How to put together a virtual assessment centre during the pandemic

17 / 12 / 2020Abigail Lewis

Employer

GTI Recruiting Solutions is the recruitment outsourcing business of Group GTI, and over the years we’ve seen and overcome pretty much every recruitment-related challenge there is. Apart from the effects of a global pandemic, that is.

However, within three months of the pandemic and lockdown, we had transformed Thames Water’s graduate assessment centre into a virtual format (including adapting and creating new exercises) and made offers.

And, indeed, Thames Water recognised that we delivered: not only were all vacancies filled but candidates from under-represented backgrounds in STEM did particularly well. With our support, assessors and candidates alike had a good hiring experience. ‘[The] technology is working so well that it’s almost like being in the room with the candidates,’ said one assessor. Meanwhile, 100% of candidates reported a positive experience, with one saying: ‘With this being my first virtual assessment experience, I would thoroughly recommend any company use this method in their recruitment, as it was a great experience.’

We had conducted video interviews before, of course, but an entire virtual assessment day with multiple activities for 82 candidates was a new experience for us. We learned a lot, from the importance of choosing the most versatile platform, to how to provide candidates with an up-close-and-personal experience of a business from a distance, to how to adapt group activities for a virtual setting. We thought it would be helpful to share our knowledge so that you can make your own virtual assessments the best possible. Our white paper ‘Turning with the tide’ is created with Thames Water’s support and explores:

the seven steps we took to creating the optimum virtual experience
the objective reasons we had for using the TARGETconnect for Employers platform, developed by GTI
the lessons we’ve learned that we will take forward into the coming months for our clients and our recommendations for you.

To view the full case study click here.

February