Vodafone UK uses SHL’s

Dependability and Safety

Instrument to improve recruitment

Summary

¾ With large numbers of applicants for Contact

“Vodafone UK is continually
looking for ways to improve its
recruitment process. We have
recently turned our attention to
the large numbers recruited
annually into our Contact
Centres. Three areas are of
particular importance to us:
ƒ Improving the candidate
experience so they feel that
they have been treated
fairly.
ƒ Ensuring candidates have
enough opportunities
throughout the selection
process to demonstrate their
skills and knowledge.
ƒ Fit with the organisation’s
culture and values.
Centre roles, Vodafone UK wanted an effective
assessment to ensure they hired the right
staff.
¾ SHL was asked to validate the Dependability
and Safety Instrument (DSI).
¾ Over 200 existing contact centre employees
were tested using the DSI. Results were
correlated with line manager ratings.
¾ An extremely strong correlation was found
between top performers (rated by managers)
and high DSI scores.
¾ The addition of the DSI into the recruitment
process has improved the calibre of candidate
and saved time and money.

The DSI will play an important

role in meeting these priorities.”

Carole Driver
Business Psychologist
Human Resources
Vodafone UK

SHL Case Study 2008

The Background assess each of these elements.
SHL worked to develop a
Vodafone UK has 18.5 million
solution for Vodafone UK’s
customers and is part of the
contact centres in the following
world’s largest mobile
business areas:
community offering a wide
range of voice and data
ƒ Telesales;
communications. As a provider
ƒ Consumer Credit;
of mobile solutions for
ƒ and Customer Services.
consumer and business
customers, customer
Each of these business areas
relationships and sales are core
requires employees to be highly
components of the company’s
customer focused, dependable
business.
and reliable. The key challenge
for SHL was to develop a
Vodafone UK is continually solution which would make it
evaluating and improving its easier to find candidates with
recruitment process to ensure it these qualities.
maintains its position as an
industry leader. Carole Driver, SHL proposed the DSI as a
Business Psychologist – Human solution to support Vodafone
Resources, has focused on UK’s recruitment process. This
raising the quality of the assessment is used to
recruitment process in key determine the likelihood that a
areas including: updating candidate will be reliable,
selection and assessment productive and a team player.
methods; innovation in practice;
and improving the candidate The test takes around five
experience. minutes to complete and gives
recruiters the benefit of a single
output score, to compare
In line with these priorities, candidates and sift out those
Vodafone UK wanted a solution who are unlikely to be
which would improve their successful in the role.
screening process for recruiting
(high quality) call centre The Solution
representatives within its UK
The DSI’s key competency
contact centres. They worked
measures were tested out on
with SHL to find an efficient and
UK contact centre employees.
effective assessment,
Employees participating in the
participating in a validation
study completed self-
study for the DSI.
assessments and were also
rated by their managers.
The Challenge This gave an average
performance score for
The quality, consistency and
comparison with the DSI.
value of Vodafone UK’s
recruitment process have been
Key criteria relating to
clear corporate priorities and
employee performance were
the company has strived to
used to evaluate employee

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SHL Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved. 'SHL' and 'OPQ' are registered trademarks of SHL Group Limited.
 competency criteria such as The results were conclusive.
client focus, reliability and Nick Shaw, SHL’s Account
complying with company Director for the project, explains
policies and procedures. that the study found “those who
scored highly on the DSI were
275 employees participated in almost three times more likely
the validation trials. About 80% to be high performers at work.”
of these employees completed
the DSI and a competency self- Screened against the
assessment form. 60% of these competencies set out by
were female and 40% male, Vodafone UK, high scoring
with an age range from 18 to 64 participants were three times
years.” more likely to be client focused;
over ten times more likely to
Results comply with company policies
and procedures; and four times
The study showed that DSI more likely to cope with
scores correlate significantly pressure and be reliable.
with employees’ overall
performance, based on Vodafone UK can also rest
managers’ ratings on the DSI. assured that the DSI
Figure 1 illustrates the clear link assessment tool is fair. There
between managers’ were found to be no statistically
assessments of high performing significant differences in scores
employees compared with when compared with criteria
employee scores on the DSI. such as gender, ethnic group,
education and experience.

Figure 1 – Proportions of high and low DSI scores compared with high ratings
on managers’ performance criteria

High DSI Score Low DSI Score

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%

30%
20%
10%
0%
Complies with High High High Client Copes with High
Policies & Reliability Conscientious Focus Pressure well Confidence
Procedures and Delivers
what is
expected
Managers' Performance Criteria

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SHL Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved. 'SHL' and 'OPQ' are registered trademarks of SHL Group Limited.
The Next Steps throughout the selection
process to demonstrate
their skills and knowledge.
The DSI has demonstrated its
ƒ Fit with the organisation’s
effectiveness for finding
culture and values.
candidates with the attributes
that are vital for success in
The DSI will play an important
Vodafone UK’s contact centre
role in meeting these priorities.”
roles; as Gill Burgess – Head of
Customer Service – Stoke,
Driver has further indicated that
states:
the buy-in from the business
was a positive outcome: “There
“One of the benefits of using a
has been a strong level of
dependability test at the pre
support and interest from our
screen stage of our contact
managers throughout the
centre recruitment, is that it
project.”
helps us to make a more
informed decision about how an
The DSI has been piloted in
individual may work in a
Vodafone UK’s assessment
customer centric environment,
process for its contact centres,
and whether they are a good
as part of a three stage
match for this.
selection process. The DSI is
used at the first stage, for
We are confident that over time
applicant screening.
it will help support our drive to
further reduce our KPI metrics
Incorporating the assessment at
such as time to competency and
this stage of the process has
attrition at Vodafone UK.”
increased the efficiency of the
recruitment process. The second
Vodafone UK’s Resourcing team
stage is a telephone interview,
has confidence in the product
where the candidate is asked
and SHL’s support in providing a
competency questions. The final
solution that can be integrated
stage of the recruitment process
into their recruitment process,
is the Vodafone UK Experience
as Carole Driver states:
Day. Candidates participate in
an assessment centre to learn
“Vodafone UK is continually
more about the company and
looking for ways to improve its
the role they’ve applied for.
recruitment process. We have
recently turned our attention to
This demonstrates that the DSI
the large numbers recruited
is effective in assisting
annually into our Contact
organisations to improve
Centres. Three areas are of
recruitment processes. It can
particular importance to us:
ensure consistency and quality
and in the case of Vodafone UK,
ƒ Improving the candidate
align with a streamlined, fair
experience so they feel that
and best-in-class recruitment
they have been treated
process.
fairly.
ƒ Ensuring candidates have
enough opportunities

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SHL Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved. 'SHL' and 'OPQ' are registered trademarks of SHL Group Limited.