How an energy supplier cut screening completion times from 30 days to to 2.5 days

“With Veremark, we’ve moved completion time from 30 days to two weeks, and within those two weeks we’re 100% compliant. Nobody starts at OVO without the necessary checks in place.” Neil Watson, OVO Energy

OVO Energy partnered with Veremark  to overhaul a screening process that was buckling under hiring spikes and clashing with the company’s digital and sustainability goals. Two years on, average check completion has dropped from 30 days to 2.5, candidate satisfaction has climbed from 3.8 to 4.8, and 100% of new starters arrive with their checks in place.

“The week we launched, some candidates’ checks came through in four minutes. We were having a party behind the scenes. That was unheard of before.” Jenny Davis, Continuous Improvement Team Leader, OVO Energy

The challenge

OVO’s People team had flagged onboarding and employment checks as the biggest drag on candidate experience. The process mixed paper documents and digital steps. It coped at low volume, but as soon as hiring picked up, it didn’t.

Half of new starters were joining OVO before their checks completed. Some had timed out, some had been cancelled, and the team often wasn’t told until the candidate had already started. Ash Tee, People Services Manager, put it plainly: “There was a lot of money wasted, and from a legal standpoint, not where we wanted to be.”

The reliance on physical documents also clashed with Plan Zero, OVO’s mission to create zero-carbon homes. A fully digital process wasn’t a nice-to-have, it was on the company roadmap.

The team needed a partner who could match OVO’s pace, run checks across the UK and overseas, and turn screening into something candidates would talk about.

“We weren’t looking for a third-party supplier. We were looking for a partner we could collaborate with to make the whole experience better, not just the bit that we owned.” Jenny Davis, OVO Energy

Choosing Veremark

OVO worked through months of demos, calls, and reference checks. Veremark stood out because the conversation went beyond the platform.

“Usually with this type of provider, it’s an off-the-shelf solution and you feel like you’re one of many. With Veremark, we were able to have a conversation around our needs and what we wanted to do going forward.” Jenny Davis, OVO Energy

A dedicated account team ran weekly working sessions during rollout. Those sessions started at an hour and now run for 15 minutes, which Ash Tee takes as a sign things are working: “The list of things we need to cover is now much shorter, which is a good sign.”

The platform integrated with OVO’s HR systems and let candidates complete every step on their phone. When OVO raises a new requirement, the team usually says yes.

“I love the fact that if we come up with an idea, we can say, ‘This would work for us, is that something you can do?’ 99% of the time the answer is yes. There’s been a real commitment to taking our ideas on board, which has made us feel really valued.” Ash Tee, People Services Manager, OVO Energy

The candidate experience

Candidate satisfaction has risen from 3.8 to 4.8 since the switch. Candidates input their information once, on their phone, and the platform handles the rest.

“The candidate experience now is the difference between night and day. People start at OVO already excited about being here. We haven’t lost any of that initial enthusiasm to a delayed or complicated onboarding process. We’re now often contacted by people saying, ‘I’ve never had an experience like that.’” Neil Watson, Head of People Services and Operations of Continuous Improvement, OVO Energy

Results

Through hiring spikes

OVO hired 315 people in a single month (in February) and Veremark held turnaround at 12 days. By June, with 150 hires, completion had fallen to 3.5 days. By July it was 2.5.

Less admin, more planning

Recruiters used to spend their week chasing references and waiting weeks for responses. Now they get daily status updates and immediate replies from the account team. That visibility lets them prioritise, plan resourcing, and focus on the parts of hiring that actually need a person.

Hiring at volume?

See how Veremark fits with your ATS and what your team’s turnaround could look like.

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