Case Study – Creating a diverse workforce

Empowering Compass Box Whisky to Create a Diverse Workforce and Excel in Recruitment

In the highly competitive world of whisky production and distribution, Compass Box Whisky prides itself on its commitment to innovation and craftsmanship. However, despite their success, they faced a significant challenge in recruiting candidates who could further enhance their team’s diversity and skills. Like many organisations, they relied on their existing networks, which often resulted in a limited pool of candidates who resembled their current team. Frustrated by this limitation, Compass Box Whisky sought the expertise of Fitzgerald HR to revamp their recruitment strategy and empower them to attract top talent from diverse backgrounds.

The Challenge

Compass Box Whisky recognised the importance of creating a diverse workforce and the benefits it could bring to their organisation. However, their traditional recruitment methods were falling short of this goal. Their network-centric approach inadvertently limited the diversity of candidates they could access, and the existing recruitment process lacked mechanisms to address concerns related to EDI.

Our Solution

Fitzgerald HR worked closely with Compass Box Whisky to fully understand their challenges. To address the issues they were experiencing with recruitment, we devised a solution aimed at enhancing their recruitment process and promoting diversity.

1. Creation of a new best practice recruitment approach

Working with the Compass Box Whisk Senior Leadership team, we created a clear, workable recruitment process. Compass Box Whisky now use Fitzgerald HR’s recruitment system and team for all its recruitment needs, globally.

2. Collaborative Recruitment

Fitzgerald HR and Compass Box Whisky formed a dynamic partnership, with our team working hand-in-hand with their internal hiring managers. This collaboration allowed us to demonstrate our expertise whilst incorporating the Compass Box Whisky’s unique company culture and values into the recruitment process, meaning that all candidates who applied for roles had a consistently positive experience.

3. Anonymising Applications

To address concerns related to unconscious bias and EDI, we ensured  our recruitment system allowed for anonymised CV screening. This approach ensured that candidates were being considered for the role they had applied for purely based on skills and relevant experience.

4. Expanding Recruitment Channels

Recognising the importance of casting a wider net, we diversified Compass Box Whisky’s recruitment strategy by advertising job openings on various platforms beyond LinkedIn. This shift increased the reach of their job postings and brought in a more diverse range of candidates.

Results Achieved

The collaboration between Compass Box Whisky and Fitzgerald HR has and continues to yield brilliant results:

Diverse candidate pool

With the implementation of the new careers page and the expansion of recruitment channels, Compass Box Whisky successfully attracted candidates from various backgrounds, significantly enhancing their diversity.

High-level hires

Compass Box Whisky achieved notable success in filling key positions, including the recruitment of an Office Manager, APAC Regional Manager, Hong Kong and an Operations Manager. These strategic hires have already begun contributing to the company’s growth and success.

Improving informed hiring decisions

We have also supported the hiring managers at Compass Box Whisky to utilise other ways to ensure the best candidate is hired for the job. This includes bespoke interview and assessment materials, psychometric testing and ability assessments. Our coaching in this area has ensured that a fair, consistent process for candidates is applied and hiring managers are able to effectively identify the strongest candidates.

Valuable data insights

As a result of Compass Box Whisky using Fitzgerald HR’s recruitment system to conduct all of their recruitment, we are able to provide their team with hiring insights, so they can understand how they are attracting candidates to their roles. With these insights we are able to provide tangible data to the Compass Box Whisky team, allowing them to continue to promote diversity in their workforce.