Posts filed under ‘Employee Management’
How Sodexo views recruiting and retention in the age of social media.
By Cyndy Trivella
I had the pleasure of speaking with Arie Ball, the VP of Sourcing and Talent Acquisition at Sodexo. Sodexo is regarded as one of the premier employers in the U.S. market space and a highly sought-after company by job seekers. Sodexo is an organization that embraces social media and uses the social channels to their advantage by training employees to be brand ambassadors for their organization. It is truly an honor to speak with Arie.
Cyndy: I want to start off by asking this question. What does Sodexo do to be such a magnet for attracting job seekers?
Arie: We’re thrilled that you consider us a magnet for attracting job seekers. What’s interesting is that although Sodexo is the 21st largest employer in the world, if you look back just a few short years ago, we did not have the brand recognition that would attract the talent we needed to grow our company. As a “b2b” company, with 400,000 employees in more than 80 countries worldwide, we were not a highly visible employer. We knew we had a great company to work for, but our challenge was to find ways to share that with potential candidates. For us, it was also important not only to become a magnet to attract talent, but also that once hired, we wanted to ensure we could retain that talent—by being able to deliver on the expectations that our candidates had when joining us. (more…)
Take your candidates to the Big Dance: Recruiting, March Madness Style
By Jennifer R. Henley, PHR
Now that Selection Sunday has been announced and brackets are busted, both elite programs and long shots hope to make it to the “Big Easy” next month. With all this hype of March Madness, I’m reminded of the fact that the regular season began before Thanksgiving. Yep, that’s right folks…these student athletes have been fighting for recognition for the past five months, and it all comes down to the chance at the Big Dance.
Basketball, like recruitment, is a sport of predictions and projections and hard work that doesn’t come overnight. And, since I mentioned projections and odds, let us not forget that worker productivity hits an all-time low during this time of year. Trust me, I’m sure we’ve all seen more brackets in lunch rooms, on desks and in the copy room than we want to admit … heck, even President Obama posts his bracket on whitehouse.gov. (more…)
What is your employment brand proposition? Do some discovery and find out.
By Charles Kapec
Many companies have a hard time determining what their employment brand is. What makes you a satisfying place to work? How are you different from competing organizations? Why should candidates upend their lives and make the move to join your team?
You can’t simply make this up. You can’t throw out some clichés (“you can make a difference here”) or reiterate your values (respect, collaboration, integrity) if you are going to seriously communicate what makes your company special to candidates – and why it is worth their serious consideration.
You need to do discovery. Here are some great ways to go about it: (more…)
Candidate skill-set? Better yet, ask about their pet.
By Charles Davis
We can see what the resume says. But who is this person really? Is he or she a dog or cat person? Are they more like their German Shephard or their Tabby?
Don’t scoff. For all you extremely talented recruiters out their schooled in the latest behavioral role playing or SWOT-style interviewing techniques, are you really delving into this candidate’s hidden psyche from a fresh angle? (more…)
Now Hiring! (but apply online)
I witnessed an interesting exchange the other day as I waited for my order at FedEx Office. A candidate approached the counter looking for a job – resume in hand, smile on her face, excited and ready to apply (or at least talk with someone). The response from the guy behind the counter was a little less than inviting. He informed her that she must leave the store and apply online. Pretty deflating, huh?
Chances are that candidate will find another company that day that is willing to talk. And most likely, FedEx Office will never see or hear from her again. Or worse, she may tell others of her experience and recommend against seeking employment with them.
Is this how your company treats candidates? You have open positions and need good candidates, so why are you telling them to leave? Companies must realize that the candidate experience they provide is directly related to the employment brand they build.
Now, before you chastise me for not understanding “the recruitment process,” let me explain my thoughts. I realize that most organizations must capture candidate information in the ATS to accurately track candidate activity. However, there are ways you can capture this information without driving candidates away. The key is to have a plan that allows you to capture them onsite. Try this:
- Include computer kiosks where candidates can complete their application onsite. Try to keep the application process to 20 minutes or less. Review your current application and determine what you can remove to streamline it.
- If you have a long application process, develop an online Talent Network that candidates can join while they are there onsite. They can use the kiosk or their mobile phone to access the Talent Network. This allows you to capture their information and provide a link to the appropriate job opportunity via email.
- Develop a mobile-ready career site and a mobile application or Talent Network. Direct candidates to the mobile site where they can apply or leave their contact information to receive a link to the job that interests them. Train employees to be prepared to offer help if the candidate gets stuck or has a question.
- Set up an SMS/text campaign, allowing candidates to receive information on their phone about open positions and how to apply.
- Educate all of your employees about the value of the candidate experience and how important those candidates are to the success of your business. Share tips and guidelines on how your employees can create a better experience for candidates going through the recruitment process.
Are you driving candidates away, or embracing them? It might be a good time to become a “secret candidate” in your own organization to see where you can improve your process.
Matt Kaiser serves as Vice President and Talent Strategist for NAS. With more than 14 years of experience as a recruitment strategy consultant, Matt helps leading organizations uncover their unique brand identity, implement ideas to improve their candidate experience and incorporate innovative sourcing and social media strategies to creatively attract top talent. Matt is a graduate of The Florida State University. He is an author, blogger and featured industry speaker on best practices in Talent Management at national and international HR events.
