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13+ HR Case Studies: Recruiting, Learning, Analytics, and More

Reposting a piece from the blog over at Lighthouse Research because I know not all of you subscribe over there!

While much of the work we do at Lighthouse Research & Advisory focuses on quantitative research studies, we do a fair amount of qualitative research as well. We’ve collected case studies over time (and continue to) that highlight interesting approaches and examples of innovation within human capital management. The list below offers a wide variety of industries, examples, and flavors for you to learn from.

Want to see another topic or example not listed here? Comment below and and I will see what we can do to find that for you!

Wal-Mart, Automation, and Compassion Training

Walmart’s Fastest Growing Line of Business is Delivering Experiences

The Motley Fool: Blending Talent Management and Engagement

Motley Fool: The Coolest Talent Processes You’ve Never Heard Of

Chipotle: How Internal Mobility Reduced Turnover by 64%

Internal promotion-how Chipotle reduced turnover by 64%

Adtran: Using Hackathons for Employer Branding, Employee Development, and Retention

Using Hackathons for Branding and Retention

Stout Advisory: Performance Management, Peer Feedback, and Employee Engagement

How to Radically Change Your Performance Management Practice [Podcast]

H&R Block: Seasonal Hiring, Strategic Recruiting, and Hiring Manager Communications

Patagonia: measuring the roi of hr programs, hr strategy, employee perks and benefits.

Measuring the ROI of HR Programs is Critical: Here’s How Patagonia Does It

Hot Chicken Takeover: Employee Benefits, Corporate Culture, Leadership, and Social Responsibility

Can a Business Grow Competitively While Doing Social Good? [Podcast]

AlliedUniversal: Talent Acquisition, Employee Referrals, and High-Volume Hiring

How Does AlliedUniversal Hire 90,000 Workers a Year? Referrals and PURPOSE [Podcast]

Duie Pyle: Remote Worker Engagement, Blue Collar Challenges, and Competitive Recruiting

Talent Lessons from the Transportation Industry [Podcast]

Ohio Living: Core Values, Company Culture, and Employee Recognition

We’re Only Human 39: Ohio Living Serves 70,000 Clients Annually with Core Values

Cox Enterprises: HR Analytics, Business Impact, and Strategy

We’re Only Human 53: How to Partner with Your Talent Analytics Team

McDonald’s: Learning Measurement, Business Impact, and ROI

Southwest airlines: corporate culture, employee perks, and employee engagement.

We’re Only Human 40: How Southwest Airlines Lives and Breathes Corporate Culture

HJF: HR Technology Selection and Implementation, HR Leadership, and Modernization

We’re Only Human 55:The HR Leader’s First Year on the Job

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• Employee Benefits
• Change Management
• Talent Acquisition
• Applicant Tracking Systems

7 Steps to Building a Successful Talent Acquisition Team (+Netflix Case Study)

Analytics in HR

AUGUST 8, 2023

Talent acquisition team structure Examples of organizations’ talent acquisition team structures 7 Steps for building a talent acquisition team How to measure the success of a talent acquisition team Case study : Netflix’s talent acquisition team What is a talent acquisition team?

Finding the Best California SaaS Software Recruiters: A Comprehensive Guide

Recruiters Lineup

AUGUST 10, 2024

However, recruiting in this space isn’t just about filling roles; it’s about finding experts who can drive innovation and growth. The challenges of sourcing skilled professionals in this fast-paced market are unique, requiring recruiters specializing in the nuances of SaaS.

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15 HR Analytics Case Studies with Business Impact

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

For this article, I have collected 15 of the best HR analytics case studies I’ve come across in the past two years. Each of these case studies are connected with a concrete business impact. For each case study , I will refer to their original publication. 15 HR Analytics Case Studies .

Children’s Mercy Hospital Case Study

Stories Incorporated HR

APRIL 8, 2020

Want this case study as a PDF? How Children’s Mercy is Using Content to Drive Recruiting Efforts. For example , nursing job descriptions now start with a call to action, not to apply, but to watch a video to hear the experiences of their nursing staff. Reading Time: 6 minutes. Find it here !

Case Study: Strategic Workforce Planning for Rail Infrastructure Managers

MARCH 30, 2020

In this case study , strategic workforce planning is applied to solve this national problem, impacting millions of commuters. The TWP process estimates the turnover in the coming 18 months to plan and execute required recruiting efforts, rigorous psychological testing, and 9 months of training periods for new employees.

What is HR Analytics? All You Need to Know to Get Started

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

This has a significant impact on organizational performance , leading to as much as a 25% rise in business productivity, a 50% decrease in attrition rates, and an 80% increase in recruiting efficiency. Example : Annual employee turnover rate.) Example : Examining unplanned absence data to identify absenteeism drivers.)

13+ HR Case Studies: Recruiting, Learning, Analytics, and More

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

As someone who has worked in the HR profession, I know well the full value of stories, examples , and case studies . While much of the work we do at Lighthouse Research & Advisory focuses on quantitative research studies , we do a fair amount of qualitative research as well. How to Lead a Hiring Team.

Recruiting Feedback Case Study: The Recruiting Revenue Connection

MARCH 11, 2019

In our latest recruiting feedback case study , Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) demonstrates that asking the right questions at the right time can dramatically affect overall recruiting effectiveness AND uncover powerful connections between recruiting and revenue generation. Recruiting and Revenue.

Using Talent Sourcing Platforms To Save Recruiter Time

Select Software Reviews

MAY 17, 2019

Talent sourcing has become an incredibly important part of any recruiting strategy. In response, recruiters have been forced to rely more and more on outbound means to engage potential hires. Full desk recruiters don’t want to source. Source cfo.com. Sourcing is all these companies do.

Finding the Perfect Fit: How Finance Recruiters Can Help Hiring Managers and Job Seekers

Professional Alternatives

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

[link] Finding the Perfect Fit: How Finance Recruiters Can Help Hiring Managers and Job Seekers The role of finance recruiters in the job market The job market can be a daunting place for both hiring managers and job-seeking candidates, especially in the highly competitive field of finance.

How To Apply Design Thinking in HR (+ 3 Case Studies)

AUGUST 16, 2023

The benefits of a design thinking approach in HR The 4 principles and 5 phases of design thinking 4 Ways to apply design thinking to HR processes Successful implementation of design thinking in HR Design thinking in HR examples What is design thinking? Recruitment and onboarding Consider how candidates experience the recruitment process.

The Evolution of HR with AI Technologies

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Traditionally, HR departments focused on managing employee records, overseeing recruitment processes, and ensuring compliance with labor laws. One of the most significant changes was in recruitment and talent acquisition. Case studies from various companies show the success of integrating AI into HR strategies.

Case Study: MarketGap’s Innovative Strategy for Agile Workforce Evolution

JUNE 30, 2023

Partnering with organizations and agencies that focus on promoting minority talents, such as minority professional associations and diversity-focused recruitment firms. The post Case Study : MarketGap’s Innovative Strategy for Agile Workforce Evolution appeared first on Hppy.

Case study: Executing a recruitment marketing video plan

MAY 19, 2021

Executing a recruitment marketing video plan sometimes requires research and buy-in. This case study is an excerpt from our new ebook, Getting Buy-In for Your Employee Story Project: The Ultimate Guide to Employer Branding and Recruitment Marketing ROI. Reading Time: 7 minutes. Brittni says, “I knew Stories Inc.

OKR Examples: How to Write OKRs that Drive Impact

OCTOBER 19, 2022

In this article, we’ll break down the framework for writing impactful objectives and key results and share some OKR examples you can use as a guide when crafting your own. Example of a poorly-written objective: Provide better customer service. Example of poorly-written key results: Treat our customers well every day.

Case Study: Credit Union

OCTOBER 1, 2020

Today’s case study explains how TimeSimplicity can help a typical small credit union maintain quality customer service while controlling operating expenses through automated credit union employee scheduling. Our example organization is Springfield Community Credit Union. How much can you save? ArticleID 7414.

Case Study: The Value Of Pay Transparency And How To Implement It

HR Tech Girl

JULY 5, 2023

Here I aim to shed light on what pay transparency looks like at Compt, explain its mechanics and influence on overall compensation structures and raises, present real-world examples of its benefits, and provide practical considerations for organizations contemplating this approach.

Develop Your Talent Acquisition Strategy With 6 Practical Examples

JULY 31, 2023

In this article, we’ll explore what a talent acquisition strategy looks like, how to develop a talent acquisition strategy, along with some best practices and examples to help you move your company forward. Software and applicant tracking systems can help you sort through your talent pool, assess candidates, and recruit .

9 Digital HR Case Studies with Business Impact

Digital HR Tech

OCTOBER 23, 2019

In this article, we have collected some of the best Digital HR case studies we’ve come across. They’re good examples of organizations that really get Digital HR and make the most of it. Each case study is connected to a specific business imperative. What’s in? Anchor Trust 2. Deloitte 5.

Creating Employment Opportunities With Flex Manufacturing (i4cp login required)

MARCH 7, 2023

This case study represents one of the submissions for i4cp's 2023 Next Practice Awards, winners will be honored at the i4cp 2023 Next Practices Now Conference. You can also view other Next Practice Award case studies . A cross-functional team formed to include the Director of Manufacturing, his HRBP and Recruiting .

Healthcare HR and Nursing Leaders: Partnering for Improved Outcomes

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

Creating a partnership between nursing leaders and HR, though, can help organizations do a better job recruiting and retaining nurses, leading to better workforce management for HR and improved care for patients. With a projected nursing shortage in the next decade , recruitment has never been more important for healthcare organizations.

Recruit Better: Employee Discount Programs and Taxes

HR Bartender

APRIL 16, 2017

Examples of de minimis perks include occasional tickets to theatres and sporting events, as well as invitations to company-hosted parties and picnics. That helps strengthen relationships and increase engagement with employees, and it can serve as a competitive differentiator and recruitment tool.

How to Identify Bottlenecks in Your Recruitment Process

DECEMBER 9, 2014

Take recruiting for example . When the recruiting process is broken, everybody knows it. And in my experience, everyone blames everything on recruiting being broken. “We Problems (or contraints) in recruiting isn’t something to ignore because finding top talent is essential to the business.

13 HR Analytics Courses Online To Check Out in 2024

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

All subjects are illustrated by real-life examples of how various organizations tap into HR analytics techniques to help them flourish. A dashboard example is included below. It includes facilitated discussions, case studies , group and individual activities, and self-assessments. Want to know more?

People Analytics and HR-Tech Reading List

Littal Shemer

OCTOBER 11, 2022

“The book helps professionals, researchers, employers, and everybody interested in the world of work to understand the past, present, and future of recruitment . . “The book helps professionals, researchers, employers, and everybody interested in the world of work to understand the past, present, and future of recruitment .

13 Great Employer Branding Examples To Inspire You in 2024

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

In this article, we’ll share 13 exceptional employer branding examples and what we like about them to inspire you in building your employer branding strategy. Types of employer branding content Employer branding examples 1. Now, let’s dive into the best employer branding examples ! Contents What is employer branding?

Navigating Uncertainty: The Strategic Imperative of Investing in People and HR Tech

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

Optimizing Operations HR tech serves as a catalyst for operational efficiency, streamlining processes such as recruitment , onboarding, and performance evaluation. This collection of case studies showcases success stories where savvy UAE companies harnessed the power of HR tech to drive out of the box results: 1.

What is HR Automation? A Guide with Practical Examples

APRIL 8, 2021

HR is responsible for recruiting , onboarding and offboarding employees, training and development, payroll and timekeeping, tracking vacation and sick days, and employees’ general well-being within the organization. Benefits of HR automation Examples of HR automation in action The best HR automation tools currently on offer.

9 Inspiring Employee Experience Examples To Boost Your EX

JANUARY 12, 2024

These touch points are encounters with your policies, processes, and strategies from the first contact during recruitment to the offboarding and alumni policies. One of the best ways to learn is to look at specific employee experience examples , case studies , and initiatives deployed in other organizations. Contents 1.

Why talent acquisition pros must learn to analyze data, according to a new book

HRExecutive

MARCH 25, 2024

The consulting firm also found that most HR departments use two or more platforms to facilitate the recruiting process. Throughout the chapters, practical examples and case studies from organizations across the globe provide real-world context. “We A study performed by St.

Trend: Candidate Feedback for Recruiter Reviews and Managing Recruiters

JANUARY 13, 2023

Using candidate feedback for recruiter reviews and managing recruiters is fast becoming standard practice these days. In fact MOST Survale clients use some form of candidate and/or hiring manager feedback in quarterly or annual recruiter reviews, incentive compensation or other systems for managing recruiters ’ performance.

A Real Life Example: The Benefits of Recruiting Chatbots

SelectSoftware

APRIL 28, 2020

If you’re looking to save time with your recruiting efforts, check out this case study .

5 Ways to Revolutionize Recruiting with AI

Linkedin Talent Blog

DECEMBER 6, 2023

Namely, it gives recruiters more time for the human aspects of their work. “AI In one example , the team prompted the AI to “Act as if you’re giving a presentation on key data findings and theme takeaways from survey responses around our representation recruiting survey.” million job applications.

Best recruitment marketing blogs of the year by Stories Inc.

DECEMBER 22, 2020

At the start of 2020, we focused on providing for you the best recruitment marketing blogs possible. All in all, we hit “publish” over 100 times this year— including virtual content creation resources , a COVID-19 hub , case studies , downloadables , and original articles. Crisis communications for recruitment marketers.

Recruiting in the Era of International Accounting Standards: A Hiring Manager’s Handbook

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Partnering with a Global Accounting Recruitment Agency Navigating the global accounting landscape and finding top talent can be a daunting task. One effective solution is to partner with a global accounting recruitment agency. Ready to elevate your expertise and drive success in global accounting?

Improving Diversity Recruiting Strategy: 7 Practical Tips

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

People say that using a diversity recruitment strategy is the right thing to do. This post is here for companies that need to improve their diversity recruiting strategy and take advantage of these benefits. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know what it takes to recruit top diverse talent and retain them effectively.

Talent Mobility Webinar: How to Recruit and Retain Internal Talent

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

Recruiting : instead of immediately looking externally for talent, you consider your internal talent inventory to determine if you have someone you can move into the role. Each case study tells a slightly different story, and I’m excited to share those examples . It has a whole host of impacts and benefits.

Podcast Episode 15: Employer Brand Campaigns that Attract & Retain

JULY 11, 2024

Reading Time: < 1 minute In this previously recorded webinar in partnership with Rally Recruitment Marketing, we learn from Alex Wallce, Head of Talent Brand at The Knot Worldwide. Alex shares her experience creating an employer brand campaign with great internal and external results.

Maximizing Talent Acquisition Success: The Qualigence and Valvoline Partnership

Qualigence Blog

MARCH 14, 2024

This blog explores the transformative partnership between Qualigence, a leader in recruitment and talent strategy, and Valvoline, a highly respected automotive services and products provider. Resource Augmentation : Leveraging additional full-cycle recruiting resources to enhance Valvoline’s recruitment capabilities.

Organizations Can Use Assessments to Bridge the Skills Gap

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) report “ The New Talent Landscape: Recruiting Difficulty and Skills Shortages ”, 68 percent of HR professionals are having trouble recruiting candidates for full-time positions. Organizations Can Use a 3-Strategy Approach to Recruitment . Enjoy the post!).

Case Study Underscores Why HR Change Management Skills Are Critical

HR Daily Advisor

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Here is an example to illustrate the point: This is a true story about Robert, a director of Recruitment and Human Development for a major chemical company. Improve the company’s college recruiting program designed to bring into the company “high potential” entry-level engineers and technically-trained individuals.

#GamifyHR HR / Learning Gamification Case Studies

Strategic HCM

MAY 18, 2014

Day 3 of Fleming''s Gamification in HR Summit focused on learning, particularly in this case study from Tuba Surucu from Yapi Kredi Bank in Turkey. So again, this is gaming rather than gamification - and quite similar to the recruitment case studies in fact.

#E4S case studies - BT, Capital One.

DECEMBER 17, 2012

But after a couple of these I was beginning to worry whether these case study sessions were going to live up to the challenge that E4S provides and David Guest described earlier - if there’s been such as huge management c**k-up as there certainly has, we don’t get out of it by a slight shift in management as usual.

How an Employee Experience Platform Helps with Recruiting

DECEMBER 14, 2017

Case in point: recruiting . How an employee experience platform helps recruiting . That means it touches everything in the employee lifecycle, from recruiting to retirement. With more time and data on hand, HR professionals can optimize their efforts around programs such as recruiting . About Kazoo.

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This is not me

Skills-based success: 10 recruiting case studies

The working world has been turned on its head with the pandemic, the Great Reshuffle, and the resulting skills shortage. Companies are searching for a powerful, sustainable way to recruit and retain talent, and 81% of them are now opting for skills-based hiring practices.

Skills-based recruitment practices are for everyone. Don’t believe us? We've put together 10 recruiting case studies that demonstrate how different individuals, industries, and regions have successfully implemented skills-based hiring.

Table of contents

What's the purpose of a recruiting case study, 3 personal recruiting case studies, 3 recruiting case studies by industry, 4 recruiting case studies by region, looking for more recruiting case studies, the state of skills-based hiring 2024.

Read TestGorilla's annual report to discover why over 81% of companies are choosing to adopt skills-based hiring methods in 2024.

In recruitment, case studies are helpful tools for employers seeking to build, develop, or optimize their recruitment processes. They can be great sources of information and inspiration. By understanding the successes and failures others have had with their hiring processes, hiring managers can take any relevant learnings without having to make the same mistakes that others have.

To make these recruiting case studies relevant for as many people as possible, we've divided them into personal case studies, case studies by industry, and case studies by region. Let's dive in.

Let’s first look at the personal stories of some stellar individuals who were recruited into their ideal industries using skills-based practices. These people didn’t have traditional backgrounds, but because of their unique skills, they got into amazing roles. All that was needed was a chance to prove those skills during recruitment.

1. Justin Hutchinson

Justin Hutchinson wanted a future in football, but he was faced with a hard choice at age 14: Focus on his career prospects or take care of his father with cancer.

Justin, of course, chose his father and has never regretted that choice, but it did mean giving up the chance of achieving his dream job.

After his father’s passing, Justin attended a community college to fulfill his father’s wish for him to get a degree. To pay rent and living expenses, Justin got a job at a smoothie franchise.

His aim was to simply support his cost of living by making fast food – but it turns out Justin’s real skill was people and communication.

Justin would study the cars that drove up, memorize their orders, and have them ready so he could spend time talking and getting to know the customers instead of making drinks.

One of Justin’s customers was a chief executive of a marketing company and was so impressed with his people skills, he offered Justin an internship.

It wasn’t long before Justin used his soft skills to turn that internship into a full-time position. He dropped out of college, poured his heart and soul into the role, and attained the role of Director of Business Development.

Justin attributes his success to his best skills:

Workplace empathy

Strategic and critical thinking

Sales management

Justin didn’t have a typical marketing background – his experience was a partial college education with no degree, on-the-job experience (and not a traditionally “relevant” job), and his internship.

Not everyone can find the perfect marketer in a charismatic smoothie server, but online skills testing holds the same principles: Look at abilities first and ask questions later.

Sales and marketing are industries that are uniquely dependent on soft skills, which makes skills-based hiring an obvious choice for recruiting. For information on how it helps with the tricky subject of ramp time, read our article on skills-based hiring and ramp time.

2. Latisha Carter

Latisha Carter had a dream of excelling in corporate America, but she never got the opportunity to attend college.

At age 17, Latisha became a single mother. This put her dreams of college on hiatus for the foreseeable future.

Three years later, after having another child, Latisha got a job as a nursing assistant. But she still couldn’t shake her desire to make it in the corporate world.

She secured a call center job with NCR, a software company, driven by their offer of extensive employee training. 

Offering extensive upskilling and reskilling is one of the best things you can put on the table for potential candidates. A study by Lorman showed that 59% of Millennials believe that development opportunities are extremely important when deciding whether to apply for a position.

Latisha used her experience at NCR to get a role in customer service at the software company Sage.

With determination and hard work, she continued to work her way up for 20 years until she became a director at Xero, an accounting technology company.

Latisha is now proudly a director in corporate America with no college degree. Her company is reaping the benefits of her presence and skills. 

In the second half of 2021, Xero’s approach to skills-based hiring and its emphasis on diversity pushed a 7% increase in racial and ethnic diversity.

Jana Galbraith, the executive general manager for people experience partnering for Xero, says: “ [H]istorically, hiring based on degree exclusively has perpetuated discrimination .”

This boost is great news for Xero because the benefits of diversity are broad and include increased productivity, innovation, and financial performance.

Latisha’s struggle to succeed is unfortunately common for working mothers. To learn more about this, read our article on the motherhood penalty .

3. Cindy Veach

Cindy Veach didn’t have a traditional background. She had all the tech know-how, but she only had experience involving massage therapy and social services.

But she had the skills and she knew it. Cindy says it was a happenstance that she stumbled upon her perfect role; she just wanted a role where she could use her best talents.

“I was looking for jobs I had the right skills for, organizational skills in particular,” said Cindy.

She happened upon a tech administration apprenticeship program at IBM. Before then, she saw her tech skills as just a hobby and never imagined herself in the tech industry – but she applied and was accepted.

Cindy had a steep learning curve ahead of her. She possessed the base tech skills but needed the training to reach the right level.

She attributes much of her success to the flexibility of her mentors. They continually told her that if a path “didn’t feel right,” she was welcome to experiment and try something new.

At the end of the apprenticeship, she applied for a network operations technician role and was hired. She took a position with flexible work options so she could still care for her two children comfortably. 

Skills-based hiring made this outcome possible. Cindy’s communication skills, digital expertise, and problem-solving abilities helped her secure her role, and the focus on continuous improvement is helping her develop it .

She says that the combination of her appetite for learning and her employer’s support for her success is the perfect duo for creating limitless growth.

We’ve heard plenty of people say “skills-based hiring doesn’t work in my industry.” But that’s just yet another myth we’ve debunked . Let’s take a look at a handful of case studies about how companies within certain industries have succeeded with skills-based recruitment initiatives.

4. Healthcare

Healthcare administration is an industry that’s notoriously difficult to get into. Between receiving a bachelor’s degree and completing a master’s program, it can take six to eight years of rigorous commitment.

However, more opportunities are arising that allow equally qualified candidates to get in without obtaining specific educational requirements.

Sam Saucedo-Hernandez had a tumultuous life, but she only ever wanted a solid career. As a child of parents who emigrated from Mexico, she wanted to be the first generation in her family to attain a degree.

Sam watched her parents struggle with low-wage jobs and promised herself she would do better for herself.

Her first attempt was at law school where she spent several years studying hard. Sam was ecstatic to get her degree and begin a career in law.

But two weeks after she got her associate of science degree, the school got shut down for fraud, leaving Sam jobless and $60,000 in debt.

Sam faced many challenges, but the turning point in her story was the day she received a letter promoting a no-cost medical administrative assistant job training program from JVS.

JVS is a program that helps people build skills and find solid career connections – particularly in the healthcare industry.[1]

JVS has seen amazing success with over 500 employer partners and an emphasis on promoting diversity: 88% of their participants are Black, Hispanic, Asian, or a wide range of other ethnicities.

Sam applied for the program and was accepted. She secured a position as a medical administrative assistant, but her training has led her to her current role in the audiology department.

Though she’s fortunate for her position, Sam says she’s still looking forward, wondering where her skills can take her from here. 

Programs like JVS are working tirelessly to make more stories like this possible. With a focus on skills over experience, they bring in valuable candidates to industries that may otherwise be restricted to them.

5. Manufacturing

Steelcase, a furniture manufacturing company, wanted to build a fairer place for employment opportunities and encourage better representation for employees of color. So they adopted skills-based hiring practices.

They’re far from the only ones. According to TestGorilla’s State of Skills-Based Hiring report, 85% of businesses in 2023 had the goal to increase diversity.

And companies are succeeding at this by implementing skills-based hiring: 91% of organizations saw an increase in diversity due to skills-based hiring.

Steelcase realized that if they truly wanted to boost their DE&I initiatives , traditional hiring methods wouldn’t do.

They decided their hiring processes needed to be revamped for the better, so they adopted some new practices:

Prioritizing skills over resume and pedigree

Removing experience requirements wherever possible

Favoring continuous improvement over perfection

Revamping job descriptions to reduce biased language

Prioritizing diversity among equally qualified candidates

Steelcase decided that practices like these would enable them to reach diverse talent organically, and it worked. Since the program started, Steelcase’s new hires are 55% women and 30% racial or ethnic minorities.

Steelcase’s initiatives are amazing, so we encourage similar active moves to boost diversity. To read more about this topic, read our blog on why being intentional about workplace diversity is non-negotiable .

6. Software

ADP, an HR management software company, adopted a recruiting strategy to focus on skills , rely less on credentials, and make an effort to provide opportunities for candidates with nontraditional backgrounds.

This strategy included training talent acquisition professionals on best practices, hiring specific diversity recruiters, removing degree requirements from high-volume recruiting roles, and leveraging better training and mentorship for new hires.

What were the results? ADP saw great success in one year:

An increase in the number of candidates with no college degree

An increase in Black representation in the candidate pool

An increase in Hispanic representation in the candidate pool

This program was heavily inspired and backed by Maria Black, the chief executive of ADP, and her strong belief in corporate social responsibility.

She has a strong passion for supporting working women, veterans, and other underrepresented talents.[2]

Maria is an excellent example of the power of leading from the top. When your company’s leadership supports a great cause, it benefits both employees and company alike and builds a better organizational culture .

Next, let’s take a look at some case studies about the regions and countries that are taking on skills-based recruitment practices. For more on this subject, check out our post on skills-based hiring around the world .

7. Maryland, USA

In 2022, the state of Maryland dropped four-year degree requirements for thousands of jobs in the government sector.

The aim of this initiative was to draw attention to the value of alternative credentials and experience. State officials want to give people a better shot at securing a stable, fulfilling job.

Governor Larry Hogan was quoted as saying:

“[W]e are ensuring qualified, non-degree candidates are regularly being considered for these career-changing opportunities.”[3]

Over 38,000 people work for the state of Maryland and it’s estimated that more than half of those jobs can be performed by people whose alternative skill routes can easily substitute for a college education.

These alternative routes include:

Life experience

Non-relevant job experience

Hobbies and volunteer work

Alternative training

Community college education

Maryland estimates that about 47% of its working population are STARs (skilled through alternative routes). That’s 2.8 million workers, and these people need solid opportunities – opportunities that they can access through skills-based hiring.

To learn more about how unnecessary degree requirements are holding top talent back, read our blog on degree inflation .

8. Indiana, USA

Indiana’s tech leaders are struggling to attract and retain great talent. They’re facing a major skill shortage and they can’t solve it with the “usual” hiring methods.

Traditional recruiting methods exclude over 95% of Indiana’s workforce.

Indiana has a workforce of 3,332,239 people, but consider this:

A four-year degree requirement removes 75%

Biases can eliminate up to 30% of the pool

Requiring specific past experience removes 93% of the talent pool

With all of that in mind, a pool of more than three million candidates is reduced to just over 42,000.

Indiana’s Office of Technology (IOT) realized that skills-based hiring practices could fix this problem and solve their shortage.

They started by removing degree requirements from most job descriptions, then took the next step and started offering reskilling opportunities to workers from alternative industries, such as line cooks and truck drivers.

Tracy Barnes, IOT’s chief information officer, said that the results of the program have been positive and they’re “very pleased” so far. She also said that she’s equally excited to see the positive life impacts for the candidates involved.

9. Asia-Pacific

Skills-based hiring is quickly gaining traction in the Asia-Pacific area.

One study showed that 79% of businesses in the Asia-Pacific area look for skills when hiring versus the 21% that prioritize education and experience.[4]

The same study found that internal mobility is more important than ever and that companies want to prioritize gender equality and disability inclusion . These points can also be accomplished by adopting skills-based hiring.

Asia-Pacific is looking to skills-based practices to improve the future of their recruitment processes, but Singapore-based TruTrip is already reaping the benefits .

TruTrip is a business travel management company that needed help assessing candidate skills and hiring the best candidates, so they gave TestGorilla a try.

Here are a few ways that TestGorilla’s pre-employment skills testing helped TruTrip’s recruitment processes:

Gives them a way to objectively assess applicants’ skills and knowledge

Helps them eliminate bias from the hiring process

Enables them to consistently make better hiring decisions

Reduces their reliance on resume screening

Enhances teamwork and communication

Improves the employee experience of new hires

According to Hugh Batley, the founder of TruTrip, their new hires are a better fit. These employees become great contributors and have a better initial experience with the company.

TestGorilla also helps TruTrip save thousands of dollars by reducing the chances of a costly mis-hire. 

This isn’t unusual. According to TestGorilla’s State of Skills-Based Hiring report, 92.5% of organizations using skills-based practices saw a reduction in mis-hires in 2022.

10. The UK and the EU

The UK and the EU have developed a strong focus on skills over the past few years.

Interest in skills-based hiring in the UK rose 63% from 2021 to 2022 . This drastic increase is due to employers wanting a wider talent pool and candidates prioritizing and valuing their alternative experience.

This move is helping job opportunities reach the 73.6% of people in the United Kingdom who don’t possess a four-year degree. [5]

As for the European Union, they developed the “Pact For Skills” program in 2020. This program was created to encourage and fund better upskilling and reskilling while also promoting greater diversity and gender equality.[6]

A good example from both areas is the British-Lithuanian bank, Revolut.

Revolut adopted skills-based hiring by using TestGorilla’s skills tests and, as a result, improved their time-to-hire by 40% .

Among many other benefits, Revolut found TestGorilla’s language tests life-saving. Assessing language proficiency is essential for a multinational company, but traditional methods are time-consuming and laborious.

TestGorilla’s language tests help Revolut to quickly and easily evaluate their candidates’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. This helped them to nearly fully automate their screening process, improving time-to-hire greatly.

To read more case studies and success stories about skills-based hiring, check out our 10 stories that demonstrate the power of skills-based hiring or our collection of customer case studies .

Here are 3 top picks from our case studies:

Revolut improves time-to-hire by 40% using TestGorilla

Design Pickle uses TestGorilla to boost application completion rate by 25%

TestGorilla helps TruTrip to save money and improve employee experience

If you’d like to acquaint yourself with a solid skills-based hiring practice, browse our test library and review our skills tests.

“JVS 2022 Impact Report”. (2022). JVS . Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://impact2022.jvs.org/

“Maria Black, president and CEO”. (n.d). Business Roundtable. Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://www.businessroundtable.org/about-us/members/maria-black-president-and-ceo-adp

McGraw, Mark. (April 4, 2022). “Dropping Degree Requirements: Do Employers Still Care About Education?”. World at Work . Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://worldatwork.org/resources/publications/workspan-daily/dropping-degree-requirements-do-employers-still-care-about-education

“The Future of Talent”. (2021). LinkedIn . Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/talent-solutions/resources/pdfs/future-of-talent-whitepaper.pdf

“Overview of the education system”. (2022). Education GPS . Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=GBR&treshold=10&topic=EO

“Pact for Skills”. (November 10, 2020). European Commission . Retrieved March 6, 2023.  https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1517&langId=en

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Challenges in recruitment and selection process: an empirical study.

1. Introduction

2. study background and approach, 2.1. applicant attributional-reaction theory (aart) based framework.

• start with the applicant’s perception from the process, such as their experience and emotions during the selection process, such as being ‘stressful’, ‘positive’, ‘unfavourable’, or ‘surprising’ [ 30 ]
• gather the applicants’ interpretation of the emotion seeking the cause for that feeling
• compare the applicants’ experience with their rules of justice
• explore whether justice was maintained or not [ 31 ]
• gather the applicants’ response to the outcome along with reasons
• lastly, determine the applicants’ reactions to the actions in the course of the selection process in accepting or rejecting the job offer or rejection [ 26 ]

2.2. Demographics of the Data Collected

3. empirical study design, 4. analysis of critical aspects of the recruitment and selection process, 4.1. hiring member perspective, 4.2. test result outcome, interpretation of the findings, 4.3. applicant perspective, 5. summary of findings and discussion, 6. conclusions and future research, author contributions, conflicts of interest.

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Rozario, S.D.; Venkatraman, S.; Abbas, A. Challenges in Recruitment and Selection Process: An Empirical Study. Challenges 2019 , 10 , 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe10020035

Rozario SD, Venkatraman S, Abbas A. Challenges in Recruitment and Selection Process: An Empirical Study. Challenges . 2019; 10(2):35. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe10020035

Rozario, Sophia Diana, Sitalakshmi Venkatraman, and Adil Abbas. 2019. "Challenges in Recruitment and Selection Process: An Empirical Study" Challenges 10, no. 2: 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe10020035

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How Netflix Reinvented HR

• Patty McCord

When Netflix executives wrote a PowerPoint deck about the organization’s talent management strategies, the document went viral—it’s been viewed more than 5 million times on the web. Now one of those executives, the company’s longtime chief talent officer, goes beyond the bullet points to paint a detailed picture of how Netflix attracts, retains, and manages stellar employees. The firm draws on five key tenets:

Hire, reward, and tolerate only fully formed adults. Ask workers to rely on logic and common sense instead of formal policies, whether the issue is communication, time off, or expenses.

Tell the truth about performance. Scrap formal reviews in favor of informal conversations. Offer generous severance rather than holding on to workers whose skills no longer fit your needs.

Managers must build great teams. This is their most important task. Don’t rate them on whether they are good mentors or fill out paperwork on time.

Leaders own the job of creating the company culture. You’ve got to actually model and encourage the behavior you talk up.

Talent managers should think like businesspeople and innovators first, and like HR people last. Forget throwing parties and handing out T‑shirts; make sure every employee understands what the company needs most and exactly what’s meant by “high performance.”

Trust people, not policies. Reward candor. And throw away the standard playbook.

Sheryl Sandberg has called it one of the most important documents ever to come out of Silicon Valley. It’s been viewed more than 5 million times on the web. But when Reed Hastings and I (along with some colleagues) wrote a PowerPoint deck explaining how we shaped the culture and motivated performance at Netflix, where Hastings is CEO and I was chief talent officer from 1998 to 2012, we had no idea it would go viral. We realized that some of the talent management ideas we’d pioneered, such as the concept that workers should be allowed to take whatever vacation time they feel is appropriate, had been seen as a little crazy (at least until other companies started adopting them). But we were surprised that an unadorned set of 127 slides—no music, no animation—would become so influential.

• PM Patty McCord was the chief talent officer at Netflix from 1998 to 2012 and now advises start-ups and entrepreneurs. She is the author of Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility (Silicon Guild, 2018).

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• Google (Alphabet) HRM: Recruitment, Selection, Retention

Google’s (Alphabet’s) success is based on its high-quality human resources. The competitive qualities of the company’s employees include smartness and excellence. The information technology company’s human resource management also includes carefully selected strategies, methods, and techniques for recruitment and selection, and for the retention of high-quality workers. Recruitment practices, selection processes, and retention programs ensure an adequate workforce and retain excellent employees, who are the foundation of the business strengths noted in the SWOT analysis of Google (Alphabet) . These programs also attract employees to the firm. The company is now one of the best places to work. Such popularity and positive perception indicate the success of Alphabet’s human resource management in recruitment, selection, and employee retention.

This article is part of a series on Google’s (Alphabet’s) human resource management:

• Google (Alphabet) HRM: HR Planning, Job Analysis & Design
• Google (Alphabet) HRM: Training, Performance Management
• Google (Alphabet) HRM: Compensation, Career Development

Google’s (Alphabet’s) Recruitment Practices

Sources . Google’s human resource management uses a mixture of internal and external recruitment sources to maintain the adequacy of its human resources. The company uses promotions, transfers, and trainees/interns as the main internal recruitment sources for HR needs. On the other hand, the external recruitment sources at Google include educational institutions and respondents to job advertisements. Most of these ads are available through the Careers section of Google’s website. Through these recruitment sources, the company facilitates a continuous influx of qualified workers, while matching these employees’ capabilities with human resource needs.

Methods . Considering the combination of internal and external recruitment sources, Google uses indirect methods and direct methods of recruitment. The indirect methods are more significant to the company. These indirect methods include advertisements on the company’s website. However, Alphabet’s human resource management also uses direct methods in the form of contacts with potential interns and future employees through academic institutions. This combination of direct and indirect recruitment methods is aligned with the mixture of internal and external recruitment sources to satisfy Google’s human resource requirements.

Selection Process at Google (Alphabet)

The most significant criteria used in Google’s human resource management for the selection of applicants are smartness, creativity, drive for excellence, and alignment with the organization. The company does not use work experience as the main criterion for selection. These criteria are based on the goal of maximizing innovation to support Google’s (Alphabet’s) generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies . For instance, the company’s human resource selection provides HR support for software engineering, hardware design, and consumer electronics marketing.

There are different processes used for the selection of applicants at Google. However, in general, the company’s selection process involves background checks, preliminary screening, on-the-job tests, and interviews. Google’s human resource management uses different procedures and steps for the various positions in the organization. For instance, on-the-job tests are generally used for positions that are more frequently filled through absorption of interns and trainees.

Retention Programs for Alphabet (Google) Employees

Compensation packages are the main HRM tool that the business uses for retaining high-quality human resources to fulfill the strategies and goals set in Alphabet’s (Google’s) corporate mission statement and corporate vision statement . The company’s compensation packages are competitive and above average. For example, Google provides high salaries and wages. In addition, employees get free meals and other incentives and benefits. The typical design of the company’s offices emphasizes fun and creativity, which attract and retain creative and innovative workers. Alphabet’s human resource management uses coaching and mentoring to retain and develop employees with leadership potential.

• Alphabet Inc. – Building a Sense of Belonging at Google and Beyond .
• Alphabet Inc. – Form 10-K .
• Engelsberger, A., Bartram, T., Cavanagh, J., Halvorsen, B., & Bogers, M. (2023). The role of collaborative human resource management in supporting open innovation: A multi-level model. Human Resource Management Review, 33 (2), 100942.
• Google Careers – How We Hire .
• Gu, M., Zhang, Y., Li, D., & Huo, B. (2023). The effect of high-involvement human resource management practices on supply chain resilience and operational performance. Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 8 (2), 176-190.
• U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration – Software and Information Technology Industry .
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Home » Management Case Studies » Case Study: Google’s Recruitment and Selection Process

Case Study: Google’s Recruitment and Selection Process

Google Inc., the world’s largest and most popular search engine company, is also one of the most sought after companies in the world. Due to the popularity of the company caused by its highly attractive compensation and benefits packages for its employees, millions of job applications are constantly received by Google on an annual basis. While other companies envy Google for attracting and acquiring such highly-talented and highly-skilled individuals from all over the world, the company finds it as a serious cause of dilemma.

When Google Inc. topped the ranks for the most popular companies in the world , it could no longer contain the number of applications it receives from thousands of job hunters from all over the globe. And since the company aims to hire only the best employees that fit the organizational culture and standards of Google , the company started thinking of ways to better improve its recruitment and selection process for its would-be employees.

The Google Inc management also decided to focus on the distinct behavioral characteristics and personality that separates Google employees from any other employees in other known companies. It shifted its focus from academic qualifications and technical experiences to the applicant’s personality , creativity , leadership capacities , innovative and non-conventional ways of thinking and the applicant’s overall exposure to the world. The academic qualifications and the intensive job experience just came in as second priorities of the company in choosing the best candidates for any open positions.

The Google Recruitment Process

One of the most notable statements of Eric Schmidt , the CEO of Google Inc. is that “Google invests in people.” The main reason why people from different cultures, have been dreaming of being recruited and hired by Google is that the company offers possibly the most outstanding job compensation packages any normal employee could ever enjoy.

In order to attract the best employees, Google draws them by the promise of wealth and luxury, providing their employees with almost everything an employee could possibly need, from absurdly high compensations to extravagant and luxurious benefits like gourmet food, carwash, gym, snacks, exercise classes, dry cleaning services, car services, haircuts, oil changes, massages, checkups and many more, all for free.

Another applicant who also have had experiences in the recruitment process of Google claims that his Google experience was one of the most nerve-wracking adventures of his life. The interviewers were looking for extremely bright individuals and so the recruitment method was filled with IQ tests, brain teasers, algorithms, data structures, and a lot of mathematics involved in it.

The Google Selection Process

Google is no doubt the world’s best recruitment leader. Google is known for various unique approaches that it has utilized in order to attract the cream of the crop or the best of the bests. One way is through employment branding. Google has so successfully utilized their brand in order to attract the most talented and highly-competent individuals in the world. Because of their claim of providing the best employee-employer experience supported by the many perks, benefits and high salaries that Google employees get to enjoy, Google became the most desired companies for men and women in the world.

One notable recruitment technique that Google utilized in 2006 was the targeted and unobtrusive approach to sending recruitment messages. Google crafted a simple technique to recruit the best students in certain schools and universities to work for them. They allowed people from these schools to access the search portal of Google wherein the students’ IP address would be identified to see from what organization the person belongs into. The technique was successfully executed using a minimalist and unobtrusive style of recruitment wherein below the search box, the Google system would know whether the targeted student is graduating or not and whether or not they intend to work for Google after graduation. The approach was definitely a successful micro-targeted approach. It was also in the same year when Google opened up to the idea of an Employee Referral Program. In putting up this program, Google made sure that it would deliver them a world-class employee whose personality, qualifications and work ethics reflect the Google standards.

A year passed by and Google’s attempts for recruitment innovations continued to improve. In 2007, Google developed a simple and effective assessment tool to screen its millions of applicants all over the world via an algorithm assessment tool. The algorithm technique effectively separated the top and the best performers from thousands of candidates vying for a position. Moreover, the assessment tool was made sure to successfully predict the best possible candidates from the least and the average and has managed to resolve the issue on the usual assessment tools being used by most companies, relying mainly on the academic qualifications and intensive industry and job experience.

The secret to be selected as a Google employee is that one has to think a lot like an “engineer”. Apparently, Google expects their employees to be highly quantitative and highly analytical as well as highly capable of dealing with too many data all at the same time. During the interviews, an applicant must also be able to demonstrate his skill or capacity by writing codes, intelligently analyzing case studies and brain teasers and solving algorithmic problems on the spot. Also, Google is searching for applicants who are highly practical and are capable of making something out of nothing that people can make use of.

The Google Interview Process

Since Google is known to be the ultimate recruitment and selection machine, its interview processes are also the most grueling experiences an applicant could ever have. Usually, the interviews begin using the telephone. Once the phone interviews conducted have been successful, the applicant would be scheduled by the recruitment officer and be invited for a series of five to ten interviews in one day with ten different people. For some people who have successfully undergone this process, they described it as the most excruciating employment experience of their lives as a lot of mental gymnastics were necessary to prove your skills.

Moreover, other applicants can rate and share comments on another applicant which Google can track and use as another basis for hiring or not hiring an applicant. Overall, the process was a lengthy, tedious and nerve-wracking experience which can possibly traumatize anyone whose dream is to work for one of the most prestigious companies in the world. Nevertheless, the perks and benefits are limitless and are more than enough to compensate for such a tough employment experience.

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