- Multiple hiring decisions made on the same day
- One-day assessment centre combining four evaluation methods
- Six core capabilities assessed consistently across candidates
- Ongoing talent pipeline established for changing workforce demand
When faster hiring still needed careful assessment
AusNet needed to rapidly scale its contact centre workforce in response to increasing customer service demand.
But filling roles quickly was only part of the requirement.
Contact centre employees needed to communicate effectively, demonstrate empathy and represent AusNet’s service values in customer interactions.
Traditional recruitment approaches risked extending hiring timeframes and creating inconsistency between candidate assessments.
AusNet needed a faster process without reducing selection to availability or interview performance alone.
Davidson Executive & Talent partnered with the organisation to develop a structured assessment model that could evaluate multiple candidates efficiently while giving hiring managers consistent evidence for their decisions.
Assessing candidates in the context of the role
Davidson developed a one-day assessment centre combining several evaluation methods into a single recruitment process.
The principle was simple: assess how candidates responded to situations relevant to the role, rather than relying solely on what they said during an interview.
Candidates completed structured behavioural interviews, group problem-solving activities, customer service simulations and written assessment tasks.
Together, these activities assessed six capabilities:
- Communication
- Customer empathy
- Adaptability
- Problem-solving
- Collaboration
- Resilience
Using multiple assessment methods gave hiring managers different opportunities to observe how candidates communicated, worked with others and approached customer-focused situations.
Hiring managers also participated directly in the assessment centre. Their involvement connected candidate evaluation with the practical expectations of AusNet’s contact centre environment.
Turning assessment into clearer decisions
Evidence from each stage was captured in a custom competency matrix.
This gave hiring leaders a common framework for considering candidate strengths and development areas.
Rather than candidates being evaluated through different individual interpretations, each person could be considered against the same capabilities.
The source also reports that assessment outcomes aligned closely with hiring manager preferences. This provided additional confidence that the structured process reflected what hiring leaders were looking for in successful candidates.
Crucially, the process brought assessment and decision-making together.
Multiple hiring decisions could be made on the same day, reducing the time between assessment and selection while maintaining a consistent evaluation process.
Creating a repeatable model for changing demand
The assessment centre addressed more than one immediate recruitment requirement.
Candidates identified through the process also contributed to an ongoing talent pipeline that AusNet could draw on as workforce demand changed.
This gave the organisation a repeatable approach to future contact centre recruitment rather than requiring a new selection model each time demand increased.
The combination of structured activities, a common competency framework and direct hiring manager involvement also established a consistent basis for future hiring decisions.
Balancing speed with hiring confidence
High-volume recruitment can create pressure to choose between moving quickly and assessing candidates thoroughly.
AusNet’s one-day assessment centre brought those requirements into the same process.
Candidates were assessed through four different evaluation methods against six core capabilities, while multiple hiring decisions could be made on the same day.
The result was a practical recruitment model that gave AusNet a consistent way to assess contact centre candidates while responding more quickly to workforce demand.
For organisations experiencing fluctuating customer service requirements, structured assessment can make speed and consistency complementary rather than competing recruitment priorities.
