Stationery and office supplies business using Thomas assessments to reduce attrition and support company growth.
Everything Office provides stationery and office supplies throughout the UK and into Europe, with next day delivery service available on the majority of products. Established in 1993 and based in the seaside town of Lowestoft, Everything Office has expanded from a small telesales company serving local businesses, to an IPP accredited company, employing over 20 people and serving organisations nationwide.
The challenge
Bob Taylor, Managing Director explains, “Everything Office is predominately a telesales operation and we were struggling with a high churn rate among telesales staff. Our rural location can make it difficult to find quality candidates, so if we interviewed someone we liked with sales experience we gave them a job! We had made some awful recruitment decisions and knew we needed to improve our process, but didn’t know how.”
The solution
Everything Office used Thomas JOB to create profiles outlining the key behavioural characteristics of their sales positions, which gave them a clear benchmark against which to compare candidates. They then used Thomas’ behavioural assessment, PPA, to match potential new recruits against the role. All existing staff completed a behavioural profile.
Bob comments, “We asked everyone who got through our CV screening process to complete a PPA. This helped us to be selective about who we interviewed, and gave us an idea of what to expect when they walked through the door.”
“Profiling existing staff with PPA helped us to understand them better, identify weaknesses and pinpoint training needs. Those in jobs that were less than a perfect fit were helped to modify their behaviour. We used the PPA ‘How to Manage’ report to improve the way we communicated with and managed staff.”
“More recently we implemented assessments evaluating levels of emotional intelligence using Thomas EIQ and aptitude and ability using Thomas GIA, as part of a programme to develop management staff, team leaders and sales managers.” “The tools are helping us review where people are, how they have changed and what training or support they require. Throughout the process our Thomas consultant has been very helpful and offered tailored support to deal with employees with significant frustrations.”
The result
“After introducing Thomas JOB and PPA into our recruitment process we immediately saw a better calibre of candidate at interview and our churn rate reduced by 50%.”
“As a result of improved recruitment, retention and management practices we have enjoyed good company growth and stability. We are regarded as a good company to work with and for, and are well recognised within our industry. Using Thomas tools demonstrates our commitment to investing in staff and this has helped us attain IIP accreditation. The business improvements we have seen since implementing Thomas assessments have helped promote the profile of Everything Office and in 2010 we were delighted to be nominated for and win the BOSS Federation Dealer Excellence Award.”
“Internally we have seen a reduction in employee frustration, and people who had challenges are now performing well. The tools facilitated the start of a two way communication and helped us cement a better working environment.”
Next steps
“A job profile has been completed for everyone in the organisation; all staff have completed emotional intelligence assessments through Thomas EIQ and will shortly be completing Thomas’ aptitude and ability test, GIA. We will use this information as part of our review and development process to raise performance throughout the company. We will also be using the Thomas team creation and development tool, Team Audit, to increase the effectiveness of our sales team.”
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