Bentley's e-Recruitment System

Bentley is delighted to announce the launch of a new on-line recruitment system to enable applicants from around the world to apply for positions at Bentley Motors around the clock. On-line applications, to be provided by Stepstone’s i-grasp system, is now live.

The Bentley Motors recruitment team will now be able to communicate effectively across different time zones, while line managers will be able to track the progress of their vacancies 24/7. This technology offers a significant benefit to Bentley, which is a global business with line managers visiting a network of regional locations. For more specialist positions, the company is increasingly searching for people from outside the UK.

Christine Gaskell, board member for personnel, said: “Our new e-recruitment system will enhance our ability to attract high-level people from around the world. In a global business such as ours, being able to offer an online application system is essential. It will also enable Bentley managers to track applications securely and monitor the progress of vacancies. This will bring benefits to our overall recruitment process and will enable us to align our recruitment process with the innovative technological leadership elsewhere in Bentley.”

The new system will enable candidates to manage their application on-line by viewing the status of their application securely and booking themselves onto assessment centres or interviews.

Trish Butterill, Dealer Support Co-ordinator in Aftersales, says; “In today’s world of technology, where everybody uses email for job searching, it is essential to be on-line. If you know that you are fluent in a language, for instance, then you will look for companies that have an association with a specific country. You can also get a lot of company information on-line and understand all its functional areas, its mission statement and other relevant company data. It is a big step forward to be on-line.”

Trish started to work for Bentley as a part-time contractor in 2001 and became full-time in 2002. She speaks fluent German, French, Italian and Spanish. “When you are looking for a job on-line you can really drill down into companies you are interested in, so if you really want to work in the automotive sector you would naturally want to look at Bentley. You can look at the history of the company, and really do your research. Is it a viable company? Is it making a profit? Does it have an exciting future? It makes it much more accessible to outsiders.”

Bentley decided to work with Stepstone based on cost, customer base and track record in both the UK and in Europe. The Stepstone team has worked with Bentley for more than a year on setting up the new process, and in doing so instilled confidence that it could deliver to the target date. The company’s project manager had implemented and managed the recruitment process at Ford, and thus understands the challenges of the automotive business.

Key points:

• System is web-based
• Both internal and external candidates apply for positions on-line
• Details are securely stored – the advantage of this is that it will save time on any subsequent applications
• Line managers are in control of own Candidate Zone – which is accessible 24/7
• Candidates are taken through the application form step by step and can review and change details at any time
• Candidates can book themselves into interviews and assessment centres
• The system can provide relevant management information quickly and efficiently

Hans Holzgartner, Bentley Product Manager, joined in March from Jaguar. He says: “Going through a recruitment agency is a slow and laborious process. And I didn’t really bother with newspapers at all. You can miss an advertisement very easily and it is not a very efficient way to look for jobs. If you are in the market you can get on-line and do a search every day to narrow down the companies and jobs that are relevant.

“I was looking at several companies but I really wanted to work for Bentley. I used to set up searches to bring me things of interest. It is very good to work for a company that is making money and that can afford to do things. You can float ideas here and the working environment is very good.”

The new e-recruitment system will be part of Bentley’s overall enhanced career development structure, which typically includes positions in Engineering, Manufacturing, Sales & Marketing, Quality, Logistics, Finance, Information Systems and Personnel. Recruitment is increasingly global.

Eva Risco Pacha, a Regulatory Compliance Manager, came to Bentley at the beginning of November from Land Rover. She saw an advertisement in a newspaper by chance. “I was used to applying for positions electronically,” she says. “But I just happened to see the job advertised in a newspaper.” She came to England two years ago to join her boyfriend who works for one of the Formula One engineering teams. “I feel absolutely that Bentley is the top of everything in the automotive world and this is a position in the place that I never thought I would have.”

As part of the VW automotive group, high potential people can aim for secondments in other parts of the group, global assignments across Bentley’s worldwide network of regional offices or progress within the factory and offices based at Crewe.

The Bentley Academy offers training and development for all levels of associate – technical and skills training, management and leadership development, promotional development and support for professional or academic qualifications.

The Bentley Academy has won a number of externally recognised awards including this year’s National Training Award for its ‘Becoming a Bentley Manager’ programme which supports newly appointed managers in the business.

The Bentley Academy also offers extensive Intranet-based resources and was instrumental in ensuring Bentley achieved its Investors in People status.

If you are interested in working for Bentley Motors Ltd you can view our current vacancies on-line via our website www.bentleycareers.com from 2nd January 2008.