Ohio-based Staffmark Group was growing quickly — and needed help automating a more personalized candidate journey, from start to finish. The staffing group was reaching a critical juncture: Its recruiters and management team required a more efficient technology to provide the experience their candidates expected.
“The candidate experience is a huge priority for us,” says Liza Palermo, SVP of Marketing at Staffmark. “One of our core values is to obsess with our talent’s journey.”
For staffing businesses like this one, an efficient, consistent level of communication with candidates is essential to attract top talent and place them in roles. But the labor-intensive nature of their industry presented numerous challenges.
Recruiters often found themselves bogged down with steady communication that candidates craved, particularly after securing a job. This left them unable to focus on high-value tasks like matching talent with roles. Staffmark needed an automated, seamless and personalized solution — and it needed to be deployed quickly.
To overcome these challenges, Staffmark turned to Sense, a leading AI-powered talent engagement platform that helps recruiting and talent teams to personalize their interactions with talent at every stage.
One of the most attractive elements of Sense’s AI powered system — which includes customizable journeys and communications depending on different events in the candidate journey — was the level of customization available without developers getting involved. For example, recruiters could set up email and text templates that were easy to customize, allowed them to stay in touch with candidates and saved time.
Sense has a deep understanding of staffing and recruiting objectives, Palermo says.
“The most important thing about technology efficiencies is that it gives our recruiters the time to put people front and center, and make sure that we can maintain those personal interactions and service with our talent when it really matters most,” says Palermo.
Unlike other automated platforms, the Sense platform ties together any events that might happen on an organization’s website and connects them for marketing teams. These events could be anything from people using the website’s chatbot to message them, to someone being offered a job. Staffmark staff can now program sophisticated outreach responses seamlessly.
“(Sense) provides a lot of training and customer support, so we felt very confident that standing up the system with Sense as a partner was going to allow us to get the value out of it rather quickly,” Palermo says. In her experience, implementing automated platforms doesn’t always feel as easy or simple.
Another decisive factor was Sense’s AI-driven technology and analytics at every step for the candidate’s journey. These features gave Staffmark real-time insights into candidate engagement, allowing the company to continuously refine its processes — even after implementation. This was a crucial benefit, Palermo says.
The platform’s continuous evolution, including the introduction of new features and predictive analytics, has enabled Staffmark to refine their candidate journey and ensure engagement remains high. This prevents candidates from opting out of the communications or feeling it’s an overwhelming amount of communication.
The impact of implementing Sense’s platform was immediate. Within just 30 days, the company reported significant gains across several key metrics.
The automation of routine communications, such as responding to common inquiries via chatbots, has significantly increased efficiency for recruiters, too. This, in turn, has freed up recruiters to engage in higher-value activities, such as personalized follow-ups and in-person meetings with candidates.
“It has saved hours on behalf of specific recruiters,” Palermo says. “They can turn their attention to higher value, strategic ways of spending their time.”
Feedback from talent surveys revealed that candidates felt the communication they received was more personalized, even though much of it was automated. This positive reception underscored the success of Staffmark’s approach to using technology as an enhancement rather than a replacement for human interaction.
In a competitive recruitment market, the ongoing support and training provided by Sense have empowered Staffmark to fully utilize the platform’s capabilities, ensuring the company continues to meet and exceed its recruitment targets.
“It feels like a partnership that can continue to grow as the landscape changes,” Palermo says. “They’re always keeping their eye out for how can we leverage AI, how can we leverage predictive analytics.”
The collaboration between Staffmark and Sense highlights a growing trend in the staffing industry: the integration of AI-driven tools to not only meet, but exceed, recruitment goals, all while maintaining the personal touch that candidates value. As the industry continues to evolve, partnerships like this one are likely to become increasingly vital to staying competitive in a rapidly changing market.
To see how AI can propel your operations, visit the Sense website or request a demo.
Want to create phenomenal experiences for your candidates, employees, and partners? Talk to a Sense representative to understand how our automation & communication solutions can seamlessly do this for you.
