E-recruitment Vision - Express win in war for talent!

Vision Express is one of the UK market leaders in the retail provision of spectacles and high-fashion eyewear. Based in Nottingham the company employs more than 3,200 people across the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands.

Heidi Farrell, resourcing manager at Vision Express, was appointed in December 2000 to provide support for recruitment across the company. She appointed employment communications agency TCS to help attract the best possible employees ñ including retail store managers, retail associates, optometrists and lab technicians. She was also keen to centralise the recruitment process to ensure more consistent and faster recruitment and better management information about the process.

Heidi worked with TCS to draw up a specification for a central system. Key criteria included the ability to track candidate responses and allow them to book interviews, and to create both a ëvacancy poolí of jobs from around the country, and a ëtalent poolí of those who were initially unsuccessful but still interested in working for Vision Express. Vision Express chose to work with i-GRasp, and install the companyís Global Successor solution. i-GRasp was appointed in early February 2002 - and the finished website was ready for use within a matter of weeks. TCS helped to project manage the implementation and to ensure that the same brand messages were conveyed in advertising and on the new Vision Express recruitment website www.visionexpresscareers.com.

Heidi was very impressed by the speed of installation, commenting: i-GRasp is totally flexible. It very quickly understood what was needed and provided tailor-made training to fit around our schedules.

The website now acts as a central hub for recruitment. Applications that come in online, by email, or through recruitment agencies or job boards are processed in the same way, so applicants can monitor the process of their application online, choose the date and time of interviews, and find out more about the company online. In addition, unsuccessful applicants can choose to join the ëtalent poolí and be alerted to new jobs that are posted by email- they can also update their skills and experience.

Vision Express has seen significant benefits since starting to use GlobalSuccessor. Time to hire retail associates has been reduced from weeks to days or even hours. One applicant applied online and was booked in for an interview the next day. Costs have also been reduced significantly. The new solution also makes running recruitment campaigns easier.

i-GRasp and TCS also worked with the Employment Service to ensure that all the jobs on visionexpresscareers.com are posted automatically to the JobCentre Plus system - which can be accessed by all advisors in Job Centres. The careers site is also advertised on the website of the Employment Service. Heidi points out that: The link has taken the pressure off store managers who used to have to visit the JobCentre in person regularly.

The move to online recruitment has also made a great difference to TCSís recruitment advertising. Hugo Sharman, Group Web Vision Express is an example.

Manager at TCS, explains: All of our efforts are now focused on directing people to the website. We now use generic recruitment ads at all levels of recruitment to promote the company, not individual jobs. Heidi believes this change has significantly helped the companyís employer brand, commenting: We have been able to use the adverts to communicate our values - what we stand for. This is ideal and helps us stand out from others.

All in all, Vision Express is very happy with the final solution. Heidi concludes: i-GRasp take the fear out of systems - it does work and as long as youíre clear as an organisation about how you want to go forward, a system such as this is the future of recruitment.

The company is now looking to use Global Successor internally to allow existing members of staff to view and apply for internal positions - helping staff retention.

Andy Randall, managing director of i-GRasp, was delighted to work with Vision Express, commenting: Vision Express is an example to the retail community. Introducing both Global Successor and a powerful employment brand will significantly help them to win their ''war for talent''.