Editor’s note: This article is part of a series highlighting speakers at the upcoming ERE Recruiting Conference. Click here to view other articles in the series.
Have you ever tried to change a tire while your car is in motion?
I know, probably not. Thing is, even race car drivers have a pit stop. But in our line of work, we cannot make a pit stop. The business is not going to let recruiting stop just to make some changes. We need to transform while we perform.
Easier said than done, I know. At Foot Locker, where I’m VP of talent acquisition and oversee the global recruitment process — which encompasses various offices and distribution centers along with more than 3,400 retail locations — we’ve been creating a consistent global talent-acquisition machine to attract top talent across all our divisions.
I’ll be talking about what this experience has been like at the upcoming ERE Recruiting Conference in San Diego (April 15 – 17). My talk is called “Break It to Build It: When Tiny Tweaks Just Won’t Do” — because achieving true innovation, global alignment, and process improvement sometimes demands that you smash old practices to shape new ones. So if you want a playbook on creating a TA center of excellence, especially if your company has different processes for each county or division, I plan on discussing how we’ve been tackling this over the past year.
What I thought would be a simple project kept growing into a full-blown process improvement that hits every candidate touchpoint. I’ll discuss how we broke touchpoints down into work streams — from developing an effective sourcing strategy all the way to a new hire’s first 45 days.
I am sure you recognize the importance of providing your candidates a consistent experience no matter where they apply. At the same time, recruiters are normally individual contributors, and what makes them good at what they do are the added personal touches they provide during the candidates experience.
Still, consistency helps manage metrics. Metrics measure performance in order to continue improving. Performance is owned by the recruiter. And so I plan on discussing how recruiters can follow consistent practices that enable them to perform (measurably!) at a high level — without losing individuality.
What you will not walk away with after our discussion is the sense that this is a simple or quick undertaking. You will not walk away thinking that four or five people will be able to accomplish this effectively. You will not walk away thinking that this is a project for just TA or anyone within HR. Just thinking about all this gets me exhausted. But also excited. Hopefully, you will walk away with the same feelings. There’s definitely an exhilaration that comes from seeing results from all the changes.
Please join me for a robust conversation on transforming a global organization’s talent-acquisition process, while not skipping a beat for the day-to-day performance. Use code ERESD2020READER to receive 10% off your ticket price by Feb. 10 by registering here.
