‍Trade Me is New Zealand's leading online marketplace, connecting Kiwis through property, job listings, vehicles, and even a dating site. Founded in Wellington in 1999, it employs over 550 people and remains the country's most popular platform for buying and selling.

The Challenge: Disjointed Background Screening Processes

Trade Me's recruitment team, part of a broader People and Culture group of 23, encountered challenges in their hiring workflow. Previously, the team used Xref for references while manually managing Ministry of Justice (MOJ) checks and right-to-work (RTW) verifications with separate providers. This fragmented process created bottlenecks and limited visibility over the progress of various checks, making it harder to deliver a streamlined candidate experience and keep hiring timelines on track.

“We were doing references, then separately handling MOJ and RTW checks. There was no visibility into when MOJ or RTW checks were completed, which slowed our ability to make informed offers,” said Wytske, Senior Talent Partner at Trade Me.

The Solution: Unified Background Screening with Checkmate

In early 2024, Trade Me switched to Checkmate, seeking an all-in-one solution to integrate and streamline their background screening processes. Checkmate's ability to consolidate reference checks, MOJ, and RTW verifications into a single platform stood out to the team. Additionally, the customisable branding options ensured that candidates received communications featuring Trade Me’s logo, enhancing trust and alignment with the company’s image.

“We loved that Checkmate allowed us to customise communications with our branding. It also offered better pricing and a more tailored experience compared to other providers,”  Wytske explained.

Final Results: A Seamless and Efficient Recruitment Process

Trade Me’s adoption of Checkmate transformed their recruitment process, benefiting both the HR team and candidates. Here’s how:

Faster Decision-Making
The team gained complete visibility over all background checks in real-time, enabling faster, more informed hiring decisions.

“Having everything in one place has significantly improved the speed of our hiring process,”  Wytske noted.

Improved Candidate Experience
Candidates now provide all their information through a single secure platform, simplifying their journey and reducing the need for repetitive submissions.

“Candidates appreciate the streamlined process, and we’ve even received positive feedback about how easy and secure it feels,” said  Wytske.

Increased Team Efficiency‍

With the HR team and advisors accessing Checkmate’s platform, sharing files and managing compliance became effortless. This eliminated the need for manual downloads and transfers, saving time and reducing errors.

Cost Savings‍

Switching to Checkmate also proved to be a financially savvy move. The bulk purchasing model provided significant savings. 

The Future with Checkmate

Looking ahead, Trade Me is excited to continue leveraging Checkmate to optimise their recruitment processes. With its user-friendly platform and comprehensive capabilities, Checkmate is poised to support Trade Me in achieving greater efficiencies and delivering outstanding candidate experiences.

“Checkmate has already been a game-changer for us, and we’re eager to explore integrations that could take our efficiencies even further,” Wytske shared.
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Ready to Simplify Your Recruitment Workflow?

Whether you’re a small business or an enterprise organisation, Checkmate offers tailored solutions to streamline background checks and improve your hiring process. Let’s talk.

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