2019 Optimas Award Winners for Recruiting

The Recruiting award recognizes organizations that developed and implemented an innovative and effective recruitment initiative that helped the organization source, attract and recruit job candidates. Here are the winners for 2019:

Gold: Clemson University – Human Resources (Talent Acquisition)

At the Clemson University employee family continued to grow, the human resources department realized a new recruitment initiative was needed to reach a wider spectrum of candidates and promote the unique aspects of working at the South Carolina university. Thus, the Picture Yourself Here campaign was developed.

The campaign bridges the gap between hiring managers and candidates while broadening recruitment from regional to nationwide. It created “a cohesive and consistent way to reach candidates regardless of location, position or hiring department,” according to its award application.

The Picture Yourself Here campaign focuses on three tiers of recruitment materials that correspond with the salary levels of the offered position. As the salary increases, prospective employees can expect to receive a benefits booklet, a Tiger Rag (Clemson’s sports mascot is known as The Tiger), a personalized interview itinerary and a Clemson-branded virtual reality viewer. The VR viewer provides the candidate a chance to picture themselves on the university’s campus in the city of Clemson. Josh Brown, director of talent acquisition at Clemson, said, “Oftentimes we aren’t only recruiting just the candidate but their family as well. Having the capability to do a virtual tour provides a unique experience for everyone involved.”

Since the inception of the campaign one year ago, Clemson has received glowing reviews of the program from candidates. One candidate, M. Floyd, stated, “I was so impressed by the materials and the positive impact they had on shaping my perceptions of the university as a candidate, I shared the materials with my then HR team to explore how we might be able to implement a similar program for high-demand and hard-to-fill positions.”

Results include a revenue of $33,000 from local companies’ advertisements on the Picture Yourself Here materials. This revenue was distributed back into the budget to support Clemson employees. In addition, the university’s acceptance rate is currently at 98 percent.

“This campaign helps to leave candidates with an impression of Clemson that will last for years, and makes Tiger Town the place they want to be,” Brown said.

For its efforts on the Picture Yourself Here campaign, Clemson University-Human Resources (Talent Acquisition) is the 2019 Optimas Award Gold winner for Recruiting.

Silver: Interim HealthCare

In an industry with a high turnover rate, Interim HealthCare set itself apart from the competition with Project: ROR, short for recruit, onboard, and retain. The program strives to not only hire the best candidates but also increase productivity and employee satisfaction among current employees.

Project: ROR focuses on three primary components: achievement dashboards, biannual contests, and professional development courses and certifications. The achievement dashboards assist applicants, track patient encounters and workforce utilization. Biannual contests create friendly competition between franchises and encourage an increase in hiring and utilization. In addition, professional development courses and certifications can lead to incremental pay increases and have improved retention and caregiver satisfaction.

Through the achievement dashboards, Interim HealthCare has five times the number of candidates. Additionally, turnover continues to decline while engagement continues to rise.

For its efforts on Project: ROR, Interim HealthCare is the 2019 Optimas Award Silver winner for Recruiting.

Bronze: CDW

For CDW’s creation and implementation of its Technology Sales Bootcamp, the technology solutions provider is the 2019 Optimas Award Bronze winner for Recruiting.

Go here to read about the rest of the Optimas winners for 2019.