ALTOONA, Pa. -- Sheetz Inc. has turned to Deploy Solutions Inc., a provider of enterprise talent management solutions, to help improve its recruiting and hiring results.
The Sheetz human resources team faced the challenge of enabling store managers to spend more time servicing customers and employees, and less time interviewing unqualified candidates. The chain has a workforce of more than 11,000 employees at 329 retail locationsjobs spanning food preparation, baristas and retail. And it sees the high turnover that is common among similar chain stores.[image-nocss]
Sheetz understands how technology can transform, even redefine, business. If you visit one of our stores, you'll see technology everywhere, like touch screens for ordering food. It's something we're very proud of. We like to try new things in the stores and be ahead of the curve, said Susan Schwaderer, manager of HR administration for the Altoona, Pa.-based retailer.
With Deploy, Sheetz has automated its application process, pre-screening applicants so only qualified candidates are interviewed by its busy location managers. This approach has also improved the quality of hires; significantly reduced data entry and paper volume; and improved Sheetz's ability to turn information into actionable, business intelligence, such as tracking where better applicants come from and sharing applications with other local stores in need, the companies said.
Before using Deploy, our managers were not sharing paper applications. We may have had one fully-staffed store, whereas another nearby store might have been desperate for applications, Schwaderer said.
To automate the application process, applicants can apply through Sheetz's career website or over the phone using Deploy's interactive voice response (IVR) system.
The move away from paper applications has had no ill effects on applicant submissions, Schwaderer noted, with 84% of applicants applying online and 16% applying via IVR. Applicant data no longer needs to be re-keyed, helping eliminate errors and background check and drug testing verification results can be viewed by store managers, on average, two days faster.
The elimination of paper applications and manual pre-screening is saving our managers a great deal of time. They are no longer flipping through stacks of applications, sorting, and maintaining applicant files. Everything they need is at their fingertips and they can tell exactly where each applicant is in the pre-hire process, from initial contact through final eligible or not eligible' result, said Schwaderer.
Sheetz, with more than $3.8 billion in revenue for 2006, operates convenience stores throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, and North Carolina.
Newton, Mass.-based Deploy Solutions helps companies optimize performance in recruiting, hiring, and retaining top employees. The Deploy Enterprise Talent Suite improves the quality and performance of the workforce, reduces the cost of talent acquisition and supports regulatory compliance, it said. Clients include Wal-Mart, Securitas Security Services USA, Hess, Flying J, The Pantry, Wakefern (ShopRite Stores), Tire Kingdom, FedEx, American Electric Power and more.
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