Driving a consistent employer brand and candidate experience lies at the heart of the success of Asda’s new online recruitment system, according to Vikki Gartside, head of resourcing at the supermarket giant.

Gartside told Recruiter the online application system launched at the end of October, which uses applicant tracking systems (ATSs), would manage the firm’s volume recruitment of hourly-paid instore and depot colleagues, handling an anticipated 2m applications a year. The system will also have to cater for 7,500 new jobs, announced for next year.

Gartside explains the system, developed with partners Kenexa, Work Communications Group and the Criterion Partnership, has three elements of psychometric assessment. Two of the elements are ability tests along with verbal and numerical reasoning, and personality profiling aligned to the supermarket’s values and culture. The system also poses a series of questions to determine if applicants are the right fit for Asda. Around 1,500 colleagues have already been recruited through the system including a new store opening in Langley Mill, Derbyshire, accounting for about 358 new hires, while the system currently has around 2,700 vacancies on it and has handled 120,000 applications.

Although the system has delivered efficiencies of cutting administration and paperwork with candidates entering their own details, the system’s real success lies in its ability to help Asda recruit colleagues aligned with the supermarket’s values, along with driving a consistent employer brand and candidate experience, said Gartside.

“The success is driving consistency of employer brand and candidate experience. You would probably have a similar experience if you applied for a job wherever you are in the country. We would like to maximise the chances of the candidate experience being consistent.”

Gartside continued: “We look for people that have the right sort of attitude to work at Asda. Those people would be aligned with our values and conduct themselves [in ways that are] aligned with those values and serve our customers. We want people to be excellent customer-focused colleagues. We want people to continually improve at what they are doing.”

The aim is to have every member of staff being the best they can be, she explained, “whether they are sitting at a warehouse, putting products on the shelves or even if you’re the chief executive - we want you to be the best you can be at your job”.