As the fifth largest local government area in Western Australia, the City of Gosnells employs over 500 people in a range of occupations and work locations.
With such a significant workforce, the City of Gosnells was keen to make the recruitment process easier for applicants, and more efficient for the organisation. The solution was to set up an online application procedure, rather than using traditional mail or email methods.
To achieve this the City worked with Queensland-based organisation, Talent Propeller, resulting in significant improvements both for applicants and the City. The benefits of the new process include:
• all vacancies are advertised in newspapers, on recruitment websites, and now through the City’s own recruitment site gosnells.currentjobs.com.au, which also links to the City’s main website
• by using the City’s jobs website, applicants respond to questions about their suitability for the position. The site also assists applicants in creating a resume if they don’t already have one
• only completed applications can be submitted. It’s quick and easy, and no stamps or envelopes are required
• the selection panel can review applications as soon as they are submitted, and all panel members can review the applications at the same time. This makes short-listing quicker and reduces the length of time between applications closing and interviews commencing
• for the Human Resources team, substantial time and paper is saved in printing applications and responding to applicants with letters. All correspondence is managed through the website and bulk responses are made easy. This also results in cost savings for the organisation.
Existing staff were keen to be part of the new project and a number of photographs of staff now feature on the site, along with personal quotes about working for the City. Comments such as “After 17 years I still find my work rewarding” and “My department is very fast paced but I have fun along the way” help to build a picture of the organisation for potential applicants.
The website is a great tool for promoting the City of Gosnells as an employer, assisting applicants to find out more about vacancies within the organisation, simplifying the recruitment process and, of course, enabling the City to recruit valuable and talented staff members.
