Isle of Man Government - A strategic partnership to reach their recruitment goals

Isle of Man Government - A strategic partnership to reach their recruitment goals

Since 2014, we’ve been proud to call the Isle of Man Government a client, having provided our applicant tracking system and services continuously since then.

We were delighted to be successful in the ATS re-tender process in 2021, and with 11,500 employees (roughly 23% of the island’s working population), our strategic partnership and applicant tracking system has played a crucial role in their recruitment success.

Here we sit down with Joe Wilde – Recruitment Manager at the Isle of Man Government – to chat about the benefits they’ve seen since implementing DBS checking within their Jobtrain ATS and their overall experience of working with Jobtrain.

 

What was the DBS checks process like before you implemented it in your Jobtrain platform?

It was a paper-based process with a lot of hoops to jump through. We’d have to get the forms, build the packs, post them to candidates – then candidates would need to complete them and post them back or drop them in to our office, all this before we started our manual checks and verifications.

There were things that, if done incorrectly, could set you back timewise too. For instance, completed forms would have to done using a black pen – if we used blue it wouldn’t be picked up. If you made other small mistakes, like getting the date formats wrong you would have to start all over again.

There was countersigning, and then sending to the Registered Body on the island to go through their process too. It relied on many busy offices across the island so was a very manual and time-consuming process!

What’s your experience been of integrated DBS checks?

All the manual administration we had to prompt a check previously has been reduced to just two clicks – it’s been a real time-saver.

The time it takes to turnaround DBS checks has drastically reduced too. From it taking approximately 38 working days to turnaround from start to finish, it’s now just on average 10 working days for an Enhanced DBS check. One of our team has even turned around a Basic DBS check in just one day!

Our Continuous Improvement Consultant (CIC), Jules, sends a report to us once a week. It’s allowed us to introduce the human element into the process where we can pro-actively check-up and help candidates who might be getting stuck – previously, we didn’t have that insight. We love data in our team so it’s been great to dig into the data and see what we can improve for our candidates.

The difference it’s made to our recruitment process hasn’t gone unnoticed in the Departments we recruit into either – they’ve been happy to see DBS turnaround times to be improved.

Isle of Man Government re-tendered for their ATS and chose Jobtrain again. What made Jobtrain stand out?

It was a bit of everything, really!

The functionality, the forward-thinking, the User Interface, the customer experience. I love that you always have a roadmap of what features are coming next, but Jobtrain is always evolving. For example, your in-house Talent Intelligence Unit wasn’t in our requirement spec, but between the TICTAC newsletter, the Market Reports and the tailored quarterly insights – we are receiving data above and beyond what we had originally set out in our requirements.

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What’s exceeded your expectations about Jobtrain?

As a government organisation, we are very complex in how we use the applicant tracking system. We’re always trying to make the platform do new things, but through the support of our CIC, Jules, and the wider support team, we’ve been able to configure it to suit our needs.

There’s real honesty and transparency about the partnership we have with Jobtrain. Nothing is ever a firm “no” in our relationship – there’s always an effort to make it work.

Our strategic partnership with you is ever evolving and so many of the features that you develop are free upgrades too – you’re constantly working to improve our experience.

Jobtrain doesn’t stay still – it’s always flexing to the labour market and is constantly scanning the horizon on what the latest market trends are. The job market is constantly changing, so your ATS vendor needs to change to meet those needs – and Jobtrain does just that.

How have you found your relationship with our support and wider teams?

Amazing! Jules and Gary were brilliant relationship managers for us. When Gary went to lead the Talent Intelligence team, we were really sorry to lose him – but Jules has filled those shoes really quickly and she always delivers what she says she will.

Our meetings with Jules are really enjoyable and she offers lots of useful advice too – she knows us well and knows what we need!

The Support team are great and it’s clear that’s been a key area of focus and investment. We’ve built up a trusting relationship with them which works really well.

What 3 words would you use to describe Jobtrain?
check_circle_outline Innovative
check_circle_outline Supportive
check_circle_outline Partnership

About DBS and compliance checks within Jobtrain

The Jobtrain ATS integrates with First Advantage (DBS checks) and Yoti (Right to Work checks) to ensure our clients can run all their Right to Work, DBS, and compliance background checks with little need to leave the ATS. Being integrated with a specialist DBS checking tool allows you to carry out crucially important DBS checking online, direct from within the Jobtrain platform.​

About the Isle of Man Government

The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency with its own parliament, government, and laws.

Isle of Man’s candidate satisfaction soars to 100% after using Jobtrain

The flexibility of our recruitment software has ensured the Isle of Man Government can effectively manage their extremely diverse recruitment needs – from driving the recruitment of doctors and teachers to police officers and bus drivers (the list goes on!) The Isle of Man Government has also benefitted by tailoring their applications and interview & onboarding processes for the various roles they recruit for.


Two stage applications and an improved candidate experience

The Isle of Man Government puts great store in ensuring that candidates who apply for jobs with them have an excellent experience. They track candidate satisfaction regularly through surveys and discovered that more than a few candidates were frustrated at the lengthy process they had to go through to apply for a role.

Working with their Jobtrain Continuous Improvement Consultant, the Government introduced our two-stage application process – allowing candidates to apply quickly online without the hassle of completing a full application form at the outset.

The result? A huge 100% of candidates felt that the application process was good or outstanding following this change.

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Isle of Man Government awards Jobtrain a 5-year term as their ATS supplier following a formal tender process

The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency with its own parliament, government, and laws. The Isle of Man Government is the largest employer on the island – in total, they employ approximately 11,500 people (23% of the working population). Government employment spans a wide range of roles and industries, including airport, marine port, police, health, fire, education, and usual government ministries/civil service roles.

We entered a partnership back in 2014, spanning 7 years of creative, impactful recruitment. When the existing contract for their ATS came up for renewal, the organisation went out to tender for ATS providers to ensure best value for money was being achieved.

Following an impartial and formal tender process, in November 2021 we were awarded a 5-year contract to continue to supply the Isle of Man Government’s ATS.

Chris Keeling, CEO and founder of Jobtrain said:

“We have really enjoyed working with the Isle of Man in recent years, and we’re delighted that our service and technology is coming out on top again after such a formal tender process.

Recruitment is tough at the moment for most organisations, but with the hiring tools we’re able to provide to the Isle of Man Government, they are in a very good place to succeed.”

What could you achieve?