How thyssenkrupp made implementation achievable (and a joy to work on)
- Location: UK
- Industry: Manufacturing
- Headcount: 500 across 9 sites (UK), warehouse operatives and commercial roles
- Size of talent team: 2, Talent Acquisition Manager and People Coordinator
Sophie and Anja took a sprint approach to implementation, and each sprint was an opportunity to improve existing processes. They received regular support and a project plan from her Customer Success Manager and found it “a joy to work on”.
With regular investments of small blocks of time, Sophie has delivered efficiencies for the TA team, happier hiring managers, and a better candidate experience.
One of the reasons we found it so successful and so easy to go live was that we dedicated the time to testing it and going through different scenarios.
Hands-on implementation: a better approach
Previous experience had taught Sophie that an ATS implementation meant a provider coming on site for a few days and setting everything up for you. Not so with Pinpoint.
Sophie’s Customer Success Manager (CSM) explained that he would work closely with her and Anja, learning as much about the business as he could. But Sophie would always know more about thyssenkrupp’s processes and people.
That’s why, with the support of an e-learning series, support articles, and their CSM’s help at every step of the way, Sophie and Anja would set the platform up themselves.
I'll be honest, I was a bit like, ‘Oh, gosh! Implementing it ourselves is quite scary’. But now, in hindsight, it was the best way of implementing a system because you pick up the system so much quicker.
Four tips to make implementation manageable
Sophie shared four strategies that helped make implementation not only achievable but valuable too.
1. Don’t do it by yourself
Instead of replicating thyssenkrupp’s existing processes, Sophie saw implementation as an opportunity to improve. She worked closely with People Coordinator Anja, using the project to rethink how they could better support candidates and hiring managers.
Having that person to talk it through with and give you different ideas was invaluable. We’d ask, ‘Is this the best way for candidates? Will this help hiring managers?’, and that’s how we’d find the best solution.
2. Work in sprints
Sophie couldn’t dedicate all her time to implementation. But nor did she want to.
It would be easy to get fatigue having full days working on the system, and “then you’re not making the best decision,” says Sophie.
With limited capacity in her team, Sophie broke the work into focused sprints. Short blocks of time, scheduled around weekly CSM calls, kept the process manageable and effective.
Either they’d work on the system before the call and gather their questions. Or, they’d have time after to implement the answers they’d got from their CSM.
3. Use the videos
Sophie and Anja watched Pinpoint’s implementation videos to guide their work. These helped them explore the system from every angle: as candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters.
“Every time we would go through that process we would identify different things that we thought could be better,” explains Sophie.
If we hadn't have watched the implementation videos and just relied on our CSM, our understanding of the system wouldn't be so strong.
4. Take advantage of support
Finally, while the weekly CSM calls answered the big questions, Sophie also used the online support chat in Pinpoint for quick fixes.
This meant she didn’t have to delay any sprints waiting for her next call.
“The online support chat is amazing. Somebody would reply within a couple of minutes. They’re really on it,” says Sophie.
Why hands-on implementation pays off
With her previous ATS, every time Sophie wanted to make a change it would take weeks. And each request would cost money.
Now Sophie can go in and make those changes herself. And thanks to her hands-on implementation, she understands the platform well enough that those changes are quick and easy.
The more we use it, the more we're finding more efficiencies. We want to keep building out the templates and streamlining a bit more within the system.
Now that thyssenkrupp is live, Sophie is keen to continue to look at how she can use the platform better. This means keeping on top of product development updates and constantly reviewing her processes, ensuring the platform delivers value well into the future.
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