Case study: RM

Self: virtual site sets RM apart from other companies

Leading educational software and systems supplier RM has come up with an innovative way to attract the best IT talent into the organisation – by giving them a virtual world to explore and a game to play.

The RM Virtual World recruitment site has been designed to reflect the culture and values of the 1,500-strong organisation, using real employees talking about their roles, warts and all.

Potential employees visiting the site are challenged to find Professor Van Straten, a software developer at RM who has gone missing. The task involves exploring the virtual company, as well as requiring the sort of problem-solving skills and creative thinking that the company is seeking in prospective employees.

Deb Self, RM’s recruitment manager, says that because of the skills shortage in IT, the organisation was finding it difficult to find the right people. ‘One of our managers in the software development area came up with the idea of having a virtual RM that people could tour,’ she says ‘One of the key reasons for doing it was to promote ourselves as an exciting place to work for technical people.’

The task of finding the missing professor requires potential employees to visit all the rooms of RM’s virtual company, giving candidates a rounded view of the organisation.

There are various problems to solve, involving skills such as mathematics, spatial reasoning and logic. Self says RM has had a number of candidates complete the challenge successfully, and one of the recruitment team then contacts the individual to discuss employment opportunities.

The site has been live since October and feedback from candidates has been excellent. ‘People say they really enjoy it and it set us apart from other companies,’ says Self. ‘They also say it is good to see real employees talking candidly about what it’s like to work here.’

RM is also doing other things to keep its use of agencies to a minimum. ‘W e’re looking at introducing a blog on our recruitment sites, we advertise on all the job boards and we set a lot of store by our referral scheme, where staff can earn a bounty of £1,000 or £2,000,’ says Self.

‘We’re also set up on networking sites, linked in with other companies we have worked with, and a lot of people come through that route, too.’