The Platform Project: Case Study
THE COMPANY The Platform Project are a fantastic non-profit organisation based in Swindon. Bridging…
Posted by Niche Recruitment
26th November 2024
The Platform Project: Case Study
THE COMPANY
The Platform Project are a fantastic non-profit organisation based in Swindon. Bridging the gap between education and employment since 2015, the charity has supported thousands of young people re-engage with education, secure a paid employment opportunity or start their own mini enterprise, with an 89% success rate.
Working with local authorities, education institutions and local employers, the work of The Platform Project is invaluable. Offering a unique ‘training workplace’, structured and practical business-based projects help break down any barriers and supports their young people to thrive.
THE CHALLENGE
As a growing charity with an increasing number of opportunities to support young people, The Platform Project needed to expand urgently. Continuing to provide vital services to those desperately needing specialist guidance was a top priority for Managing Director, Sadie Sharp.
Hiring for multiple roles, Sadie was reticent about this recruitment phase. With some positions requiring specialist skills such as SEND, and a mixture of both permanent and flexible part-time opportunities, Sadie commented that:
‘The workload of managing applications for 5-6 roles, some needing more than one person, on top of the many hats you have to wear as an MD of a CIC, is not to be underestimated. “Knowing where to advertise the roles was also a daunting task. Due to the nature of our work, some of our positions have nuanced job titles and knowing how and where to get our roles in front of the right people was a challenge for us. Applying with just a CV can be too easy and the details and requirements of our specialised roles can be overlooked.”
THE SOLUTION
Long-standing supporters of The Platform Project and understanding the importance and urgency of the recruitment project, we wasted no time at all in drawing up a streamlined recruitment process.
Working closely with Sadie and Fiona Simpson (Youth Development Manager) to understand the intricacies of each position, optimised job adverts were created and posted to several targeted job boards.
Our video interviewing service was an integral piece of the recruitment project, providing Sadie, Fiona, and the hiring team with their own applicant tracking system. A centralised place to review applications for each position, with the added bonus of short video responses to bespoke questions to accompany CVs.
“The use of video and tailored questions for each role allowed the people with relevant experience to really stand out. It was a new process for us, but this light touch sifting by using video got us through to the people with substantive experiences much faster. We were able to see team fit and personality which you can’t get on paper.
The video platform made it really simple. Each hiring manager had a separate log in and were assessing different roles, making it physically feasible for us to manage the recruitment as a team.”
THE OUTCOME
In 8 weeks, The Platform Project made 13 hires, including an Operations Manager, Therapeutic Mentors, Teaching Assistants, Tutors and a Senior Youth Trainer.
“The video sifting made a huge difference to the quality of applications we were receiving. Typically, we’d receive very few applications but by partnering with Niche and using their video tech, we received approximately 100 applications and interviewed between 35-40 of those candidates.
For us, the conversion rate in comparison to traditional ways of managing a recruitment process was much higher and we couldn’t be happier to have grown the team.”
But, it isn’t just a better conversion rate and an increase in the number of quality applications that The Platform Project has benefited from. An increased awareness of the charity and the work they do has also been attributed to the video recruitment process, with Sadie highlighting that:
“Recording a video about the work we do to use on the application landing page was also brilliant. It gave the applicants a sense of who we are, what we stand for and increased the awareness of our charity throughout the surrounding areas. It also allowed those interested [in the roles] to ‘meet’ me before being invited to interview.”
NICHE FLEX
Niche Recruitment are proud charity partners of The Platform Project. Supporting with the recent recruitment drive pro bono, we’re looking forward to seeing all the new projects the team will be working on come to fruition.
Breaking the mould of traditional recruitment, Niche Flex is our tailored, flexible recruitment service. Partnering with us on only the elements you need our support with, you can hire faster, smarter and within budget – just like The Platform Project.
Inundated with CVs and need help with screening applications? Want to explore how video interviewing can transform your recruitment process?
