Do people want to be part of the process or just the outcome? – the changing face of the pub application process.

We are operating application processes in a world of decreasing attention spans, huge demands on our time, and evolving technological habits.

I was clock watching, there were 30 minutes until the school day was completed – I should have left the house already. The window of opportunity to get a parking space within a mile radius of the school was closing in on me. The aftereffect of not getting said space would enable the children to walk – AKA, hang out with their mates for 5 minutes at the school gates gawping at the latest Tik Tok sensation and then leisurely meander to the car resulting in me being more than fashionably late for my 4 pm meeting. With the ticking clock in my peripheral sight and my laptop slowly starting to wake up I clicked on the item I was trying to purchase and rushed to complete the transaction. “Thank You for your interest, please leave your contact details and one of our team will give you a call” – I gazed at the clock again, closed the window, sighed, and slammed the laptop shut.

According to research conducted by the National Retail Federation, there is a hidden cost of inconvenience, or more specifically in not offering a quick and convenient option to process an online transaction. In fact, the research shows that 97% of shoppers back out of a purchase if the process was long-winded or not convenient for them. 83% of those surveyed said that convenience is the most important aspect of an online retail experience for them. They conclude: “Whether it's commuting to work, dealing with family obligations, or catching up on schoolwork, consumers are always busy — over one-third feel they have less free time now compared with five years ago. When you consider the fact that more than a third of consumers say they are busier now than they were five years ago, this is hardly surprising. Between commuting, work, school, and family, shopping needs to be done when it can be – which often means on the go. As a result, shoppers are on the lookout for retailers that can save them time”

Whilst this research is focused on retail, it paints a picture that can be adopted across multiple sectors and disciplines. In 2019, our team at FindMyPub.com, who were reliant on a stepped applicant process which was a part online/part manual transaction set about completing our own piece of research with an objective to improve our online enquiry to lead sent ratios. The outcome of this research set in stone a digital transformation strategy that has reshaped our business model dramatically – and improved our conversions by nearly 50%!

It is often said that people should focus more on the processes than the outcome. That the outcome is only as good as the processes that underpin it. Whilst this in principle is a solid business/life strategy, it is not necessarily one that the consumer/user needs to be concerned with. Our goal was to create a system that allowed the applicant/user to have the benefit of an outcome without the time restraints of going through the time served application process. Our objective: to build a system that automated the processes, parameters, and distinct qualification requirements of our clients – whilst providing the applicants an online application process that could generate instant results.

Internet “rush hour” in the UK is now reported to be between 7-11 pm. So why were we reliant upon a system that allowed applicants to complete an application process between 9-5 pm?

As a web-based business, it is vital that we created a platform that met with changing consumer demand: the adoption of an automated Ai based process has ensured our audience is not only growing with each technological advance but is also reachable 24/7. In 2020, against a backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic – we launched our new application process; MyRecruitAi

MyRecruitAi is an intelligent applicant filtering software program that allows applicants to apply for pubs 24/7 - whilst qualifying their applications through a set of bespoke client parameters that ensures a funnel of only pre-qualified candidates is generated for pub vacancies. The system is designed to ensure maximum information capture whilst delivering a fast and reliable service to the applicants.

The automated qualifying logic is fully configurable giving our clients the ability to relax or tighten their parameters based on their own needs. This service is available 24/7, 365 days a year allowing you the ability to reduce overall resource time needed to progress to a LET pub, thus saving valuable time and money, whilst the candidate receives the highest level of interaction and service.

MyRecruitAi enables efficient, code-compliant indicative results for recruitment decisions based at either agreement or unit level. Having built this in-house, and launched on our own system in early 2020, we have already seen a 40% increase in our overall conversion rates. During the COVID -19 crisis, amidst a 50% reduction of visitors and enquiries to our website this technology delivered us such a marked increase in conversions that our clients did not see a drop-in lead, in fact, some experienced growth.

We are operating application processes in a world of decreasing attention spans, huge demands on our time, and evolving technological habits. Whilst the personal touch is often cited as a key company benefit – how much benefit do you perceive that phone conversation you had with an applicant is vs the time they save and spend with their family? It may sound unconventional or even to be one that triggers resistance from our long-held beliefs that in-person conversations are key to “building relationships” but, are these initial conversations building relationships or just our teams robotically taking data?

Our take, let the tech do the information gathering – and let our initial recruitment conversations be of benefit.

To find out more about how MyRecruitAi could support your recruitment process contact me today at rachaelnixon@mypubgroup.ltd

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