, was the one who found us. She told us she was looking for a handy new way how to test young interns for Rockaway Academy that could replace the previous time-consuming solution – case studies. Eventually, we learned that thanks to our competence analytics and simulation game The Office Day (among other things), she saved half an hour of her time per candidate in evaluations. With 100 candidates, that makes 7 work days’ worth of time saved, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

We usually tested the candidates within model tasks, so called case studies. For example, they were supposed to process a strategy of introducing raw bread on the market. Or their task was to map the market and analyse it, calculate production costs, build a budget, etc. Although the complexity of this approach has been bringing interesting knowledge, it has ultimately proven as counterproductive. Evaluations of these tasks cost us an enormous amount of time and energy, and we had to invest it in all candidates. Furthermore, the results were questionable and often made our decision-making even more complicated.

Competence analytics

An analytic tool by the Virtubio company allows HR workers to objectively identify work competencies of job candidates and employees, monitor their success rate using specific tasks and collect statistic information for the whole recruitment process (screening, assessment, development). The tool uses a psychometric algorithm and simulation games to collect the key behavioural data for its diagnostics and reports.

Eva contacted us on a Tuesday, and we were already sitting in a meeting room with her on Thursday. We felt we were in the right place right from the start. Being a pioneer of the HR 2.0 approach – that is putting relationships before resources – Eva knew what she wanted. She used the meeting to confirm that she was going to get it.

I was not willing to give up the initial filter in screening. Making a decision to let someone inside of your team is crucial, that is why I seek mainly highly motivated candidates. We can discuss more issues in greater depth at the interview, but I was looking for a tool simpler than our case studies to show me candidates’ important skills and help me test even a higher number of interested candidates quickly. At the same time, I wanted something new and innovative to enhance the candidate experience. Virtubio fits the bill perfectly.

After the initial internal testing of The Office Day simulation which took just few days, our solution was implemented. It took only about 25 minutes. All the client had to do was to create a new position, fill in a few short texts about the company, and then share invitations to the simulation via link to the internship candidates.

The first results came soon enough. Within the first 4 weeks, 11 people interested participated in the simulation and 13 more in the following weeks. There was a total of 24 participants and all of them finished the simulation. One of them even took it in California; thanks to the online simulation and a subsequent video call, he was able to participate in the first round of the selection procedure from a world away. Finally, the client accepted 8 people to the company.

I accepted as many as 8 talents, against the original intention to find 3 interns; and we found work for all of them within the group. We even hired one of the candidates full-time. The fact that hers were the best results of the entire simulation did all the talking.

What did Eva learn from competence analytics about the candidates?

• About the participants’ levels in 7 work competencies measured in 200 check-points throughout the simulation
• About their work style in 3 key performance indicators
• Eva also acquired a set of valuable recommendations for further work with the participant during the interview and future development

What was in it for the candidates?

• They got a fair chance – they were able to show their competencies as much as all the other participants
• They got a positive candidate experience – they made first contact with a potential employer in an entertaining and playful way
• They got feedback – badges of their strongest competencies, and recommendations on what to work on in the future
• They learned how they stand – they found out how they stand compared to others who took the simulation

In Virtubio, they provided me with access to new functions during the hiring process and they responded very quickly to my comments and to what I wanted to add into the analytics. For example, towards the end of the first round, they made competencies weights accessible for me. They can be used to prioritize competencies prior to the hiring process, but I learned a very interesting thing even though only I used them aftewards. When I prioritized competencies according to my own criteria, the results recalculated and showed me 5 people at the top of the list that I have already preselected. It was a nice confirmation that I have made the right decisions.

Eva was well aware that our simulation is not an X-ray machine and that she cannot rely only on our analysis of behaviour and competencies when selecting people. So she also met most of the internship candidates in a standard way at an interview.

Human contact is a must in recruitment. You select personalities, not mere numbers. Your own experience and intuition guide you as well. However, being an interviewer equipped with quality information gave me a decent head start. I was greatly impressed: the assessments were made very fast and the measured results matched the reality very accurately. I was able to use the personal meetings to get to the bottom of things with candidates much faster and talked about significant things instead of discovering superficial information.

At the interview, many participants also shared their positive impressions from the simulation with Eva.

The simulation was interesting, I have never seen or been in anything like that, and I liked it. For example, it was interesting to attempt giving logical explanations to things I did rather intuitively.

Participants also often appreciated the graphic design and entertainment of the simulation. The client appreciated not only easy use but also the option of quick feedback distribution to candidates. But mainly, the simulation saved her many time-consuming tasks. Making up case study assignments, assessing the results with managers or writing feedback for all participants. Virtubio did all that automatically and fast. How? Using the modern form of online simulation, immediate objective results, well-arranged comparable participant profiles or distributed motivational badges and reports to all participants.

We are certainly going to use Virtubio in the long run. It allows us to see what type of people – in terms of competencies – we hire predominantly. That will make it easier for us to single out which competencies are preferred among managers and monitor the long-term success rate of the hires. At present, I see another opportunity to use the simulation game to test competencies in other jobs, such as in the field of project management.

Conclusion summary: Problem - Solution - Impact

Client

Rockaway, a progressive and innovative brand oriented towards continuous growth of its company culture. Focused on eTail, eTravel, FinTech, Comparison Shopping, Content & Media Publishing and startups. The group employs more than 4,600 people and spreads over more than 70 markets.

Problem

1. Catch attention of generations X and Y in an innovative and entertaining way and support their interest in the Rockaway Academy internship
2. Find a way to test candidates for required competencies quickly and efficiently: problem-solving, work with information and numerical skills
3. Identify talents and unsuitable candidates more easily.

Solution

Integrate Virtubio competence analytics and The Office Day simulation into the recruitment campaign and screening of candidates for Rockaway Academy.

Impact

• 30 minutes saved per 1 candidate in interviews, communication and evaluation of cases studies with the hiring manager
• Increase in the number of interns accepted by 166 % (8 instead of 3 initially planned)
• 6 out of 8 interns accepted had top results in the simulation
• 1 full-time employment established with the most successful participant of the simulation

When we asked Eva whether she would recommend our solution to other HR specialists, her response was quite a nifty one.

I would recommend you to other companies as well, but I like how participants respond positively to their first experience with online simulation and that they associate this experience with our brand. So, I don’t know – maybe I should just keep it to myself.

Conclusion summary: Problem - Solution - Impact

The simulation tested 34 candidates, out which 8 remained in Rockaway for an internship. All those accepted continue their internships successfully. The talented young woman who was hired for a full-time job at the very beginning continues to be a valuable member of her team.