2degrees Saves 23 Hours A Week Using Curious Thing

ROI

• 10% increase in candidate conversion
• 23 hours per week saved!
• More efficient hiring process
• Removal of inherent human bias from the screening process

2degrees is a full-service telecommunications company that has been connecting kiwis since 2009. On their first day of business, 2degrees halved the cost of mobile calls across New Zealand offering a fairer price on everyday communication. Since then, the team has made it their mission to “fight for fair”. This mission permeates every aspect of the business and when it comes to recruitment it means using more than a resume to make hiring decisions. Here at Curious Thing, we also believe the best recruitment outcomes come from using more than just a resume. So when our companies crossed paths the chemistry was obvious.

Here’s how 2degrees discovered Curious Thing was a perfect match for their business.

The popularity dilemma

Nicole Waugh is the senior recruitment advisor at 2degrees. Nicole is responsible for recruiting staff into the high volume customer care department and managing recruitment projects. The fast-paced world of telecommunications means the recruitment team often have job vacancies to fill. And 2degrees amazing reputation means each opening receives dozens of applications. Traditionally, this required spending hours sifting through resumes and conducting back-to-back phone interviews to screen candidates. This process took about 90% of Nicole’s time. In fact, Nicole calculated that over one year, she spent 8 weeks screening applicants. She wanted to work with more efficiency but had no idea where to start.

Discovering Curious Thing

When Curious Thing was introduced to the recruitment team at 2degrees they immediately saw the possibilities of how several parts of the hiring process could be optimized.

Curious Thing’s solution allows candidates to conduct their behavioural phone screen interviews at any time of day. This meant 2degrees could remove repetitive manual phone interviews from the team’s workload. It also promised to offer a better experience to candidates.

This is because:

• Human bias does not enter the equation. Curious Thing’s technology only analyses what candidates say and not how they say it. This ensures that all candidates get a fair chance.
• Interviews are standardised. Curious Thing’s digital interviewer does not fatigue. So, no matter what time a candidate conducts their interview, the consistency in questioning is maintained, preserving the experience.
• All candidates get a chance at a phone interview which gives 2degrees more options to choose from and all candidates a chance to shine.

“Curious Thing replaces the need for me to manually conduct phone screen interviews. This process removes bias and saves me hours of work, especially when hiring in large volumes.”

Improving process with an AI recruiter

The impact of Curious Thing on the recruiting workload was instantaneous. In the first week of implementation, Curious Thing saved Nicole and her colleague 23 hours of work. This means Nicole now has time to focus on other elements of her role on a consistent basis.

The ability to quickly set up phone screen interviews also helped the team engage with already employed talent. Being able to partake in interviews quickly and at any time allowed them to quickly move candidates who required notice periods through the interview process.

Overall, the use of Curious Thing has optimised efficiency within the 2degrees recruitment process. Applicant CVs are no longer used as a sole basis for decision making during the screening process. If candidates meet essential criteria–like having working rights–they are immediately invited to partake in an interview with a digital recruiter. The result is people who may not have previously made it to final round interviews are now given the chance to show their worth.

“Curious Thing broadened the scope of candidates we consider. As a result, we are getting impressive talent through the door and our conversion rate has increased by 10%.”

Looking to the future

Curious Thing will continue to help the recruitment team at 2degrees get the best talent through the door. With reclaimed time on their hands, Nicole is now focusing on how she can further improve the candidate experience. They’ll do this by finding out what’s important to each individual and making those areas best in class. The result? 2degrees will remain a desirable place to work and field high volumes of job applications for years to come.