Serving 40% increase in demand for Online Student platform

The Challenge:

In 2023, our client partnered with a multinational technology company offering discounts to their products via an online portal. Due to the high-profile status of these products, our client decided to recruit one hundred, Customer Service Agents over a four-month period, to deliver a chat support service. The service was designed to support customer with how to access and use the new portal. Tate was chosen as the sole recruitment partner for its track record of sharing valuable expertise with the client and in finding good quality staff for previous projects.

The Customer Service Agent roles were remotely based and agents had a choice of working two different shift patterns over a 7-day period; working 5 days on and 2 days off. Candidates needed to be skilled in handling queries quickly and have a friendly and helpful manner when dealing with customers on the live chat.

 

The Solution:

Tate implemented a candidate attraction campaign that included advertising roles on the Tate website, national job boards and social media platforms, including Facebook and LinkedIn. A referral scheme was launched using database marketing through Tate’s existing candidate community. The recruitment team worked with a local university to attract local students with experience using the discounts platform and who could draw on personal experiences and serve as authentic brand advocates.

The recruitment team were always available for the client and met with their Customer Support Specialist on a weekly basis. Through weekly review meetings, the team used KPI tracking to monitor candidate attraction, recruitment and onboarding progress. Insights and ideas were shared on what improvements could be made, such as providing additional training.

The Tate team processed holiday requests and ensured payroll queries were dealt with in a timely manner, removing additional workload from the client.

 

The Journey:

All applicants were fully screened and evaluated by the Tate recruitment team consisting of three Recruitment Consultants, one Associate Director and the support of Tate’s Payroll and Compliance Team.

The evaluation activity carried out by the Tate team involved testing all applicants for job-relevant skills, including attention to detail, numeracy, and literacy. A pass rate of at least 80% was required to meet the needs of the role and to support neurodivergent applicants,

the test could be completed up to three times. By shortlisting applicants on demonstrable skills and capabilities, the client could focus their time on the final interview stage.

To ensure candidates were being supported in their roles, Tate provided access to the client’s Employee Assistance Scheme, which includes access to wellbeing tools and guidance.

 

The Result:

Tate was successful in delivering 100% fulfilment of all vacancies and delivered against a 40% uplift in staffing due to increased demand levels. 140 Customer Service Agents were hired within four months