Driving a better solution: Recruiting 1,100 test centre associates

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic meant there was a backlog of people waiting to take their driving theory test.

As such, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) needed to fully staff a new business area to solve what was not only a business, but a societal issue.

The nature of the challenge meant there was a need to recruit 1,100 test centre associates, as well as to bring in all the support functions and management structure.

This meant the roles required ranged from the programme director and regional managers to members of the HR, finance, scheduling and security teams.

These roles had to be filled by August 2021, with the looming demand of more than one million extra tests just round the corner when the contract went live again that September.

The process was made trickier as those being recruited needed to hold a valid driving licence.

Ultimately, if the 1,100 associate roles had not been recruited on time there would have been a risk of further backlogs.

Working closely with the DVSA, Reed Talent Solutions put a structured recruitment process in place including an online application, a video interview assessment and a final assessment for candidates.

To ensure everything ran smoothly, ten dedicated talent specialists, along with a talent manager, were assigned to oversee the process.

Reed Talent Solutions provided specific, in-person training to deliver understanding of the roles, the recruitment process and the assessment criteria and scoring.

This training took place in a phased manner, starting with the recruitment team and the client’s needs to understand exactly what the recruitment process would look like.

We then conducted training for the workforce planning team.

The recruitment process also threw up challenges specific to certain areas of the country.

The adaptability of the Reed Talent Solutions team meant they were able to solve each issue as it arose. For example, in the remote Scottish Highlands the team used social media pages, sponsored advertisements, and family and friend referrals to attract more workers in what was seen as a hard-to-recruit area.

Across the campaign, Reed Talent Solutions received 27,500 applications, assessed more than 2,000 video interviews and managed 1,300 candidates through the final assessment.

Most importantly, all 1,100 test centre associate roles were filled with Reed Talent Solutions managing the offer, acceptance and onboarding for the successful candidates.

By taking ownership of the project, Reed Talent Solutions has also allowed the client to plan ahead in line with the demand for more tests.

This has been facilitated by the creation of expression of interest pools allowing candidates to opt in or out of receiving notifications on upcoming opportunities.

The DVSA’s HR Director, Tom Millar, said Reed Talent Solutions displayed “a professional approach and a range of knowledge on how to best deliver the contracts’ needs, which covers everything from recruitment processes to deployment and management of workers daily.”

Mr Millar said the team at Reed Talent Solutions had gone above and beyond, working extra hours and even weekends to bring about “a very positive impact”.

“If an organisation requires a team of specialists to assist with recruitment, deployment and specific workforce management needs, Reed Talent Solutions will be able to help,” he added.

Perhaps the final words on the success of the project should go to one of the successfully recruited associates, who was excited by a role that “helped Britain get back on the road following the pandemic”.

They praised the “positive” recruitment process which “at every point I was comfortable with the next stage of the process”.