Bianca WrightThrough automation, the BPO company Alorica was able to lower its investment, while still increasing candidate satisfaction and shifting towards a seamless online application process.
Covid-19 has changed the way most companies operate. Adapting to that change wasn’t easy, especially for recruitment companies operating under extreme time constraints. Recruiting and keeping staff in this uncertain time is more important than ever, and finding ways to overcome the limitations that the pandemic has wrought is vital. Alorica was able to handle a 34% increase in volume during the Covid pandemic, while shifting their recruitment process from 50% online to 100% as a result of Talkpush automation. The company relied heavily on on-site operations to complete their hiring process, and had to adjust completely in just a few days.
“Before Covid, we had established a very efficient recruiting process at our sites across the regions,” said Ana Purcell, recruiting coordinator for LATAM & the Caribbean at Alorica. “Candidates would come to our sites and leave with a job. It was very rich… We had a very structured process where candidates would come in, and in about two hours they would get their job offer. It was very fulfilling to watch that process and have them leave with a job opportunity.”
Adapting to a New Normal
The challenge for Alorica was to shift from a process that was heavily reliant on on-site activities to one that was 100% remote. Using the Talkpush live call feature and the new AutoFlow function, Alorica was able to do this quickly and efficiently.
Application flow increased by 34%, but with lower investment. High unemployment rates were partly responsible for the increase. However, Alorica’s offer and quick response also contributed to the increase of applications. “I think it’s because of the type of opportunities that we are providing; work at home was not usual and we adapted our process very quickly. We were one of the first to adapt and offer this type of opportunity. We’re still keeping most of our positions [as WFH] even after the pandemic,” Purcell said.
Using Talkpush was a natural transition, Purcell added, explaining that the company was using it to track and welcome candidates during its on-site recruitment process. “The Talkpush live call feature helped a lot with the recruitment process. We were able to call candidates from the computer, recruiters were able to call candidates even if they didn’t immediately have a landline. This made it easier to transition our process from on site to online.”
From Application Workflows to Profiling
Application workflows were not the only challenge; profiling also had to change. Before Covid, Alorica was used to having 100% on site recruitment, but 0% WFH workforce. Nairim Avila, regional director of Talent Acquisition LATAM at Alorica said: “At the height of the pandemic we went to an 85% WFH workforce. Besides transitioning active employees, all the new ones the TA department was sourcing were for WFH.”
Before the crisis, Alorica only tested for language and job requirements in terms of line of business. After Covid, with the WFH transitions, they had to implement additional personality tests. “Latin America is not used to work at home positions so we had to adapt with our candidate pool,” Avila said.
Talkpush helped Alorica automate the initial part of the screening process, using bots and online interviews. “With Talkpush we included those work at home requirements in the interviews,” Avila added. “All that automation during pre-screening was done with AutoFlow and smart filters. Basically, the bot took charge of the prescreening. Humans would focus on the ones that met all the requirements.”
Keeping the Candidate Experience at the Center
As greater volume translates into greater numbers of rejections, candidate experience was really important. Talkpush’s AutoFlow allowed Alorica to connect with its candidates, remind them of their start date and send them updates of where they were in their recruitment process.
“We can keep our candidate pipeline warm,” Purcell said. “Those that didn’t meet the minimum requirements just yet… we continually send them automated messages to let them know what’s new. In the meantime, recruiters can be freed up and focus on who’s actually interested at the moment because the Talkpush system takes care of all the other engagement.”
Automatic messages close the process and let unsuccessful candidates know the requirements that they were missing and when they could apply again. “When we reject, we have those messages already in the Talkpush system,” Purcell said.
Alorica sends out an initial message, letting rejected candidates know which requirements they missed. They keep them fresh in the system by sending other messages with information that might interest them according to their profile. “Some of them could have been rejected because of their English level and they just fell a little short, so we have a cooling down period, and let them know actions they can take to improve or let them know when a more fitting opportunity opens up,” Purcell explained.
The system also advises candidates that they can email for feedback, and recruiters can log into the candidate profile and start a conversation with them to help them develop in their careers.
Leveraging WhatsApp: The Most Powerful Recruiting Tool in LATAM
The Alorica WhatsApp bot is an integral part of their candidate experience and earns Alorica a 95% promoter score. The custom chatbot reflects the Alorica employer brand and tone, using lots of icons and emojis.
“We have a WhatsApp bot for each of our countries and each of the countries have a customized flow,” Purcell said. “It’s similar, but the campaigns change. We have a separate line for each country, so that candidates can get country-specific information faster.”
Avila adds that WhatsApp automation has increased Alorica’s completion rates. “We previously used only landing pages and we have seen that with the same amount of investments, WhatsApp has become almost 50-50 with the digital campaigns that use landing pages.”
Automating parts of the recruitment process and moving to a 100% online approach has really transformed Alorica’s talent acquisition. “It has allowed us to be smarter with our team and our resources,” said Sunny Yu, senior director of Global Communications at Alorica. “The fact that we’re able to do more with less during a very unprecedented time, it’s remarkable — not just sheer volume, but the ability to be more detail-oriented faster is what makes this platform [Talkpush] so successful.”
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