Working with Jobilla helped Suunto to streamline its recruitment process to be more candidate-driven and to be more successful in filling technical positions.
Suunto is a brand known internationally for its high-quality products. In its search for top talent, it started working with Jobilla.
Initial recruitment challenges had included reaching technical talent, managing the recruitment process as a whole and the image of Suunto as an employer. "Everyone knows Suunto as a company, but not as an employer. Our marketing has long been product-driven, but what kind of place we are as an employer has remained hidden," says Pia Santanen, Suunto's Talent Acquisition Business Partner.
"Suunto created a strategy with Jobilla to evolve recruitment in a more agile and candidate-driven direction."
Before the change, the channels Suunto used were producing candidates for non-technical positions. Using direct mail services to reach the right technical people was costly and, once the right candidate was found, there was not enough time to contact them. "You have to react quickly to technical talent because other companies are competing for the same talent," Pia explains.
A New Strategy For The Recruitment Process
With Jobilla, the change started with streamlining the recruitment process. The whole process was brought in-house and the different areas of responsibility were clearly allocated. One person was appointed to be responsible for the whole process.
In addition, the job search process was streamlined. Jobilla's lightweight recruitment test gives candidates advance information on the most important criteria and qualities for the job. This allows the candidate to decide in advance whether he or she might have the potential for the job.
"The candidate experience starts with the job advertisement itself and how to apply for the job."
Pia praises the applicant-driven recruitment process and says she has received praise from applicants for the revised process. "The applicant experience starts with the job advertisement itself and how to apply for the job. If you come across services that require you to register and copy the same information many times, that's a big turn-off."
A test application is a much easier and less cumbersome way for the applicant to show interest in the job. It has also been praised for its speed, as there is no longer a need to fill in the same information several times. "The threshold to apply is really much lower," says Pia.
"Suunto no longer had to rely on expensive direct searches to find technical experts."
Pia praises Jobilla's recruitment system, among other things, for helping to manage even large application volumes. The change has also reduced recruitment turnaround times and the cost of direct recruitment has dropped to a fraction of what it used to be. Today, Suunto no longer has to rely on expensive direct recruitment to find technical talent.
Honest Communication And Communication at the Heart of the Applicant Experience
What advice can Pia give to other companies based on her own experience?
The importance of communication and messaging is particularly important in candidate-driven recruitment. Pia recommends investing in respecting candidates, especially when it comes to creating an employer image. "What you put forward has to be true."
The recruitment process is made as transparent as possible to the applicant in advance, so that the applicant knows from the start what will happen in the process. Candidates should also be provided with, for example, interim information in case the recruitment is delayed for any reason.
Pia also stresses the importance of giving feedback, especially to people who have moved on in the process. Giving feedback leaves a good impression of the company even to those who are not selected.
What Next?
Suunto will continue to build on the good start it has made in terms of employer image and recruitment. The plan is to showcase the daily life and tasks of employees and the culture of Suunto through blog posts and videos.
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg)
