The Customer

OceanaGold is a multinational gold mining company with a clear purpose: to mine gold for a better future. With operations across New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United States, the company supplies gold, copper, and silver—critical materials that power renewable energy, healthcare, transport, and connectivity worldwide.

With more than 3,700 employees and a global workforce of mining professionals, OceanaGold is committed to more than just mineral extraction. Its operations create economic opportunities, support education and healthcare, and drive sustainability across the communities it serves. At its core, OceanaGold is about people—valuing a culture where every individual feels safe, respected, and part of something bigger.

The Challenge: Multiple screening platforms and messy admin that’s slowing global hiring flow

As a global operation, OceanaGold’s talent acquisition team faced several challenges managing background screening across different countries and compliance environments:

• Fragmented, manual processes – TA teams were linking out of their ATS to up to four separate websites to run background checks, using clunky forms and manual tracking.
  
  
• Time-consuming admin – Teams were wasting time coordinating documentation, managing candidate follow-ups, and compiling results instead of providing strategic, value-adding candidate and stakeholder experiences.
  
  
• Inconsistent candidate experience – The screening process added friction for candidates, requiring them to complete lengthy forms with limited visibility or guidance.

For a company focused on sustainable growth and building an exceptional workplace culture, this setup wasn’t just inefficient—it didn’t reflect their employer brand or values.

The Solution: Global screening that’s smart, smooth, and fast

With Checkmate now fully integrated into their SmartRecruiters ATS, OceanaGold has transformed how background checks are handled across their global operations.

• Two-click checks from within SmartRecruiters – No more link-outs or juggling logins—background checks are now initiated without ever leaving the ATS.
  
  
• Custom bundles by region or role – Checkmate allows the team to tailor screening packages by country or job family, ensuring regulatory compliance and consistency across diverse markets.
  
  
• Fully digitised, fully streamlined – The process is fast, seamless and paper-free. Candidates experience a simpler, faster screening process. TA teams experience freedom from forms, follow-ups and complexity. Win, win!
  
  

“We used to spend hours chasing candidates and navigating multiple platforms, and now it takes six minutes. With Checkmate, everything’s integrated, instant, and effortless. No more link outs, no more manual forms, no more chasing! It’s made a huge difference to our candidate experience—and our team’s sanity.”
— Reegan Kerkin, Global Head of Talent Acquisition, OceanaGold

The Results: Freedom from forms, follow-ups and complexity

The shift to Checkmate has had a measurable impact on OceanaGold’s global talent acquisition operations, like:

• Efficiency gains across the board – Checks that once took hours now take minutes. Everything is triggered from within the ATS and results are tracked in real-time in just one click.
  
  
• Happier teams, better candidate care – With less admin, recruiters are freed up to prioritise candidate engagement, strategic hiring, and developing their own capability.
  
  
• Improved time-to-fill – Streamlined screening has shaved time off the hiring process, supporting faster decision-making and onboarding.
  
  
• Consistency and control – Global customisation ensures every region runs checks to the same high standard, adapted to local needs.
  
  

“Checkmate isn’t just a tool, it’s a partner in our hiring journey. It’s user-friendly, integrates seamlessly, and the support is top-notch. It’s helped us move faster and raise the bar on the candidate experience.”
— Reegan Kerkin, Global Head of Talent Acquisition, OceanaGold

The Future with Checkmate

As OceanaGold continues to grow and evolve across the globe, it does so with a recruitment process that’s fit for the future. With Checkmate’s help, the team is building a more efficient, people-focused experience—one that supports both the business and the communities it serves.

‍