Case Study

Finding and developing local talent & creating a diverse, scalable software talent pipeline into giffgaff.

What I realised quickly is that we were all seen as individuals who had different needs and different learning styles. Everyone came from such different backgrounds, but I felt like we were seen for who we were; very individual, very different, and the Academy really taught us to play to our individual strengths.

-Jess, Software Engineer at giffgaff (Previously an Audit Associate)

the challenge

To help giffgaff on its mission to make its products and services better for its customers, placing its tech teams at the forefront of innovation. giffgaff believes in the power of diversity and creating an equitable, fair & inclusive working environment that champions different ideas and perspectives.

the solution

Hatch partnered with giffgaff to create The Software Engineer Academy, hiring ‘undiscovered’ talent with enormous potential but who had previously faced barriers-to-entry into tech. The partnership included a 12-week training bootcamp in the way giffgaff does things when it comes to developing its code.

The Academy encompassed technical theory alongside the key skills, methodologies and practices that giffgaff teams use day-to-day, from HTML and CSS, UX, React and ReactNative, to TDD and Pair Programming.

It also developed key business & interpersonal skills, and taught the cohort everything from critical thinking & problem-solving to conflict resolution & stakeholder management, so they could really hit-the-ground-running from the moment they landed in their new roles.

Finally, the full Academy delivery took place at giffgaff’s headquarters in Uxbridge – “the gaff” – to truly immerse the cohort in giffgaff’s culture, enable them to build strong relationships with one another, their future teams and other colleagues, and to enable giffgaff’s leadership team to deliver key aspects of the programme using its own onboarding, learning and development strategies, and technical content and materials.

Hatch is doing really good work, giving chances to people like me. I had no background, no degrees, no previous experience in the industry and you’re opening up doors - big, massive doors to people like me. Keep doing what you're doing because you're changing lives.

-Mazen, Software Engineer at giffgaff (Previously a Massage Therapist)

the results

The Academy culminated in a project to fix an issue pertinent to giffgaff in which teams of two would not only write and demonstrate their code, but also present it back to the Senior Management Team. All the Junior Engineers did an outstanding job, incorporating all the things they had learnt over the course of the Academy.

Over a 4-week, localised campaign, the Academy received:

10,000+ engagements across outreach channels
500+ application assessments
219 passed assessments
24 top-performers shortlisted
11 hired & onboarded by giffgaff

key highlights

24% of applicants identified as female
73% of applicants represented ethnic minority backgrounds
10% of applicants voluntarily disclosed disability or neurodiversity
49% of applicants were career-changers and career returners
51% of applicants were ‘bedroom coders’ with self-taught skills

where are they now?

All 11 candidates have now been fully deployed into their product teams as Junior Engineers and are contributing to giffgaff’s ongoing tech innovation.

about hatch

Hatch is more than a business. It’s a mindset.

We believe in the value of human potential, and we know exactly how to unlock it.

We’re providing the world’s leading tech companies with the tools to buck out-dated hiring practices and embrace true inclusion, augmenting their digital workforces by embracing diverse talent that’s often invisible to CV-led hiring.

We think differently

Because talent develops in the most unexpected of places

Today’s digital talent develops in non-traditional ways, often invisible to out-dated hiring practices. But we’ve found it.

We engage with these passionate self-starters differently, turning our backs on CVs in favour of assessment-led hiring that proves their potential, and providing them with the opportunities that the rest of the industry has denied them.