Two men have clinched jobs as IT Developers with an online energy switching business after demonstrating their skills with Lego, rather than programming.

James Brown and Ollie Spires are now working at the headquarters of energy auto-switching service Flipper in Nailsea, near Bristol after impressing at the unusual interview – aimed at finding out how they worked together and solved problems.

Instead of being subjected to the normal question and answer interview process, all the candidates for these roles were challenged to work in groups of three to create a Lego house in just 20 minutes.

Tim Genge, Head of Technology at Flipper, who devised the interview said: “The qualifications listed on a CV only tell you so much about a person, which courses they have attended and the technical knowledge they might have.”

“We wanted to test their softer skills. See how they work with others, if they are leaders or followers, how good are they at problem solving and explaining their ideas to others. And, very importantly, if they would fit in with the rest of our team.”

The groups were given details of an imaginary Lego family and their requirements for a home. Members of Flipper’s Management team then watched each group as they discussed and constructed the house to a tight deadline.

Having successfully completed the task, James and Ollie now work as web developers and are part of the team who constantly improve the Flipper platform, which searches out the best gas and electricity deals and manages the switching process for households signed up to the service.

Flipper Managing Director Mark Gutteridge said: “There are more and more tech firms basing themselves in Bristol and the South West which has created a really dynamic market with lots of roles and lots of people applying for each one. By taking an innovative approach to recruitment we make ourselves memorable to the candidates and ensure we attract high calibre people – like James and Ollie.”

Every person who joins Flipper is presented with their own Lego minifigure, which not only looks like them but is also used as part of a fun staff incentive programme. Each week outstanding employees from across the business are presented the ‘Flipping Fantastic’ Award which sees their Lego figure promoted to stand on a special Lego plinth and given a Lego trophy at the company’s headquarters