Securitas ensures quality in high-volume recruitment
Industry
Security services
Head office
Stockholm, Sweden
Employees
10 000+
Customer since
2021
“Grade’s reference-checking tool is like a colleague who’s never sick, never on vacation – and who works around the clock.”
Marcus Lundqvist, Talent Acquisition Manager, Securitas Sweden
Background
Securitas is one of the world’s largest security companies, with thousands of hires each year in Sweden alone. Most of the roles – security guards, public order guards, protective security officers, store detectives and similar positions – are covered by collective bargaining agreements, often involve direct contact with customers, and are frequently time-critical.
“We recruit around 2,000 people per year, of which 1,300–1,400 are for the summer season. It’s a massive undertaking – and it requires structured and sustainable system support,” says Marcus Lundqvist.
With more than 50,000 applications annually, Securitas needed an efficient way to manage reference checks. This is a critical step in the security industry – and it must be both legally sound and scalable.
Solution
In 2021, a pilot project was launched using Grade’s digital reference-checking tool. The results were so positive that the tool was quickly rolled out across the entire organization. With an integration to the ATS system SmartRecruiters, everything is automated: when a candidate reaches the reference stage, a request is sent to the tool and the referees are invited.
“We want our reference checks to be competency-based, objective and standardized. Grade’s tool gives us exactly that – and more,” says Marcus.
The tool enables reference checks to be conducted around the clock, which has been crucial in a high-volume recruitment environment. Referees respond to the questions via mobile, often outside office hours, and recruiters receive a notification when everything is completed.
“It frees up time. Time that our recruiters can instead spend on value-adding activities. The tool does the job – structured, reliable and fast.”
Result
With Grade’s reference-checking tool, Securitas has created an efficient and quality-assured process for one of the most critical steps in its recruitment.
- Approximately 4,000 working hours saved per year – equivalent to more than two full-time positions
- 15 minutes – average response time from referees
- 1.9 completed references per candidate
- 136% hit rate – more references than requested
- 96% verification via BankID
- 50% of references completed outside office hours
- 65% respond via a mobile device
“It’s hard to get a job with us – and it should be. That’s why it’s crucial that our reference checks meet the absolute highest standards,” says Marcus.
Securitas has also been an active partner in the development of the tool and values its collaboration with Grade.
“We see it as a joint effort. Grade is responsive – and we have truly developed the solution together.”
Marcus Lundqvist
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