A couple weeks ago, the New York Times ran an article entitled To Hire Sharp Employees, Recruit Sharp Ways.  (I waited too long to blog about this, so unfortunately, the article is no longer free.)

Among the companies discussed was local favorite Starbucks.  Those who know me know that I’ve always been a big fan of Starbucks’ employer branding and recruiting practices.  Their treatment of candidates, at least from a pure process side, can’t be beat, and their recruiting messaging permeates their stores with a natural ease.  (Having met their employment branding team, I better understand how and why they can do this … but it’s just cool.)

The NY Times article specifically discusses Starbucks’ addition of “personal touches” to the candidate lifecycle:

… The company has devised all sorts of ways to add personal touches to the way it hires. Whenever possible, job interviews include coffee-tasting sessions, in which Starbucks veterans discuss the virtues of various blends with applicants. A "candidate bill of rights" emphasizes that recruiters use phone calls and handwritten notes over form response letters, sets goals for how quickly applicants should hear back and encourages recruiters to send out Starbucks gift cards in nominal amounts as goodwill gestures, whether or not an applicant gets a job offer.

"Our aim is to treat our candidates as well as we treat our customers, to do something memorable for them," Mr. Warner said. "You can't treat people shabbily, especially in a world where there are far more open jobs than there is available talent to fill them. We strive to put the humanity back into the recruiting experience."  <Hat tip to the Secrets of the Job Hunt blog>

The “Mr. Warner” discussed is Director of North American Recruitment and occasional blogger, Jason Warner.

Starbucks is ahead of the game, period.  But no company in the technical space comes anywhere close to creating this type of positive and personal candidate experience.  I’ve seen tech companies try a little, but I’m not sure their corporate hearts really “get it” and understand why this two way relationship is so vitally important ... not just to their recruiting productivity but to their overall product and service livelihood.

So, kudos, to Starbucks.  I continue to be impressed with these guys.  And tech companies out there, let’s step it up.  After all, it is a jobseekers’ market.

gretchen