Yolk Technology & Digital

BookingLive is the leading platform used by government departments, NHS trusts, large multinational organisations and SMEs across 65+ countries providing scheduling,
reservation and purchasing customer journeys.

They started life in Bristol with a team of 7, and the startup has swiftly scaled up to a team of 26, with a decision made to move their head office to Cardiff.

What we achieved together

2 successful recruitment days

A new Cardiff based team of developers hired

New remote on-boarding process established

On-going recruitment partnership between Yolk and BookingLive for future technology recruitment 

Here's what BookingLive said

“Yolk were a huge help when BookingLive began hiring for new developers based in Cardiff. Yolk’s Technology & Digital team have an excellent grasp on their industry, they took the time to not only understand the role and tech stack, but BookingLive as a company to ensure the candidates they put forward met the requirements of the role in all aspects. Yolk go the extra mile when it comes to the entire recruitment process and provide a refreshing, consultative approach.

They gave us advice and guidance through-out the hiring process, reacting to our requirements quickly with unbiased and honest feedback.

Yolk offered us access to their office space which was really helpful when meeting local talent in Cardiff. Yolk have also been involved after the placement, ensuring the candidates settled in well which was especially important when on-boarding new starters during the start of lockdown.

The team at Yolk are personable, professional and helpful. It was a pleasure partnering with them on our recent recruitment drive, and we’re looking forward to our next intake when we can work together again.”

Louise Chawich, Chief People Officer, BookingLive

The challenges faced

As BookingLive continued to scale up, its Online Scheduling and Booking Software team
had the need for additional PHP Developers and they wanted to hire developers based in Cardiff. 

• New region, new candidates – As a rapidly growing Bristol based company, one of BookingLive’s biggest challenges was identifying new talent in a different region as they looked to hire a Cardiff based team.
• Establishing a Cardiff office – Without an initial Cardiff base, a big challenge was not only identifying the talent in the area, but also not having locally based facilities to interview and meet candidates whilst the office was being opened.
• Standing out from the crowd – With the tech space being a candidate short market, another challenge after finding the best developers, is marketing your business as an employer of choice. 
• Remote on-boarding - When the Covid-19 lockdown measures were enforced after the recruitment was completed, BookingLive stood by their new recruits but had to adapt their on-boarding process to work remotely.

How we tackled them 

• Branded marketing campaign - Yolk approached the initial recruitment with a marketing campaign which included dual branding across all adverts due to the exclusive recruitment partnership. 
• Yolk account managers - BookingLive were assigned two dedicated Yolk account managers. They both focused solely on this recruitment project which meant they were able to deliver the best developers in the area and they were able to utilise Yolk’s expert knowledge of the local tech market in Cardiff. It also meant Yolk were able to spend time getting to understand BookingLive as a business and their company culture which was highly beneficial when attracting new candidates.
• Cardiff based recruitment days – Having identified a roster of Cardiff’s best tech talent, the next challenge was whittling the candidates down to the final hires. With a large office based in the centre of Cardiff, Yolk were able to offer their state-of-the-art meeting rooms and break-out spaces for two full recruitment days. BookingLive were then on-site locally for the entire interview process and were able to really get to know and test the potential candidates.
• Remote on-boarding – BookingLive are no stranger to offering modern and flexible ways of working which meant when lockdown came into full-force, they were able to quickly adapt their on-boarding process to work remotely. Louise Chawich, BookingLive’s Chief People Officer, expertly on-boarded the new starters and introduced them to the business with a virtual induction including virtual office tours, daily Zoom 1-2-1s, and a series of social virtual events.

Recruiting for technology roles and finding yourself dealing with the same challenges?

If you want help reshaping your IT recruitment, please don't hestitate to get in touch with our Technology & Digital recruitment team.

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