From high-touch background checking overload to ‘one click and done’

The Customer

Wētā Workshop is a New Zealand-based creative services studio best known for its ground-breaking work on globally recognised film franchises including The Lord of the Rings and Avatar. Renowned for bringing extraordinary worlds to life, the business spans design and manufacture for screen, immersive experiences, and game development as well as consumer products and tourism experiences in Auckland and Wellington. The team recruits for a huge range of candidates from hands-on technical specialists and creative producers, through to customer-facing positions. 

The Challenge: Manual checks that create friction and slow hiring

Recruiting for a creative studio is not your standard talent market. Some roles are rare as hen’s teeth and sit in a small, specialised network, while others rely on building and nurturing a talent pool over time. On top of that pursuit, pre-employment checks can easily become a drag on candidate experience and internal workflow when they’re managed manually (across separate role functions).

Before Checkmate, the Wētā Workshop team had identified three areas for improvement:

• Lost time with manual checks: Ministry of Justice checks were handled manually, with time lost in back-and-forth with candidates needing extra support, chasing or re-direction to other team members.
• Rigid reference checks: Reference checking was split between the recruiter (when conversations are needed) and a separate provider, whose platform limited flexibility to tailor questions.
• Duplication: Right to work and ID collection created duplication across systems and processes (plus the classic sensitive email attachment problem).

The goal was clear: Keep screening accurate and compliant, but make it easier for candidates, and referees to allow the recruitment team to get the job done quickly.

The Solution: one place for screening, references and right to work

Wētā Workshop brought in Checkmate to streamline core checks and reduce friction for both candidates and the internal team. Wesley Hutton, Talent Acquisition Manager, leads recruitment for the Workshop, supporting everything from specialist creative roles (like swordsmiths!) to business as usual hiring across corporate functions.

What changed:

• Automated Ministry of Justice checks made the process simpler and faster (no more back-and-forths or handholding!).
• New online reference checks for roles where a written format suits, making it easier for shift-working referees to log a written reference at their convenience. Effortlessly editable questions help the team adapt when the role requires it.
• Process efficiencies that ensure right to work and ID checks are handled in the same flow > candidates now only provide what is needed once, and HR has everything in one place.
• Improved access for different users, with recruitment working through the ATS and HR support working directly in the Checkmate platform when needed.

“Checkmate’s made it so much easier having all the checks in one system that notifies us when candidates are cleared. We now have all the information we need in the timeframe required to move quickly and secure top candidates.” - Wesley Hutton, Talent Acquisition Manager

The Results: Less chasing, faster hiring and a smoother candidate experience

With Checkmate in place, the team has reduced the admin load for screening and improved the overall flow of hiring.

The biggest wins include:

• Less time wasted on follow ups, rework and ‘missing info’ emails
• Improved experience for referees, who can complete checks on their phone, on their schedule, without needing a booked call
• More control and flexibility with reference questions, without the drama of rebuilding forms every time a change is needed
• A cleaner process for ID and compliance, without clogging the ATS with attachments and duplicate documents.

A big bonus is what the team no longer sees - candidates have not needed hand holding through the process, and the platform has stayed intuitive and easy to run day to day. This frees the team up to focus their attention on niche talent pool sourcing and nurture.

“Checkmate is an easy to use platform that is inobtrusive, fast, and has all the checks you would want. It feels like you can do it all in one click.”

Wesley Hutton, Wētā Workshop Talent Acquisition Manager

The future with Checkmate

With Checkmate, Wētā Workshop can flex and adapt as needed to optimise their pre-employment checks as they grow. Their first challenge was streamlining the Ministry of Justice checks, which expanded to reference checks and Right to Work checks. And with so many efficiencies realised, they look forward to incorporating further checks, like credit checks, as their needs evolve.