Consensys is the leading blockchain and web3 software company. Since 2014, Consensys has been at the forefront of innovation, pioneering technological developments within the web3 ecosystem. Through its product suite, including the MetaMask platform, Infura, Linea, Truffle, Diligence, and our NFT platform, Consensys has become the trusted collaborator for users, creators, and developers on their path to build and belong in the world they want to see. Given the high stakes involved, it is entirely understandable that Consensys places a strong emphasis on maintaining uncompromising quality, particularly when it comes to the skills and capabilities of their internal team.
The quest for enhanced candidate evaluation commences
Consensys strongly believes that decentralization starts within its own organization, and therefore, it strives to lead by example in its practices and hiring the best in class talents.
As a remote-first organization that values its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, the recruitment team at Consensys have long prioritized skills over degrees or backgrounds. To achieve its ambitious goals, ConsenSys was exploring ways to expand its hiring capacity further.
Often receiving thousands of applications for roles in Software Engineering, Frontend, Backend, and Fullstack teams, attracting highly skilled candidates has never been an issue. However, Consensys recognized the need for an even more robust and adaptable system to meet their specific requirements in hiring technical roles. They sought to enhance the candidate experience and create a positive environment for both candidates and the internal recruitment team.
According to Gabriel Ranta, Talent Lead at Consensys, too many recruitment platforms were unwilling to budge on developing systems that met the tailored technical requirements that Consensys needed to identify top performers.
“Despite hiring over 100 highly technical roles per year across multiple departments, the coding challenges and assessment tools we were presented with didn’t always meet our expectations to the level of skill we needed to verify. As a forward-thinking organization, we needed a partner who could help us customize technical assessments that provide an insight into what it’s like to work at Consensys.
Determined to continuously attract and retain the best in class while simultaneously cutting down on the amount of manual processing involved, Consensys went in search of a vendor that shared their vision and passion for high-performing digital infrastructures – and that’s when they discovered Vervoe.
How Vervoe unlocked the next generation of technical customization
Consensys identified areas for improvement in their recruitment process, aiming to enhance engagement and efficiency. One specific area of focus was the use of a technical skills assessment, which they recognized could be further tailored to different levels of experience, including junior, mid-tier, and senior roles. They were committed to optimizing the assessment duration to ensure a streamlined and positive experience for candidates.
Despite being very transparent on the likelihood that candidates could quickly progress to an interview, the completion rates were not optimal. To further compound this, hiring managers also had to manually grade the results of thousands of applicants.
After much collaboration between the ConsenSys team and Vervoe’s behavioral science division, a custom QA Engineer skills assessment that incorporated technical questions and the analysis of soft skills was the first to launch.
Before the assessment was implemented, the skills assessment was given to the existing Consensys QA team, with the initial three or four rounds of feedback being incredibly positive. Continuous reviews between Consensys and Vervoe ensured that the balance between technical skills and soft skills was met, by including a mix of question types in a video or audio, multiple choice, and job simulation format.
With positive feedback from both candidates and the recruitment team, the Vervoe skills assessments were soon implemented across a wide variety of other roles, particularly for software developers. Without compromising on quality, Consensys used Vervoe to achieve what they had started to believe was impossible.
Delivering greater efficiency without compromising on quality
While Gabriel remained open-minded about the potential benefits that Vervoe could bring to the recruitment process at Consensys, the flow-on effect that assisted multiple stakeholders still managed to surprise him.
“We wanted the ability to identify highly-skilled candidates, and we did that – but we’ve also seen an enormous ROI on the streamlined recruitment process alone. Instead of spending 20+ hours on hiring for one role, using custom Vervoe skills assessments at the top of the recruitment funnel automatically highlights the top candidates. We’re getting the best of both worlds, while our candidates are given the chance to showcase what they can do in a much more engaging manner.”
Although the initial vision for using Vervoe was to cut down the amount of time candidates and hiring managers spent on technical assessments, the organization plans to slowly roll out the same technology to multiple other departments, including Marketing.
Ultimately, a forward-thinking Web 3 focused organization such as Consensys needed a recruitment partner to keep up with their vision for the future. Instead of saying no, Vervoe’s flexibility and innovation are continuing to aid Consensys in its mission to attract and retain the best in class.
