He leads hiring for a UK-wide media group with 1,100 employees, 250 hires a year, and more than 200 local and national news titles and several group business identities… each with its own pace, people, and quirks. Some teams want to meet face-to-face, while others do everything remotely. Some roles get hundreds of applicants overnight, while others require a more targeted approach.
While many of our roles across Sales and Editorial are relatively consistent, it's important that we remain responsive to the unique challenges and nuances present in each region.
Transitioning to a unified strategic approach
Before adopting Pinpoint, LOCALiQ had recently transitioned to a new ATS that was integrated with the company’s HR system. However, it soon became clear that the solution didn’t fully meet their needs. Tasks that were previously completed with a single click became more time-consuming, and application rates saw a noticeable decline.
It became business critical to find the right solution. At that point, we had no effective ATS in place, and having recently experienced a transition that didn’t meet our needs, it was essential to get it right the second time.
They needed something that could be implemented fast, integrate with their HRIS, assessment software, Scorecards, Single Sign-on and Outlook, and improve the candidate and recruiter experience.
After trialing four systems, Pinpoint stood out for ease of use, fast implementation, and candidate-friendly careers sites.
Better visibility into hiring
One of the biggest changes after Pinpoint was getting more visibility into hiring happening across the business. Because they cover 200+ brands, some hiring managers had never engaged with the talent team. They would manage hiring themselves or work with an agency.
With the switch to Pinpoint, they perfected the existing approval to hire process, so now the talent team can see every new open role. This means they can intervene, often saving time and budget. LOCALiQ has saved £18,000 just off interventions like this alone.
We’ve made a really big shift in the last two years from being quite reactive to roles to being true business partners and far more proactive.
Faster hiring with automations and talent pools
Automations help LOCALiQ streamline hiring while staying flexible enough to handle regional differences. They’re running automations to flag candidates who don’t meet basic criteria ensure every candidate receives a response, and notify Onboarding of relevant hires. That means less manual admin, faster shortlisting, and a better experience for candidates.
Another big change is being able to fill roles with talent pool candidates. LOCALiQ started by inviting runners-up candidates to their talent pools, but then suddenly saw more and more speculative applications come in. Now, they’ve been able to fill roles from talent pool candidates.
Data that drives better decisions
With Pinpoint, Chris and his team have the data they need to influence hiring at every level of the business. They can see what’s happening across all 200+ brands and better evaluate the performance of job boards and job ads.
They’re also tracking equality monitoring data for the first time, with over 80% of applicants now voluntarily submitting that information. This gives LOCALiQ insight into whether their pipeline reflects the communities they serve and helps them report on diversity and inclusion progress.
One of the most valuable aspects of Pinpoint for us has been the richness of data it provides. Where we previously had a more limited view of the hiring landscape across the group, we now have clear, actionable insights that allow us to make confident, informed decisions.
How it’s going, by the numbers
In the four months since implementing Pinpoint in early 2025, LOCALiQ has seen:
- 336% increase in average application rate compared to 2024
- 89% increase in applications for three key sales roles
- 88% drop in advertising spend
- £18,000 saved in a few months by intercepting roles that would have gone to agency
What’s ahead
Next up, the team is exploring Pinpoint’s onboarding module and expanding hiring manager adoption of tools like scorecards. Plus, they’re building customised dashboards for key stakeholders so they can bring more data to conversations and build even more stronger relationships across the business.
You guys are ahead of the curve of what other ATSs are doing. And we want to partner up.
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