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Hey Wonderland, what does your hiring process look like? [Part 2]
Hey
Wonderland,
what
does
your
hiring
process
look
like?
[Part
2]
Studio Lead
As part of our ‘Hey Wonderland’ series,
we touched on our hiring process and the
interview steps that potential new
members of Wonderland work through as
part of their journey from applicant to
team member.
Having developed the process as a team, so
to do we maintain it, viewing it as
continuously evolving, rather than said and
done. The reason for this, in part, is the fluid
nature of Wonderland, and our growing and
shifting range of demographics and world
views. As our team evolves, so too does our
hiring process, ensuring that the
experience remains inclusive, well-rounded
and equitable.
As part of our work towards becoming a B
Corp, we’ve joined an active community of
companies striving to do good which has
given us access to and awareness of
different trainings on the topic of hiring, all
of which have provided inspiration for how
we can continue the evolution of our own
process. In line with these learnings, we
wanted to update our earlier article and
talk about the changes we’ve made as a
result of our B Corp journey.
In our previous article, we acknowledged
the ‘casualness’ of our approach to hiring
which comes with its own pros and cons -
the balance needs to be just right. So first
up was an evaluation of the process as a
whole, adding in steps we hadn’t
considered formalising before now.
1. Job creation
Of course, the creation of a job was always
something that happened at Wonderland
but we’ve now evolved this to be a meeting
with a set agenda covering the below
topics:
- Role logistics - the business case forwhy the role is needed, defining hiringmanagers and team responsibilities,seniority of the role, and salarybenchmarks. Alongside this, we’vefurther prioritised factors such as therole deadline / start date, an unbiasawareness and a DEI (Diveristy, Equity,and Inclusion) refresher for the hiringteam.
- Job description - What are theoverarching responsibilities, skills andvalues, and desired experience level thatwe want to find in the ideal applicant,along with the application form setup
- Interview approach and set-up -including the key questions we want tobe answered, and a scorecard set-up totrack applicants across.
Within this, we ensure that all of our
questions are job centric, that we create
diverse hiring teams and a welcoming
environment, that we avoid asking
questions that might make an applicant
feel uncomfortable or insecure, and that we
maintain neutral body language.
2. Applications
- Before we ever share a job externally, ourexisting Wonderlanders are given theopportunity to apply. Our people arecentral to who we are, and we alwayswant to ensure that they have theopportunity to grow and developthemselves if they feel they can fill acertain role. Only once it’s been sharedinternally will we open it to externalapplicants.
3. Interviews
- Our interview process has stayed moreor less the same as we outlinedpreviously, but with a few importantadditions that ensure we stay true to ourDEI standards, such as addingscorecards for each interviewer to fill inafter their interview. Moreover,conducting an interview can be difficult,so we’ve aided our teams with thecreation of a tips-and-tricks list to helpour interviewers do the best they can,both for themselves and the applicant.The document is meant to be used toboth support our team throughout theinterview process and improve theirinterviewing skills overall.
4. Selection process
- Applicants are evaluated using ascorecard system we’ve set up. Thesescorecards consist of a pre-determinedset of criteria such as valuescontribution, and soft and hard skillsrequired for the role. Each hiring teammember will individually fill in theinterview scorecard for each candidatethey interview. Once everyone has filledin their cards, the hiring team will thencompare their scores to determine themost suitable candidate for the role,based on the resulting consensus.
- The purpose of a scorecard is toquestion candidates on specificrequirements that are essential to thejob that they’re being interviewed forand evaluate their responses, while alsoeliminating personal biases throughoutthe hiring process. Ultimately, the goal isto improve the process by making itmore inclusive, equitable, and diverse.
5. Hiring/onboarding
- Once a decision has been made,successful applicants are sent an offerof employment for them to sign andreceive, as well as an official onboardingprocess that we will take them throughduring their first week as a member ofWonderland. Within this onboardingprocess, we take them through thegeneral workflow and rhythm ofWonderland, as well as their equipmentand immediate team. We also use thistime to trade key information such assalary, responsibilities, and so on, as wellas sharing a detailed onboarding plan,facilitating wider team introductions, andonboarding to their first project(s)
6. Resignation
- All good things come to an end, andoccasionally a Wonderlander chooses tohang up their hat and find a newadventure. While we’re always sad to seethem go, we support their future growthand actively put energy into their exitprocess as well to ensure it is smooth forus and the rest of the team, as well asfor them. Aside from the obviouselements such as the agreed noticeperiod, handover of projects, and returnof company property, we also workthrough a formal exit interview. Withinthis, we dive into the highs and lows oftheir time with Wonderland, as well asany feedback or insights they want toshare with us to improve the companyeven further, and also provide them withsome final insights to keep in mind intheir next role. As we’ve always said, ourpeople come first and even when theyleave, we want to make sure we helpthem where we can.
While our interviews remain friendly and
casual, we’ve taken steps to formalise the
wider process to make it smoother for both
us and you. This ensures that each stage of
your hiring journey remains inclusive and
bias-free, and is representative of the wider
Wonderland experience.
INC 16-22 BRAND EXPERIENCE DESIGN 
