Beech's Fine Chocolates Who's the Boss?

The job interview.

Good morning, Beech's.

Yeah, I've come for an interview.

Arrive early.

Awkward questions.

Um...

Mm.

Um...

Cliched answers.

So, I do a lot of networking.

I probably live on adrenaline quite a lot.

A bit of a hard taskmaster.

Time to rip up the rule book.

HE GRUNTS

Three very different companies

have agreed to take part

in a pioneering experiment...

I want to try something new.

Hey, everyone.

..where the boss hands over recruitment

to their entire workforce.

I'm entrusting the power of this decision on you.

Bit frightened of the idea, really.

It's called collaborative hiring and what it is,

is when the whole workforce decides

on a hire rather than just the boss.

THEY LAUGH

Over a week, the applicants will do a series of workplace tasks...

Is this normal?

Just calm down.

..while company employees secretly assess them...

Just... Ah!

'That weren't supposed to happen.'

Scary.

..and then vote on who they think should get the job.

So, we know who you're going to vote for, don't we?

-I would say probably the one who's best looking.

-Yeah.

THEY LAUGH

What could possibly go wrong?

Yeah, leave him with me, yeah.

Hello?

I'd like to say their enthusiasm is there, but it's not quite.

Welcome to the brave new world of recruitment...

Wow.

..where the staff are firmly in the hiring line.

If this works well,

it could change the way traditional British companies hire people.

Tonight, the chocolate factory

looking for a super salesperson.

Oh, they're coming. Scary!

-We.

-We?

We, as a company. All right, Peter's taken the best...

That's not going to sell chocolates.

What happens when the hiring power

shifts to the factory floor?

We must get this right because

if we don't get it right, Beech's is going down.

Yes, Mark, roll's gone.

Right.

A company based in Preston

with 100 years of history...

My mum's worked here,

sister worked here,

I've had aunties working here.

All right then, luvvie, thank you.

..and a deeply loyal workforce.

I've been here since I was 15

and Beech's means the world to me.

The factory is one of the last of its kind in Britain...

Good afternoon, Beech's Fine Chocolates.

..so it's crucial that owner Andrew Whiting

finds the right person for the job.

Everybody in the management team

feels responsible for the whole workforce.

They've been here a long time and...

I don't want anything to happen to them.

Now Andrew's taking a step into the unknown

to secure the company's future.

He's signed up for a unique workplace experiment...

..shaped by a team of recruitment experts.

It's called collaborative hiring.

It's a process that gets around that, sort of, hierarchical boss,

CV, desk relationship that we see so often

and, instead, throws it open to the workforce,

so everyone gets an equal say on who gets hired.

Right, everybody.

Shh-shh-shh.

As you know, we are going to be hiring

a new business development manager.

Now, this role is absolutely key for the future of Beech's.

You could say that this person

is going to have the future of the company in their hands.

I want to try something new.

I want all of the employees in the company

to have a say in the hiring

of this new candidate.

So, it's you who is going to do the hiring, not me.

Three applicants have been short-listed.

They've been told they're taking part in a recruitment experiment.

They have no idea the staff are doing the hiring.

So, it's really important that we do this secretly.

If the candidate knows who's assessing them,

they'll try to impress them and we don't want that,

instead what we want is someone to show the real them.

Staff will secretly assess them

via a series of job-related tests.

Ooh!

Halfway through, they'll let one of them go.

At the end of the week,

they'll vote for who gets the job.

We've got to get it right

and it is a big responsibility,

but I think it's really exciting.

It's up to us to decide...

who we think will become part of the family.

It's just going to be something that's totally different.

We might set a new trend now.

INTERCOM RINGS

Good morning, Beech's.

Hi, my name's Vito Cinardi,

I've come for an interview with yourselves.

OK, if you take a seat in reception, please.

48-year-old Vito Cinardi

is first to arrive.

He works in risk management

and used to sell Italian wine.

If you hit it twice, you pause it.

Across the factory, the covert operation swings into action.

What? Play.

They staff are now in charge

and they want a first peek at the applicants.

-Come in.

-To Vito, it looks like a regular interview.

It's not.

-Hello, you must be Vito.

-Hello.

-Have a seat.

-Thank you very much.

From the factory floor to sales and dispatch...

..the workforce is watching.

So, tell me a little bit about yourself then first, Vito.

I go out and get the business at the moment, so I...

That's promising so far,

he goes and gets customers.

So, I do a lot of networking,

a bit of cold calling...

That's good. Cold calling.

People skills.

-I assess what a company needs.

-Right, why do you want this job?

I see it as an opportunity...

-He's a robot.

-Eh?

-He's a robot.

God's honest truth, I'd not heard about Beech's beforehand.

-Ooh.

-Ooh!

We've been here since 1920, haven't we?

Yes, but how many Prestonians have heard of us, Barbara?

-Aye, yeah, yeah.

-They all think the place has shut, so...

Next in is Karen Todd.

She's 52 and works in recruitment.

-Morning.

-Morning.

-Hello, Karen.

-Good morning, Andrew.

Pleased to meet you.

A little bit...

So, have you been involved in sales before?

I've been involved in sales all my life, yes.

-Coming across really well, ain't she?

-Yeah, yeah.

I think if somebody's got drive and determination like I have...

-She's saying the right words and that lot.

-Yeah.

We'll see if she can actually do all this, though.

So, can you sell anything to anyone, then?

I can't sell sand to the Arabs, no.

Oh, we can here!

If they needed some more, I would sell it to them.

Well, that's great, thank you very much indeed for coming today.

-That's fantastic...

-Thank you.

-..and enjoy your week.

-Lovely to meet you.

Last to arrive is 37-year-old William Oldfield,

a former cafe owner and car salesman.

INTERCOM RINGS

Good morning, Beech's.

Hello, this is William Oldfield for Andrew Whitaker.

I think you'll find it's Whiting.

-I'm Sylvia.

-Hello, Sylvia.

My wife's got that exact same dress.

-Oh, has she really?

-That's a good start, isn't it?

He's a bit loud!

I'm surprised you couldn't hear him up here.

-FROM OTHER ROOM:

-Well, I don't know...

William's already making an impact.

He looks a pleasant enough lad,

but he sounded very, very loud.

Very, very loud!

So, William, can you tell me a little bit about

the previous job that you were doing?

Well, recently I had a cafe, which I've sold,

and I've had a little bit of time out with the children

and, previous to that, I've worked in...

Shall we say corporate enterprises...

He's very confident, ain't he?

He's full of it.

With Fiat, Auto UK, Ford of Great Britain.

He's got more of a background in motor trade really, which...

Keeps mentioning motor trade. Yeah.

Which is a different kettle of fish altogether.

And I thought it... And it sounds terrible to say it now,

it's a little bit sad, but I think maturity's taken over...

-Has he come up for air?

-SHE LAUGHS

If you're asking me what a good salesmen is,

that's somebody that can build relationships with customers,

-somebody that's a good listener...

-That's a good answer.

It's a good answer, but he don't shut up...

-LAUGHTER

-..does he?

-No.

All right, brilliant, thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

So, the three candidates are very much, sort of,

three different archetypes.

We have one very studious,

more likely to do a lot of research,

then a very much more traditional, a charmer,

much more likely to schmooze -

and then the third, I think a real wild card, an extrovert.

It's going to be very interesting.

Our candidates have been sent to the store room

to collect some chocolate.

-Hiya.

-Hello.

-You all right?

Yes, thank you, pleased to meet you.

Throughout the week,

their understanding of the company's products will be put to the test.

Coffee creams?

I think the funniest thing was calling Mr Whiting "Mr Whitaker".

"Mr Whitaker", that was brilliant.

Wrong chocolate company to start.

Hey, look at all that!

As homework gets started...

..factory staff are clocking off

and taking part in a first day exit poll.

Let's summarise then.

So, William is probably the outsider at the moment...

-Yes.

-At the moment.

-..and Vito and...

-Karen.

And Karen, I think they're like neck and neck...

-Yeah.

-Neck and neck at the moment.

-..at the moment.

The exit poll puts Karen in the lead.

William's got some catching up to do.

Day two, the main part of the secret experiment is about to begin.

A series of tasks will test key skills for the job on offer.

A bit frightened of the idea really, but...

it's a challenge, isn't it?

The applicants think it's a regular induction day,

they still don't know that the workforce

is secretly judging their every move.

-Hello.

-Morning.

Hi.

It's the first time all three have seen each other.

Where are you from? Where are you...?

Down the road, Kirkham.

-Where are you from then?

-Clapham.

Oh, not far, whereabouts?

Just at North Shore.

Yeah. You don't live in the posh bit, is that correct?

We can tell you're going to be a bag of fun, aren't you?

HE LAUGHS

The process is bringing out the worst in William and Vito.

Well, I asked him where he was from he went, "North Shore."

And I thought this is your chance, Vito, this is your chance

and you vetoed it!

Oh.

# I guess there's no love... #

Right, this must be mine.

After meeting Karen and Vito...

# I guess there's no love... #

..William reckons he may have come up with a winning strategy.

Well, I'm hoping they've seen me as somebody

that's not really the competition, because that was my plan really,

to come across as perhaps a little bit of a buffoon

and then Vito will be thinking, "I need to mark Karen,"

Karen will be thinking, "I need to mark Vito,"

and the two of them thinking "William's not got a chance,"

and that helps, really, because then they'll not be worrying about...

me in particular,

and then I can come up from behind and take the job from them.

It's worked very well in the past,

it's called being Machiavellian

and I'm very good at it.

Where's the lids?

The first task will test the applicants' people skills.

Do they fit into the company's tight-knit family culture?

Tracey, can you take them off, luvvie?

Barbara, the factory's mother hen, is in charge.

She's worked here 49 years.

I would like to see them

be enthusiastic about it,

be interested in what they're doing

on every line that they're doing,

not just come in and do it.

Passionate about Beech's and passionate about the product.

So, I put the most attractive bit on now.

Karen made a good first impression,

but will she be accepted by the factory floor team?

I'm not nervous, I'm really excited.

I'm in a chocolate factory.

I'm going to make some chocolates.

-Would you like to have a go?

-Yeah, brilliant.

Packing the chocolates is only one part of the task.

Actually, how they come across to their colleagues

is what they're really being tested on here.

So they've not got to get past me, is that right?

No, they've not got to get past you if you can.

It takes them out of their comfort zone

and that means you start to see the real person.

They're in my eye here.

Oh, my God.

Pressure is on.

By the heck, does it get stressful!

Geraldine's packed chocolates here for 23 years.

She's looking for someone with good communication skills.

They really do need to be people-focused.

They're selling our product, aren't they?

So they've got to sell it well, you know, to keep us in jobs.

Not too fast, OK? Not too fast.

William's big personality

hasn't gone down well so far.

-Marilyn?

-Marilyn?

We're all ready.

Can he turn it around on the factory floor?

-Ooh!

-So... So, you need your box.

Oh, Marilyn.

Oh, it's ridiculous.

He's got a big pile at the side of him.

Once you get that pile, it's hard to get rid of.

But at least it keeps your weight down, doesn't it?

That's one of the good things.

So, you can sit down...

Aye, William's hard at it.

He's doing well, he's still breathing.

He's full of encouragement, isn't he - Mark?

-Oh, yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

William's getting stuck in

and bonding with the team...

Oh, aye, that's another one.

Well, you spotted them.

You spotted them, that's a good thing.

..but tension is building

on Turkish delight.

-There's too many coming down here, Gillian.

-Right.

It's my fault, Barbara. I need to be an octopus.

Look at this now.

There's a reject in there.

You didn't spot it.

Karen's spotted a reject chocolate

she thinks Barbara may have missed.

-I've spotted it, don't you worry.

-Oh, right.

I've not been here all them years, don't you worry.

She didn't spot a reject!

Her point-scoring has upset the head of the Beech's family.

I've not been here 49 years to do that.

I know, I know.

I assure you, that wouldn't have gone out.

This could be a make-or-break moment for the candidate.

If you upset people that you're working with,

it could affect how they think of you to work with

and, therefore, how they vote about you.

You might be able to make it up over the rest of the process,

but if you're upsetting people throughout,

you're clearly indicating you're not a good team player.

SHE EXHALES

That was hard.

Karen's lead may be slipping.

Is William now the one to watch?

Have you changed your mind about him now?

Yes, I think I have.

Yeah, I'm coming round.

-He seems more genuine, doesn't he, now?

-Yeah, he does.

When you work with a person, you really find out who they are really.

You've always got the right to change your mind.

Vito's got a hard act to follow.

Is this Fancy Packing?

-It is.

-Can I come in?

Thank you.

It's all to play for in Fancy Packing.

-Come on, then.

-OK.

-Let's have a go.

Am I doing OK?

Yeah, of course.

Do you like my green hat?

-Yes.

-Really? Thanks.

Vito's natural charm is going down well.

-Oh, my word.

-Don't worry, don't worry.

-OK.

He's very nice. A very nice man.

His personality is proving popular with the Polish women.

How long have you been working here?

THEY BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE

You've been here one year.

-How long have you been...?

-No, no, no, no.

-Six years?!

You all look very happy.

Vito's made a smart move.

The Polish staff make up a quarter of the factory floor.

Bye, girls. Bye.

See you, girls. See you later.

Without knowing it, Vito may have just secured a winning block vote.

Oh, he's lovely, ain't he?

He's nice. He is nice.

He's a Beech's person, I think.

So, I don't know... It's getting harder and harder.

In the canteen, secret spies from all areas of the factory

are swapping notes.

Karen, for me, is... Where I thought...

I voted for her yesterday, but now it's changed me views.

What about her personality?

-Because yesterday, we said...

-Yeah.

..she came across as having a really good personality.

That's gone for me now.

-Vito is a lovely man.

-He's a lovely man.

Oh, I really like him and it's not only me,

it's the first time I've noticed the Polish ladies to speak out

and I think going out to customers and...

I just think he's lovely.

It's definitely William and Vito for me.

Do you think William has changed, then, during his turnaround?

Yes.

The person chosen for the job

will work upstairs in the sales department.

Would I be able to speak to the person

responsible for confectionary and gift purchasing, please?

The next task will be led by its director, Peter Hopps.

I'm a salesman through and through.

I've been a salesman since I was in my 20s and...

Once a salesman, always a salesman.

-Good morning, Vito.

-Good morning. Hi.

Peter Hopps, sales director, Beech's Chocolates.

-Hi, you OK?

-Welcome to my day.

The candidates think Peter will be feeding back the outcome

of today's task to the boss...

Without a doubt, I've got a strong personality.

I don't suffer fools gladly.

That's a typical Yorkshireman.

..but it's his colleagues who'll be eagerly awaiting the views

of the company's formidable head of sales.

The task is taking place at one of Peter's local clients.

If you'd like to take a seat, Karen.

-Good afternoon, William.

-Ah, hi.

It'll test how much homework the three have done on Beech's products.

We use a top quality brazil,

it's not a midget brazil.

They think they're here to present some new packaging...

-Good morning, ladies.

-Good morning. Hi.

..but the clients have agreed to drop in

some simple questions about the product range...

Morning, ladies, you OK?

Yeah. Good, thank you.

..and Peter is expecting to hear the right answers.

We've gone away, we've thought about the packaging

-and we've come back with this.

-Right.

How many chocolates are in the box?

There's eight chocolates in the box.

-OK.

-'Good start.'

There are 65 brands of chocolates in the box.

Mm-mm.

-There are eight to ten chocolates in the box...

-Right, OK.

..depending on the size of the nut.

More homework needed.

Are any of these products you've shown us today gluten-free?

I think they are. All of them, aren't they?

-Am I correct?

-You tell me.

Yeah, I think they're all gluten-free.

I will just double check on the brazils.

All the products are gluten-free.

All the products are gluten-free.

-Good afternoon.

-Hi.

-Good afternoon.

Good to see you, Tess.

William won over the factory floor...

-I'm William.

-This is William.

-Hi, William, nice to meet you. I'm Sandrine.

-Sandrine.

..but will his answers convince Peter

-he's the right man for the job?

-Where's that from?

-It's French.

It's lovely to be here finally.

It's a lovely little venue and as I always say to people

when I come somewhere nice, I will visit,

I'll come back with my family,

and even those places that I don't think are very nice

I say I'll come and visit anyway, but this one I genuinely will do.

William's gone off-piste.

It looks nice from the street and you come in,

and it's another world, isn't it?

I had a coffee shop and I said to Peter,

as we were just having a coffee that it's the small attention to detail,

like the River Brock on the wall

and you can just sit there -

even if you're sat on your own,

you could just, you know, muse over it.

I mean, you look smart as the staff

and the staff are as much the business as the product.

So, going onto the product, Peter...

-At last.

-I guess we have to talk about the product, don't we?

Peter starts things off...

So, the first one I'd like to bring up is that one.

Now what's good, as well, about these,

if you don't mind me saying, Peter, is I actually...

..but William's interrupted his flow.

And the wife was going mad,

she says, "What you giving them bath salts for?"

I was a little bit annoyed at times

when he started talking across me.

I think there's a good time to talk across someone

if you're discussing a product,

but there's not a...

It's not a good thing to take over.

What we've done with, with the brand here,

is we've taken what is the best of what we...

-We?

-We, as a company.

I'm trying to put the royal we in there, you know, it's...

All right. Peter's taken the best...

I didn't really know what Peter was playing at when he corrected me

on the royal "we" - or whatever you want to call it.

What am I supposed to do - turn up and do a sales pitch, and say,

"I don't actually work for the company,

"this is an interview, so don't take it seriously?" No.

There's more of an all-year-round type of packaging here,

whereas that would be more aimed at a Valentines type.

-Yeah, yeah.

-That's exactly how I would see that product.

The other point I would make...

And I didn't appreciate Peter keep interrupting

when I was trying to get a rapport going.

The girls were clearly loving the William Oldfield charm

and he destroyed it.

What's actually in the hearts?

They're solid milk chocolate hearts.

Right, solid milk chocolate?

Yeah, it's important that when you...

Well, I've just... I've just...

I've just said something that's incorrect there,

-it's a praline centre.

-Right, OK.

-Do forgive me.

Surely, if you're going to sell milk chocolate hearts

with a fondant in, you'd write it on the box.

So, when I said, "No, there's nothing in them,"

I don't think I was wrong in saying that, the packaging was wrong.

He's very brash and

I don't know whether that's...

what I would look for in a salesperson.

On today's performance,

as someone that I have to work with,

he would probably be third.

William may be popular on the factory floor,

but he may have just blown it with the sales boss.

Will Peter's feedback to staff

affect his chances of clinching the job?

Bye.

Day three, time for tasks

in dispatch and telesales.

The pace is going to go up a little bit higher now.

We might see one or two of them come unstuck today, I don't know.

There's now an upstairs-downstairs divide over who should get the job.

Get your pads and then you wrap.

The factory floor like William.

Very impressed with William.

I would take him on as a packer.

Well, that's high praise, that.

Vito's got the Polish vote.

Upstairs in sales, they like Karen.

She gives the impression you could work with her already.

You know, she came across that friendly and,

you know, that open, really.

What seems to be happening at Beech's is

they change their mind, almost by the hour and that is great.

Research shows people decide in the interviews in the first ten seconds.

If people have changed their mind,

that means the process is working.

-We could do a job share between the three of us.

-Hm!

I don't think that'd work, somehow.

All right - me and Karen, then!

-Me and Karen will do a job share.

-A nice thought there, William!

At the end of today,

after discussing and considering

how the candidates have done in the tasks,

staff will decide who goes at the halfway point.

Sadly, there is something I need to inform you of

and that is that, although you've all done extremely well...

one of you will be leaving the process tomorrow

and the other two will be going forward with the rest of the week.

Good luck, everybody, and have a great time.

They still think Andrew's calling the shots.

They've no idea the staff have the power to make this decision.

I think today is your time to shine.

I think it's my time to keep my mouth shut, Karen,

that's what it is.

I think that's what he meant.

"Shine" was code for "shut your mouth".

So, there we are then, one of us is leaving.

It's a bit daunting, isn't it?

I thought I'd have a guaranteed period in which to shine

and I guess today's the day where

I really do need to behave

if I haven't already.

FORKLIFT BEEPS

Customer service is a key skill for the job on offer.

Ray and Jay in dispatch are next

to put the candidates through their paces.

Well, we've got a little test devised

and we want to see how our new

candidate can deal

with an irate customer

face-to-face in the yard.

Their pressure test involves a red pick-up truck

and an actor who specialises

in recruitment role play.

I'm going to be a bolshie customer

who's come to pick up his order from Beech's

but, unfortunately, there's going to be a problem.

We can't take it away on the van that we've got here,

it has to be a covered van.

Let's see how they cope with it.

Hello.

All three have been told they're shadowing the dispatch team.

-This is Jay.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Are you well?

-This is where all the finished goods goes out so...

-Excellent.

-..what we'll do, if you want to follow us into here...

-Sure.

-We'll get you kitted out first.

-Sure.

They're blissfully unaware of what's about to happen.

We're off.

The fake angry customer has arrived.

-Hello.

-Yeah, I've just come to collect for Smiths of Manchester.

-All right, brilliant.

-It's a standard method of assessment

that's been used dozens of times.

I'll just go and see where your order is.

What we really want from a salesperson is...

How do they build that rapport?

How are they, sort of, talking someone down?

Those are sort of core skills for a salesperson.

-Is this the customer's vehicle?

-It is, yeah.

Right... Unfortunately, we're not allowed to load you...

because you've come in a flatbed truck.

I don't understand that.

-I don't understand why you're not allowing it.

-So...

If it rains on your product, then we're liable for it.

Well, that's ridiculous, that's ridiculous.

Jay, can we just have a look at the options here, then...

I'll tell you what, I'll go and get Ray,

if you just want to speak to the customer for a minute.

Simon, sorry, it's my first day,

I'm going to sort this out for you. Don't worry.

I need to get Ray.

We've dropped her right in it, to be honest with you,

but we just want to see how she deals with the situation

because she's face-on to a customer.

I have paid for the stuff.

-I have this wedding that is coming up on Saturday...

-Right.

If I do not get these to the wedding,

there will be bloody hell to pay, do you understand?

-Simon, honestly, Simon.

-I am...

-Simon, just calm down.

It's quite volatile, isn't it, at the end of the day?

But she seems to be handling it well.

You've got tomorrow...

Have you got a window at all that we could do a timed delivery for you?

I can't tell you how much this...

I can get it out on an AM delivery...

This is your first day and you're telling me that you can get this...

I've worked with couriers before and if they can get them,

we can get it on an AM delivery.

And we will not pay for this?

You won't pay for the delivery.

Her decisive manner has calmed things down.

-She calmed the situation, yeah.

-She did calm the situation...

Got him to, like, an agreeable state, really,

which I think is very clever.

So far, so good. Candidate one...

Yeah, I'm impressed.

Round two.

What's to stop me from taking them now?

I mean, come on, for God's sake...

All it is, is putting it on there, but...

Vito's trying a softly, softly approach to sort things out.

-I can't...

-This is for somebody's wedding.

I empathise with you totally,

I do understand, but it's not down to me, it's not my decision.

If I... Come on, let's me and you have a quick chat. Is that OK?

Why don't we try and persuade...?

He's taken Ray to one side to find a solution.

And make sure they get it before the weekend?

I want to make sure with the facts, first.

I won't be long.

A couple of minutes and we'll be back with you.

He wanted to resolve it

away from the customer.

Which is sound sense.

So, well done, Vito, for that one.

He's a very good actor, isn't he?

God, he's frightened me to death now three occasions.

-And ready to go again.

-I think I'll sleep for weeks.

You're still not allowed to use that

-because it's still classed as an open...

-Look...

Look, I'm not going to get involved, yeah?

I'm not going to get involved, cos I'm not sure what I'm talking about.

-I need this...

-The pressure's on and William's taking a back seat.

I would be tempted, if it was me,

to just load it on the trailer, I don't really see the problem -

but this is clearly something I need to learn about,

it's health and safety and what to...

Is it all right if I just leave you with William?

Yeah, leave him with me, yeah.

-Sorry, I don't mean to leave you in a...

-Right.

-Back in two seconds.

-So... Hmm...

He should've gotten a little bit involved

to try and learn that this is going to be some of these things,

really, that he's going to have to deal with.

Can I not just take it now? Come on.

I'm not the boss, right?

It's not for me, is it, to say...?

I'm buggered if I'm paying for...

Will changing the subject help?

What's it like to drive, anyway? What's it like to drive?

-It's a nice vehicle, isn't it?

-Well, it's all right.

King of the roads and all that.

It's a bit fancy, really.

He does come across more as a...

car salesman...

than a chocolate salesman...

But if he can put wheels on a brazil nut, he'll go far.

How's everything going today? All right, love?

INDISTINCT CHATTER

How's the dog?

So far, the workplace tasks

have focused on product knowledge

and people skills.

Just a quick call. Do you sell chocolates in your store?

The next one will test who's got what it takes to do the job itself.

Managing the telesales team to win new business

is a key part of the role they've applied for.

This is your chance to show us

-what you can actually do with the telesales team.

-OK.

Your power hour starts now.

Thank you.

Hi, it's Ellie calling from Beech's Chocolates.

The applicants will now work with the team

to sell as much chocolate as they can in just 60 minutes.

We're looking at selling the thins at a two-for-one offer.

Vito starts with a short team pep talk...

You've got to really make it your own -

but be positive and be natural.

..then it's 50 minutes of cold calling.

Good afternoon, sir.

My name's Sean, I'm calling from Beech's Fine Chocolates.

How are you this morning?

Do you know what time she'll be back?

All right, then, not a problem. Thank you, bye-bye.

OK.

I feel as though he's a little bit out of his depth maybe.

I don't know.

Vito, thanks very much. Time's up.

-OK, no sales unfortunately.

-OK.

So there's a big zero.

-Any potential sales?

-Yes, yeah.

-Right, OK.

I've got four call-backs that we need to do.

So it's jammed tomorrow(!)

William's rewriting the team's sales script.

It might sound like it's teaching you to stroke eggs,

or whatever the expression is,

but we introduce ourselves as,

"We're calling from Beech's Fine Chocolate, Preston,"

I think it's quite important to say it's from Preston.

Time's ticking and he's not actually done anything.

So, going on to the second page...

His briefing has been going for 30 minutes.

I had time to go to the meeting.

He's not started selling.

No. Come on.

There's no time left to sell any chocolate.

Hello?

Nancy's Tea Shop?

Thanks, bye-bye.

-We didn't get any sales, me included.

-Right.

Could you just come and help me look at this script...

Karen's power hour starts with a team training session.

How do we introduce ourselves to somebody?

The idea's gone down well with the staff spies...

I think she's doing OK, and brought them to her as well. I like that.

..and when they hit the phones...

You will do?

..Karen's team gets a sale.

Fantastic.

SHE APPLAUDS

Whoo!

So, if you give yourself marks out of ten, how much would you give?

I would give myself 11.

THEY LAUGH

Karen's riding high,

but it's been another difficult day for William.

He's worried he might be the one who goes home first.

When I meet people for the first time,

about half of people that I meet think I'm marvellous

and the other half are not quite sure.

Then after a couple of hours, they work me out

and probably say, you know, "Do you ever switch off?"

Or, "What's the real William?"

Well, I'm telling you, this is the real William,

I just worry that, you know,

people think, "Actually, he's the village idiot," and he isn't.

MUSIC: Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time by The Delfonics

WOMEN SING IN POLISH

Does anybody want any trays or pads?

Give me more trays, please.

It's the morning of the mid-week vote.

Amelia, no more.

The workforce are reminding themselves of the candidates'

performance over the last few days.

He does come across more as a car salesman than a chocolate salesman.

He's a Beech's person, I think.

She forgot about gluten-free,

which is a massive selling point for our range of products.

Today, they'll decide in a ballot

who will be leaving the process.

The machinery has been shut down.

Staff are collecting their ballot papers.

They'll mark the applicants on key skills for the job.

Can I just rest me banana and me cup on here?

I feel a bit disappointed with my performance.

I maybe could've done some tasks a bit better,

but obviously you can't use that as an excuse.

At the end of the day, everyone's in the same boat as me, simple as.

Out of all three of them in our room,

if they'd come for a job down there, I'd have picked Vito.

Yes, I would. He was the slowest,

but he was passionate and he was...

And he apologised and he was a gentleman -

but that's not going to sell chocolates.

I'm a little bit nervous now.

I'm hoping I've done enough to stay in.

Hope.

-Her personality didn't really show through...

-No.

..and I think she weren't in her comfort zone, was she?

Because I think she could've been studying hard as well, Barbara...

-She could've been.

-..not to make mistakes,

so that's why I'm putting that down, giving her a bit of leeway there.

I think it's very difficult to work out how I've done in this process.

So I'm going to find out. Is it a yes? Is it a no?

And I'll take it on the chin.

When the going gets tough, no.

He walked away from the confrontation, didn't he?

-Yeah.

-So you have to think about that.

The staff are still divided over who's right for the job.

The boss, Andrew Whiting, is worried about which one they'll send home.

My job depends upon sales.

The factory depends on sales.

So, if we make the mistake of choosing somebody

who can't do sales,

then jobs are under threat.

At the moment, for me,

the only person who's shown any competence in delivering that

is Karen.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

Will the staff vote for personality

rather than sales skills?

Morning, everybody.

Now, today, we are going to be voting

for the two candidates you want to continue with the process

and then one candidate is going to be leaving the process

after this meeting.

The candidates are waiting in the boardroom.

They've still no idea what's been going on behind the scenes.

He really, really annoyed me because

he butted into my presentation

about two minutes in.

Peter isn't pulling any punches...

He's more suited to selling used cars than he is selling chocolate.

..but Geraldine's quick to defend William.

I just wanted to say, and I think Barbara will agree with me,

it was a different side of things for us.

William was on the shop floor with us but he was different,

he really took to it down there on Barbara's feeding belt,

as well as on mine.

It's sales versus factory floor.

But Barbara, the longest serving member of staff,

wants to have her say.

When I've listened to everything and I would suggest really,

that you all have your own votes, that we must get this right -

because if we don't get it right,

Beech's is going down.

We need somebody to take us forward,

really forward

and I think, personally,

you've got to really listen.

-We had a contribution, didn't we?

-Yeah.

But I really think these guys...

You know, like Peter, Ray...

These are the people that you should listen to

because they know more about it than we do,

but please get it right cos, if you don't, that's what it is, OK?

-Yeah, well done, Barbara.

-Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

It's the moment of truth.

KNOCK ON DOOR

Hi. Can William come with me, please?

-What, is it one at a time?

-I don't know.

William, hi, there.

-Come on in, have a seat.

-Thank you.

-Make yourself comfortable.

I want to thank you for taking part

in this unique experiment this week.

You had the opportunity to demonstrate what you could do and,

on this occasion,

I'm very sorry that it hasn't worked out for you,

so I'm sorry that you are leaving the process

as of now.

Any...comments?

Thank you very much. Thank you for the experience.

It's been enjoyable, I've enjoyed it.

and it's a memory I'll keep with me, Mr Whiting.

Mm.

I think the right decision has been made by the staff...

..so I still buy into the positives of this process,

although there are obviously some down sides

that feel negative at the time.

This whole process has made me reflect on who I am, as a person,

and I think, you know, I've got to think very long and hard

about what I do next with my career.

Well done. Oh!

I think I've realised now that the chocolate industry's not for me,

possibly even maybe other industries

and, actually, the pantomime's got my name on it.

Probably Widow Twankey or... Well, let's make it Buttons, should we?

Aw, it's a shame to see him go

cos he was a nice guy, wasn't he?

-He was really, wasn't he?

-Really nice, yeah.

It's a shame we didn't even get chance to say goodbye to him

-or anything.

-No, we didn't.

Oh. Oh, well.

-Can I just use your stapler?

-Yeah, help yourself.

Two candidates left...

..a day to go until the final vote...

..and the factory's buzzing.

I feel more confident with Vito.

I think he could, like, motivate people.

I think he's quite on the quiet side and I think Karen just,

-there's a little bit more...

-Is she not too laid back?

No, I don't think I'd put her at laid back.

Vito and Karen will now go head-to-head

in the toughest test yet.

Tomorrow, they'll head out as ambassadors of the Beech's brand

and present a new product to top industry experts.

They're going to be asking you searching questions,

so make sure you've done your homework on this.

They've only a few hours to pull together a top-level sales pitch.

Good afternoon, my name's Vito Cinardi.

I'm here to introduce you to a brand-new product...

An insight into what we do...

-HE SIGHS

-..sort of thing.

Quite serious now that we're getting into the final stages

and I don't want to fluff this, so I'm going to smash it.

So, let's test myself against the experts.

Bring it on.

TENSE MUSIC PLAYS

Two formidable retail experts

have arrived at a hotel outside Preston

to put Karen and Vito through their paces.

John Butler has worked as a senior buyer for two large UK supermarkets.

He trains top sales executives how to pitch.

What I want is real engagement,

real rapport together.

Get me in early on the selling story

and they'll take me with them.

Bill Grimsey is former chief executive

of the food chain Iceland.

He's a top retail consultant.

I will not tolerate waffle.

I want confidence and I want facts,

and I want somebody to sell me the dream.

They'll put Vito and Karen's sales skills

to the ultimate test

and feed back their views to the staff.

It's just very nerve-racking,

sat here waiting.

My worst fear is making a complete fool of myself in front of everyone.

They'll both present a new product,

champagne truffles.

Karen's first in with John Butler.

Good morning, John. Nice to meet you.

I'm Karen Todd from Beech's Fine Chocolates.

-Nice to see you, have a seat.

-Thank you.

Do you mind if I just set up

a couple of products for you to look at?

-Yeah, of course.

-Thank you.

She's brought along a cupboard full of props.

She's wasting valuable selling time.

Hi, Vito.

-Hi.

-Bill Grimsey, nice to meet you.

And you. And you.

Will Vito's old school charm

impress retail guru Bill Grimsey?

Are you married? Or do you have a partner?

Yeah, I'm married, yeah.

OK. What happens normally when you have a bit of a...

fall out with the, with the missus? Do you, do you...?

Well, I don't think I'm typical, because I certainly...

-OK!

-I certainly wouldn't buy her a box of chocolates.

OK, all right.

I... We'll go the majority of men, shall we say?

Naturally, men, we're a bit...

You know, we don't really think things through sometimes

-when it comes to women, or I don't, anyhow...

-Really?

I would buy them some chocolates, some flowers,

take them out for a nice meal,

whatever it's going to be

and that thought then goes down to champagne truffles, because...

I really don't think there's

a big enough market in the UK

of relationships falling out

to sustain a continual...

-Of course, of course.

-..purchase of these products.

Karen's already used up three minutes doing her desktop display.

I was very frustrated

and I was highly tempted, as an ex-buyer,

to let her sit down and say,

"OK, well that's your five minutes up,"

and I think that would've completely freaked her out.

I think she needs to really reflect on

how did she introduce herself and her product

in those first five minutes?

Because it was nearly a car crash for her.

Thank you for your patience.

Excuse me there.

It's halfway through the week,

you're the 17th supplier meeting I've had this week.

-OK.

-Why are your products different?

The whole value of the company

is the people that operate within it.

We're like one big family.

We're passionate about the product that we manufacture.

What saved it for her was getting into the moment,

getting into the pitch early,

but listening to what was coming the other way.

OK, look forward to seeing you in two week's time.

-Thank you very much for your time. Thank you.

-Well done.

How many of those cases go on a pallet?

-Um...

-Or a layer on the pallet?

I don't know, I'll have to get back to you on that.

What's the code life on the product?

The code life?

Again, I don't know. I'll have to get back to you on that.

-That'd be excellent.

-Yeah, yeah, of course.

-Thank you very much for your time. Thanks. Take care.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

Nice guy,

but I think he lacked cutting edge,

I think he lacked some knowledge

and I think he lacked closing the deal.

I've got a little presentation for you,

-if you'd like to go through...

-OK, thank you, that'll be very helpful.

Karen's second pitch is off to a more decisive start.

Beech's Fine Chocolates were established

since 1920, based in Preston in Lancashire...

So, what values do you put into a product?

We only use natural ingredients in our products

and we use premium quality ingredients,

which we ethically source.

She came in here well prepared,

she'd got this - which

ABSOLUTELY gave her a framework,

something to nail,

and it prevented me from doing...

Taking control.

I'll get back to you on Monday afternoon. Is that OK?

-Good stuff.

-It's been lovely to meet you.

-Thanks for coming in.

Thank you.

Karen's had two successful meetings.

Vito needs to be pitch perfect for John Butler.

We would let you have these at £3.00, excluding VAT, per box.

-OK, so...

-Er, sorry, no...

Sorry. Excuse me, it should be £2.50.

Hang on. Do you know your numbers?

I do, I apologise. That should be £2.50.

OK, what margin am I making on that?

You're retailing out at 5.99,

approximately 50%.

-No, because...

-My maths aren't...

-My maths aren't that great.

-Vito, your maths are shocking.

-All right, the 5.99 includes VAT.

-It does.

-I don't get the VAT.

-Take the VAT off and calculate...

-It's 4.99.

You're really worrying me about your numbers, Vito.

-Am I? OK, right.

-Borrow it. I need to know what my margin is.

I need to know YOU understand it as well.

You'll have to excuse me, I haven't got my glasses on, which...

Do you not think this should've been part of your fundamental prep, to work out what's in it for me?

It should've been, yeah. Yep, you're quite right.

I'll tell you what, Vito,

I'm going to suggest you call yourself a time out,

-you buy yourself some time to calculate...

-OK.

-..these numbers...

-All right.

-I feel like you haven't put the prep into the numbers,

you haven't really considered what's in it for me

..and come back and see us with a proper commercial proposal.

OK. Well, thank you for your time.

Vito's crashed in the final task.

I was shocking.

Shocking today. Absolutely.

HE SIGHS

It's the day of reckoning.

After secretly watching Karen and Vito all week,

staff will finally decide who gets the job.

It all depends for the future of Beech's today,

so it's very important that we get it right.

I just wonder what happens if we get it wrong.

The last exit poll put Karen ahead.

Can Vito turn things around at the 11th hour?

I think Karen's great with the way she's come across

and what she wants to do for the company...

I like Vito. He's come across really nice.

I think it's going to be a close vote today.

Before the vote,

the staff catch up with what happened at yesterday's sales pitch.

What have you got for me today?

He looks like fed up now. He's losing interest, isn't he?

My maths aren't that great.

Vito, your maths are shocking.

Let's himself down all the time.

Do you not think this should've been part of your fundamental prep,

to work out what's in it for me?

Oh, that's not good.

Vito and Karen have been called to the factory.

After five days being scored and assessed,

it's time to reveal the big secret...

..that it's not the boss,

it's the staff who are doing the hiring.

-Good morning, Andrew.

-Vito, morning.

Morning, Karen.

-Morning, Andrew.

-Morning.

Over the week, you will have become aware of the fact

-that we were scrutinising you.

-Of course.

In actual fact, it's not me that's making the decision

about whether we hire you...

OK.

..it's the workforce.

Right, OK.

All right, fair enough.

That's a bit of a surprise to say the least, but there you go.

They're actually all waiting now in the canteen.

They're going to ask you questions themselves.

Oh, brilliant. Oh, my goodness.

Let's go.

I wouldn't say I'm nervous, but I'm nervous.

Vito and Karen will give a speech

and take questions from the floor.

After catching up on all the tasks across the week,

finally staff have the chance to put the candidates on the spot.

APPLAUSE

You come across as a really nice guy, which I know you are,

but are you that bad at maths or...? You seemed to get...

-No, I'm not. I'm pretty good at maths.

-Were you just nervous?

It was nerves, yeah. It was nerves.

Unfortunately, Vito, that's a massive part

of every presentation...

-It is. You're right.

-..and you should've been well prepared there.

Yes, fair enough.

Do you not think that you should've made a little bit more effort

with researching to the company and its product?

You're right, you're right.

Maybe a bit more research would have gone down a lot better.

100%, Mark.

The staff are disappointed with Vito's sales performance.

He's got one more chance to win them over...

with his speech.

I wrote some stuff down, but I thought...

"That's so insincere

"because it's not the right way to go about it,"

so we'll get rid of that, cos it's a load of rubbish.

I'll put that there and I'll tell you from the heart.

I'm a loyal guy,

so you can always come to me any time you want

with anything that you need to ask.

Looking after each other

is really, really important.

So, what I can do for you guys,

and hopefully you'll let me do it,

is go out there and just do the best I can

to get more business in for you guys.

It's important that I do that

to secure your futures

and, you know, your kids' futures.

He's got a lovely personality.

Loyalty, trust, hard work,

understanding...

Yeah, but personality doesn't sell chocolates,

in a way, does it, though?

So, hopefully, you know, we can get on and do that.

Thank you very much indeed, Vito, that's fantastic.

APPLAUSE

At the 11th hour, Vito's words have had a big impact on the workforce.

I was impressed with that.

Vito win.

He came over very well, though, in his speech.

I think he did really well there, really well.

Karen's got a hard act to follow.

APPLAUSE

Thank you.

Why did you take other Beech's products

to the presentation yesterday?

Beech's are moving forward.

They've had a lot of history

from what I knew about you

when I used to buy your coffee creams for my dad.

Do you feel like you're going to fit in with the company then

if you get the job?

Of course I am.

Karen, what do you...? Were you shocked

when you realised that we was going to... To get your job?

I was shocked, but that's just how I'd have it...

cos you are who are important.

That's it. That's dead-on.

Everything that you've got about your product

is what I believe in.

I'll bring my passion,

determination to succeed

to ensure that we're taking it forward for the next generation.

I've met some really great people -

so, whatever happens, I'm a winner

and I just hope you choose me.

APPLAUSE

Has Karen's emotional pitch won the staff over?

It's time to vote.

Anybody need pens?

I'm not sure which way it's going to go.

I'll be waiting with bated breath

to see who actually gets this job.

I'm surprised it's so close,

it's been going on all week.

I was expecting, like, one person pulling miles away by now

and like... But it's really, really tight.

Well, I can officially declare then that the votes will now be counted.

Andrew has the result.

He's off to collect the successful candidate.

Are we going to hold hands?

No.

-No.

-Can I not hold your hand?

-No.

-Please?

-No.

Hello.

Right, an anxious moment.

The votes have been counted,

so I can tell you now that,

after all your efforts,

the successful candidate is...

He's here, he's here.

..Karen.

APPLAUSE

Congratulations, congratulations.

Karen Todd is the new business development manager

at Beech's Fine Chocolates.

And I'm really, really honoured that you've picked me.

Thank you so much.

They voted with their heads

and they probably voted right.

So, you know, good luck to Karen and good luck to Beech's.

Well done. Yeah, I knew...

They're already gelled together.

We can hit the floor running, as it were -

and my hat's off to the workforce

for making the right decision at the right time for this company.

I like that we've come from seeing somebody's profile on a video

to finally making that decision

and it's marvellous for us.

I'm really, really chuffed.

-Really chuffed.

-I'll see out me retirement in five years

and it will go on for the rest of the girls here. My friends, really.

I'm really determined

and I'm thrilled,

and it's just a massive, massive honour.