How Endiprev cut blue-collar turnover and improved hiring effectiveness by 83% with skills assessments

Turnover was high. The hiring process was the reason

Endiprev is a renewable energy services company based in Porto, Portugal, specialising in wind power operations. Their workforce is primarily blue-collar, with technicians and field operators working in safety-critical environments where a wrong hire carries consequences well beyond a performance review.

Wind power operations run on the competence and reliability of the people doing the physical work. Technicians need to understand the equipment, follow safety protocols without supervision, and work effectively in teams operating under demanding field conditions. Endiprev was expanding, which meant hiring more of these people, faster.

 

The problem was that their hiring process had no reliable way to assess any of it. Resumes told the team what a candidate had done before. 

 

Phone screens gave a surface impression of how they communicated. Neither revealed whether a candidate understood the technical requirements of the role, had the behavioral traits to work safely in a team, or could be trusted to follow safety-critical procedures without close oversight. Hires were made on incomplete information, and the workforce showed it. 

 

Turnover was high, job performance was inconsistent, and the HR team spent a disproportionate amount of time re-hiring for roles that should have been filled once.

 

In a sector where safety compliance is non-negotiable and operational mistakes have real consequences, that pattern was a liability Endiprev could not keep absorbing as the company grew.

 

“We kept hiring people who looked right on paper and left within months. The issue was never the job. It was that we had no way to evaluate fit before they started.”

Recruiter Head, Endiprev

How Testlify was implemented

Technical readiness, behavioural fit, and safety awareness assessed before the first conversation

Endiprev worked with Testlify to build custom assessments for each blue-collar role. Technical tests measured whether candidates had the specific knowledge and readiness each position required, filtering out applicants who were not qualified before any recruiter time was invested. 

Behavioral assessments evaluated traits like adaptability, teamwork, and problem-solving, the qualities that determine whether someone performs well and stays in a role that demands both physical competence and team reliability.

The addition of safety-focused assessment modules addressed the compliance dimension directly. Candidates were tested on their understanding of workplace safety protocols relevant to the renewable energy sector, giving Endiprev a clear read on safety awareness before anyone reached the interview stage. 

Automating the early screening stages removed the manual workload that had slowed the hiring cycle and allowed recruiters to focus exclusively on candidates who had cleared all three bars.

The downstream impact was visible in retention. Candidates hired through the structured process were better matched to their roles, which translated into longer tenures, more consistent job performance, and a reduction in the operational disruption that repeated turnover had been causing.

“Once we could assess technical skills and safety awareness upfront, we stopped second-guessing our hiring decisions. The quality of people coming through was completely different.”

Recruiter Head, Endiprev