Retail Recruitement 360°
Zappos is an online and in store retailer providing stylish and affordable fashion for women, men, girls and boys. Operates in the UK, Ireland, Asia Europe and the Middle East. They also design the vast majority of their products in-house. They aim to provide everything you need for a new head to toe look.
WHAT IS THIS HR INNOVATION ABOUT?
This HR innovation is about taking the different types of technology currently available, selecting and utilizing them to simplify the recruiting process. As such, the system includes: quotas to control the numbers of applicants; online interview booking; text message reminders for interview appointments, Google maps to help interviewees find interview location; attendee lists for store managers carrying out interviews; automatic generation of reference requests; onboarding/induction; instant messaging within the recruitment team; and monitoring tools.
WHY WAS THIS INNOVATION IMPLEMENTED?
River Island implemented the recruitment system as they were falling behind in filling vacancies. There were a lot of administrative tasks done manually by store managers that took a lot of time and had errors. Store Managers didn't have enough time and candidates were sometimes not receiving feedback. Pressure from having over 150K applicants a year and an internal policy to review and reply to every applicant.
WHAT ARE ITS MAIN BENEFITS?
Store Managers are no longer facing immense hiring pressures. Large reduction in screening time and money saved through HR removal from the process. From an organizational level there is behaviours that align with their policies. There is also a greater efficiency and usage of the applicant pool which decreases recruitment difficulties. On an individual level, employees are more satisfied as they fill team vacancies quickly and do not work short staffed for long periods of time. For applicants it is a better experience as they receive important details and feedback in a timely manner.
COUNTRY : Multiple countries in Europe, UK, Ireland, Asia, and the Middle East
YEAR : 2009
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SOURCES
River Island won the HR Excellence Awards – Most Innovative Use of Technology in 2011 for this Innovation. http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/hr-excellence-awards-2011-most-innovative-use-of-technology-river-island
Company continues to win HR awards, here is a link to details about the company http://www.riverislandcareers.com/about/