Recently NZAGE members joined us for a forum event with 2degrees, winners of the 2025 Best Candidate Experience Award.

The session featured Talent Acquisition Manager Zandria Papprill-Douglas and Senior Organisational Development Advisor Grace Kowalenko from 2degrees, who shared the thinking, design decisions and practical actions behind their graduate recruitment programme.

Candidate experience continues to be an important focus area for employers as expectations shift and competition for early talent remains strong. Throughout the session, Grace and Zandria showed how deliberate decisions across recruitment, assessment and onboarding can shape stronger outcomes for both candidates and employers.

2degrees recently redesigned its graduate programme with clear goals around visibility, engagement, candidate satisfaction and diversity. Every stage of the experience was planned with those goals in mind, creating a journey that felt clear, connected and personal from the first interaction through to pre-boarding.

The session gave members practical examples of how candidate experience can be strengthened through stakeholder involvement, thoughtful communication, simplified processes and ongoing connection with candidates throughout the recruitment journey.

Starting with clear goals

The redesign of the 2degrees graduate programme began with a clear view of what success would look like.

Historically, the programme recruited around four graduates every second year. Following a full redesign and executive approval process in 2024, the programme moved to an annual model with capacity for up to six graduates each year.

The team identified four key priorities to guide the work:

• Increase visibility and engagement on campus
• Improve offer acceptance rates
• Create a candidate experience that reflected the organisation’s people and customer focus
• Strengthen gender representation across technology hiring

Those priorities shaped decisions across the programme, from attraction activity through to assessment and onboarding.

To increase visibility, the team expanded campus engagement through career expos, targeted events and partnerships with university groups and student communities.

Candidate experience was also treated as a measurable outcome. The team set clear satisfaction targets and looked closely at how communication, assessment and interactions contributed to the overall experience.

Creating shared ownership across the business

A strong theme throughout the session was stakeholder involvement.

2degrees brought stakeholders into the programme design from the beginning, including executive leaders, hiring managers, rotation leaders, buddies and mentors.

That early involvement helped create alignment across the programme and strengthened ownership once recruitment began.

Stakeholders also played an active role throughout the process by participating in candidate events, joining assessment centres, supporting Q&A sessions and connecting candidates with existing graduates.

For candidates, that visibility helped create a clearer picture of the organisation and the people they could be working alongside.

Making the recruitment process easier to navigate

The team also reviewed the recruitment experience itself and looked for opportunities to reduce friction.

One change involved simplifying the technology used throughout the process. Previously, candidates moved across several systems during recruitment. Bringing stages together created a smoother experience and reduced confusion.

The assessment process included:

• Online application and screening questions
• Cognitive and personality profiling
• Video interview
• Assessment centre

Communication was another major focus area.

Candidates received timelines upfront and regular updates throughout the process. Information was shared early so candidates understood what to expect and had opportunities to prepare.

The team also introduced assessor profiles and practical guidance to make the experience feel more approachable.

Designing an assessment centre that felt human

Assessment centres can feel high pressure, particularly for students and graduates who may not have experienced one before.

2degrees designed the day to create energy, connection and opportunities for candidates to show more of who they were.

Candidates received one-to-one invitation calls ahead of the event and had access to an optional online Q&A session where they could ask questions before attending.

On the day, activities were structured to support interaction and conversation. Candidates moved through different sessions, connected with assessors and took part in informal activities including icebreakers and networking opportunities.

One approach that stood out was how groups were organised. Candidates were separated into streams so they were not directly competing with others in their immediate group. According to Grace’s reflections, this created a more relaxed atmosphere and encouraged people to participate more naturally.

Current graduates were also involved in dedicated sessions where candidates could ask questions openly and hear directly about their experience.

Those conversations became one of the most positively received parts of the day.

Grace also reflected on the value of creating moments where candidates could relax and engage more naturally. As people became more comfortable, the team gained stronger insight into communication style, behaviours and how candidates interacted with others.

Extending candidate experience beyond recruitment

The session also highlighted the importance of maintaining engagement after assessment.

Every candidate received feedback.

Feedback became more detailed as candidates progressed through the process and reflected the information available at each stage.

Candidates were also invited to continue the conversation if they wanted additional discussion or clarification.

For successful candidates, pre-boarding became an important part of the experience.

To maintain connection between offer acceptance and day one, the team introduced several initiatives including:

• A graduate WhatsApp group
• Welcome videos from executive leaders
• Invitations to internal events and networking opportunities
• A pre-start FAQ
• Check-in surveys focused on expectations, development and readiness

These touchpoints helped maintain momentum and supported early relationship building before graduates officially joined the business.

The outcomes

The programme delivered strong results across both experience and hiring outcomes.

2degrees achieved:

• 100% offer acceptance
• Two successful candidates choosing 2degrees while holding multiple offers
• 95.3% candidate satisfaction following the assessment centre
• Achievement of their target for female representation within the graduate intake

These results reflected the consistency of the experience across every stage of the recruitment journey and reinforced the value of investing time and attention into candidate experience.

Key takeaway for employers

One of the strongest messages from the session was that candidate experience is shaped through many small decisions across the recruitment journey.

Clear communication, stakeholder involvement, thoughtful design and continued connection all contributed to stronger outcomes for both candidates and the organisation.

For employers reviewing graduate and early careers programmes, the session provided practical examples of how intentional design can strengthen engagement and create experiences candidates remember.

A huge thank you to Zandria Papprill-Douglas and Grace Kowalenko from 2degrees for sharing their experience and insights with NZAGE members.

Remember to join us on 22 July for our next forum event with Contact Energy, winners of the Best Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.