Case #2: When Recruiting on Campus is Too Costly
Everyone’s tightening belts these days, and HR budgets are by no means exempt from the cost-cutting efforts. Even during lean times, many companies are hiring, but they are trying to pick the best people while trying to keep expenses down. For some companies, that includes thinking twice about flying or driving to college campuses to interview prospective employees. That doesn’t mean recruiters have stopped communicating with students. In more and more cases, it does mean the conversation may take place over a distance, using state-of-the-art technology. The interview setup can be as simple as two laptops loaded with Skype software, which allows phone calls and webcam images to be transmitted over the Internet. Or it may involve thousands of dollars’ worth of videoconferencing equipment for a more natural approach. At Liberty Mutual Group, recruiting director Ann Nowak visits a few schools where the company has strong relationships and has found a good pool of talent. But she says, “Sometimes I get inquiries from very strong candidates in the top 10 percent of their class” at other schools, and she doesn’t want them to slip away. Although the insurance company is growing and hiring sales representative, Nowak can’t afford to fly across the country for a handful of interviews, so she has set up an online recruiting and selection system. Students at distant schools can view online presentations about the kinds of positions the company has available. And when an interested prospect seems like he or she might be a good match. Nowak can use Web-based interviewing to narrow her choices. The company invites those who survive the cut to fly to head-quarters for an interview. Anheuser-Busch InBev is another company that recruits on college campuses. Elatia Abate, the company’s global director of recruitment and strategy,