ABOUT
Flink is an online supermarket that is revolutionising the way people do their grocery shopping. Founded by experienced e-commerce professionals and backed by renowned investors in Europe, Flink is experiencing rapid growth and has a strong drive to continuously challenge themselves.
SIZE
2.500+
JOB FOCUS EQUALTURE
Engineering
Main challenge: Increase new-hire retention
Flink achieved Unicorn status within 2 years after its founding date. When it comes to recruitment, such exponential growth comes with exceptional challenges. The number of required hires is high and the rate of organisational change employees will have to triumph is also extremely high. Whilst at the same time, specifically for the engineering department, the capacity to solve highly-complex problems could not be compromised upon.
Challenge 1. Identifying behavioural compatibility & cognitive skills effectively
Before using Equalture, Flink faced challenges in identifying the right competencies and assessing the cognitive skills of candidates effectively.
"With past hires, we figured we had quite a few cases where we discovered in the probation period that it was not good behavioural compatibility for the employee we hired and Flink. Flink is moving at a very fast pace and we have a very high rate of change in the organisation while at the same time, we have some really difficult problems to solve. This requires certain characteristics which a hard to assess through normal interview questions."
Challenge 2. Finding an objective tool to help structure the hiring process
Lack of structure within the hiring process made it challenging to make objective hiring decisions and effectively assess candidates’ suitability for the organisation and the team.
"The process had been quite unstructured, with different interviewers covering different topics. There was a re-structure of the hiring process at which point Equalture was introduced."
"We did a major revamp of our recruitment process at this point and decided to add an additional stage to assess the cultural fit and general assessment of cognitive skills. That's when we added Equalture."
Implementation process
To address the challenges in the hiring process, Flink decided to implement Equalture – a game-based assessment solution for enterprise organisations used to assess competencies in an objective way.
The implementation of game-based assessments for all tech hires across various seniority levels has been a notable achievement within Flink’s talent acquisition strategy. Here’s how the implementation took place:
- Hiring manager and recruiter training. To ensure the successful utilisation of Equalture’s assessments, Flink invested in comprehensive training for both hiring managers and recruitment personnel. This training equipped them with the necessary knowledge and insights to effectively interpret and leverage the results of the assessments during the hiring process.
- Internal benchmarking. The process began with the benchmarking of 241 internal employees from the engineering department. This involved a comprehensive evaluation of their skills and attributes, serving as a foundation to define competency profiles that align with Flink’s specific requirements.
- Defining competency profiles. Flink collaborated closely with Equalture to establish a thorough competency framework tailored to tech hires across the entirety of its engineering department. This framework not only provided a structured guideline for evaluating candidates but also served as a reference point to align candidate attributes with role expectations.
- Integration with ATS. A key aspect of this implementation was the seamless integration of Equalture’s platform with Flink’s existing applicant tracking system, Smartrecruiters. This integration was set up to ensure a smooth and streamlined flow of candidate data and assessment outcomes, enhancing the overall efficiency of the recruitment process.
Current setup hiring process with Equalture
Following the implementation of Equalture, Flink has incorporated an assessment stage into its recruitment process for tech hires. This new step allows the recruitment team to evaluate various characteristics such as behavioural compatibility, cognitive flexibility, problem-solving capabilities, and personal style.
This assessment tool is now an integral part of the recruitment process for all tiers and positions within the Engineering department at Flink, including roles within the Information Technology (IT) domain. It’s introduced after the initial talk with the recruitment team and acts as a preliminary step before the first formal interview. The insights gained from this assessment phase play a crucial role in structuring and guiding the subsequent interview stages.
Results
"Equalture played a pivotal role in achieving our goals by not only streamlining and simplifying the hiring process but also ensuring an accurate assessment of candidates' behavioural compatibility and cognitive skills.
As a result, we were able to make faster and more informed hiring decisions while providing a positive and efficient experience for both candidates and our hiring team."
The introduction of Equalture has yielded positive results for Flink’s hiring process:
- Improved overall hiring quality. The overall quality of hires has improved, and there has been a decrease in the number of candidates not passing the probation period, indicating better suitability to the organisation and role in terms of competencies. The game-based assessment measuring cognitive flexibility largely contributed to this success.
- Improved candidate experience. Candidate feedback regarding the use of Equalture has been positive, with candidates rating their experience at 4.2 out of 5. As Sam puts it: “candidates really enjoy the experience, they see the value in why we are using it, and that it doesn’t feel like an old school cognitive/psychometric tests which some companies still use.”
- Structured hiring process. The tool is appreciated for providing a more streamlined and user-friendly candidate assessment compared to traditional cognitive/psychometric tests. As a result, creating a better, less time-consuming and effective overall experience for hiring managers.
"From a TA perspective, Equalture has helped us reduce mishires and time spent interviewing. Overall, leading to increased quality of hires. We are now able to make faster and more informed hiring decisions while providing a positive and efficient experience for both candidates and our hiring team."
