SI Review: September 2014

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Center Stage: New Recruits

CorTech forms partnerships and programs to get veterans to work.

On the heels of launching two new programs for CorTech International, a $140 million staffing company that acquired Stafflogix last year, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Kathy Greco discussed how the two programs — iRecruit and Support Our Veterans — came about, and her plans for them, with Associate Editor Sharon Thomas.

You recently announced a couple new initiatives to CorTech. Please describe them.

One is iRecruit. It is an online program for high velocity hiring. Through it, we use proprietary tools and methods to build pre-vetted, “ready-to-hire,” pools of talent for clients that require immediate times when they need to ramp up. It’s very early yet, but three clients have already signed on. Two have seasonal business that will ramp up in September. One of those is a logistics company. When they ramp up, they need to ramp up quickly. They may go from 40 people on a project to double or triple that number in any one location and per shift, for example.

How do you locate the candidates for the iRecruit program?

We already had our own large database, of course, but we also tap into different types of social media. We also reach out to our existing temps to see who in their networks would fit our skills needs. We have a centralized recruiting team in Atlanta and recruiters in our branch locations. Using our iRecruit tool, branch recruiters recruit for local and national clients in their area and work directly with our clients. Our centralized recruiting team recruits for national clients across the country and keeps a pipeline of ready-to-hire candidates within the iRecruit tool for both clients and to assist our branch offices.

You also launched a veterans hiring program. Tell us about that.

It’s called “Support Our Veterans.” Veteran hiring has been a passion of mine for years.

What sparked your passion? Did you have family or loved ones in the military?

Initially I did not, though now I have a grandson who is in the military. When I was at Manpower [before Stafflogix], I was sensitive to issues facing our veterans transitioning out of the military and felt the staffing industry had the ability to provide not only multiple opportunities but also mentoring and coaching needed to begin the journey from soldier to civilian. I started working on a program at that time and never lost my passion to offer an outlet for our veterans.

With the concern about the skill shortage in this country, I believe we can narrow the gap by tapping into the talent of our veterans, who are ready to begin new careers.

Many companies have pledged to hire a set number of veterans. Honda and Walmart come to mind. However, they can only hire within their industry. For us, we have access to opportunities across all different types of geographies and industries and the capacity to help a larger number of veterans.

It’s a three-way win — for our veterans, our clients and CorTech.

Are you working with any military groups?

Yes, I am working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring our Heroes foundation and Soldiers for Life to better understand the needs of our veterans and gain access to résumés as they prepare to transition. Both organizations provide guidance and support as we expand our program and provide us a path to gain access to a very skilled talent pool across all branches of the military.

In addition, I continue to reach out to other organizations in support of our veterans. For example, I recently met with the founder of a not-for-profit that supports our wounded warriors and their families to better understand how we might partner and expand our program to meet their needs as well.

Do you provide other support for veterans?

Members of our staff and I volunteer at Hiring Our Heroes events at various locations across the country to meet veterans face to face and discuss opportunities. We review their résumés, provide guidance on résumés writing and help translate their skills into civilian industry terms. We’re not only trying to find them opportunities at these events; we’re trying to coach and council them to prepare for interviews and next steps.

How else are you planning to expand the program?

I want to make this a well-rounded program and have met some fantastic people and groups along the way that I can tap into to move our program to the highest level. Our staff is on board and excited about this program and come away feeling such a sense of accomplishment as they volunteer to assist veterans to achieve their goals.

Recently, Mary Jo Eady, CorTech’s director of solutions and implementation, and I visited a school that offers training and certifications for veterans to prepare them for specific civilian roles. We currently have clients with open positions that will benefit from the training offered and our goal is to work directly with the school to offer new opportunities for the students as they graduate and are ready to begin new careers.

How has the initiative been received among your clients?

Our clients have been really enthusiastic. It’s only been a few weeks, but one pledged to hire and train veterans regardless of their background. So far, this client has hired seven of the veterans that we’ve sent to them, and they are interested in more.

We are in the process of announcing our program to all our clients and working to partner with others who have initiatives and programs in place to hire veterans. We are currently in conversation to put together a partnership that will offer veterans an option to train internationally on new products and procedures that will include additional certifications and the option to work on new projects in the aerospace arena.

Our program is gaining momentum. It’s exciting!

Sharon Thomas is associate editor at Staffing Industry Analysts. She can be reached at smthomas@staffingindustry.com