Best Candidate Experience 2020

The Food & Beverage Candidate Experience – National Trust

This was a strongly contested category, which made it difficult for the judges to choose between the shortlist. The National Trust came out as the eventual winner with its recruitment for its food & beverage roles.

• In a candidate-driven job market, applicants often seek out the National Trust, so it comes down to a great candidate experience to recruit successfully and attract the best. The candidate experience mirrors the visitor journey, so both have a pleasurable experience with working for the Trust and visiting Trust venues.
• Achieved a better hiring process in food & beverage roles through clearer adverts, simpler recruitment processes, implementing strengths-based recruitment via a situational strengths test, reacting quickly to all applications, using supportive interview techniques, ensuring everyone has feedback opportunities and a dedicated point of contact.
• To ensure the Trust doesn’t waste candidates’ time, it is made clear within its adverts the steps that it takes to be successful, when they will hear from the Trust, and what to expect moving forwards.
• More personable interviewing so applicants can get a feel for the Trust’s food & beverage outlets, such as a relaxed ‘Coffee Meet’ in this environment, leading to the potential of a ‘Trial Interview’ or ‘Property Tour’.
• Although the Trust is known as an employer of choice when it comes to historic buildings and parks, its generally not known for its cafés or eating establishments. Along with its wage restrictions as a charity, this means that when it finds talent it’s essential the candidate experience is significant to stop the Trust re-recruiting on a regular basis.
• The National Trust aims to capture better talent, onboard them comprehensively, and offers career development and training opportunities to achieve longevity. Its new processes have helped the number of applications increase by 18%.

Judges’ comments: “The National Trust applied a personal touch to the recruitment process – meeting and engaging candidates in the hospitality industry in this way is a fantastic method of ensuring fit from both the candidate and employer perspective.”