Jen Sommesi of CDW shares how the organization built their employer brand through a recruitment marketing strategy focused on engagement, personalization and content. This was originally presented as a keynote at the 2015 HCI Strategic Talent Acquisition Conference.

1. Building CDW’s Employment Brand
with Personalization, Engagement and
Content
HCI Conference
CDW Talent Acquisition
Jen Sommesi

2. @jensommesi | #HCIevents2
Who is CDW
Industry-leading provider of hardware, software and
integrated solutions
 2014 annual net sales of $12 billion
 Fortune 500 Rank (2015): 253
 7,200+ coworkers
 26 locations in the U.S. & Canada
 250,000+ business, government, education and healthcare customers
 1,400 premiere partnerships (HP, Microsoft, Cisco, Lenovo)
 No. 56 Forbes America’s Best Employers

3. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
CDW Talent Acquisition – 2015 Priorities
3
Meeting company coworker count targets through
external hires and internal mobilization of talent
Productivity1
Deliver meaningful service and experiences to
hiring teams and candidates
Quality2
Attracting, engaging and hiring a diverse
workforce
Diversity3
Our Core

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A Whole New Landscape of Challenges
Today’s recruiting concerns aren’t like yesterday’s.
4
Rapid change
of workers
expectations
Cultural
transformation
Compliance
and labor
pressures
Convergence
of generational
differences
Data
access
It’s a
Talent-”Sumer”
World
Employer
Infrastructure
Talent

5. 5
Information
Overload

6. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
Your Brand Happens Without You
6

7. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
What are YOU doing about it?
7
Do Nothing
• Very risky
• Increases your
company’s
vulnerability
Monitor
• Gives you an
understanding of
what is being said
in the market about
your organization
Participate
• Reputation risk
mitigation
• Builds trust with
the community
• Gives your
employment brand
a voice
Proactive Reputation
Shaping
• “Best in Class”
• Position of influence
• Fosters relationships with
talent pools
• User generated content
that can be repurposed
• Awards/recognition

8. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
Leveraging Competitive Intelligence
8
Overall Ratings Glassdoor Avg. CDW Company 1 Company 2
Number of Reviews - 785 3,638 98
Overall Company Ratings 3.2 3.9 3.3 3.2
Career Opportunities 3.0 3.7 3.2 3.3
Compensation and Benefits 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.3
Culture and Values 3.2 4.1 3.3 3.4
Senior Leadership 2.9 3.6 2.8 3.1
Work/Life Balance 3.3 3.9 3.6 3.4
Recommend to a Friend?
57.5%
Recommend
81.6%
Recommend
63.3%
Recommend
59.4%
Recommend
Business Outlook
39.2%
Positive
69.8%
Positive
28.2%
Positive
53.5%
Positive
CEO Approval Rating 68.8%
92.2%
Thomas Richards
78.9% 83.4%
Above Slightly Above BelowEqual Slightly Below

9. 9
Who Are You? Who Do You Want To Be?

10. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
CDW’s Recruitment Marketing History
10

11. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
Recruitment Technology
11
Applicant Tracking System: Taleo
Applicants
Job
Descriptions
/ Requisition
Templates
Referrals
Agency Portal
Application/
Compliance
Screening/
Assessments
Interview
Management
Correspon-
dence
Management
Interviewer
Feedback
Background
Check/Drug
Screen
Offer
Management
Onboarding

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We Needed “ONE DIRECTION”
12

13. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
Recruitment Technology
13
Applicant Tracking System
Taleo
APPLICANTS
Job
Description
Referrals
Agency
Portal
Application/
Compliance
Screening/
Assessments
Interview
Management
Correspon-
dence
Mgmt
Interviewer
Feedback
Background
Check
Offer
Management
Onboarding
PROSPECTS
SEO/SEM
Job Posting
Distribution
CRM
Campaign
Management
Social
Mobile
Career
Sites
Referrals
Recruitment Marketing Platform
SmashFly

14. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
Role of Recruitment Marketing
14
 Increase awareness of CDW as an employer
 Create and deliver a dynamic, personal experience
 Increase the volume of the right candidates
 Effectively drive conversion through the recruitment funnel
AWARENESS
INTEREST
CONSIDERATION
APPLICATION
HIRE
Recruitment Marketing
Recruiting

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CDW’s Integrated Marketing Solution
15
 Career Site
 Talent Community
 Content Marketing
 Job Marketing
 Social Media
 Mobile
 Mass Media
 Email Campaigns
 Digital Property Management
 Events
 Microsites
 Referral Program
 Candidate Experience
 Talent Partner Sites
 Internal Coworker Experience
 Market Research
 Recruitment Marketing Training
 Analytics/Reporting
Recruitment Marketing

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CDW GETS Personalization
16
Awareness
Interest
Consideration
Process FAQ
One-Pager
Follow-up Call
and/or Pre-
Screen
Coworker
Overview Video
“Job”
Overview PDF
CRM “Job”
Newsletter
Engagement
Strategy
CDW
Infographic
Email
Newsletter
CDW
Careers
Page
“Job” Blog
Digital
Brochure
CDW
Banners
Social
Off Domain
“Job”
Pages
Follow-up Email (decline)
Follow-up Email (proceed)
“Job”
Marketing

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CDW Gets VETS
17
Mission Accomplished
 Attendee Diversity
 Attendee Quality
 Attendee Satisfaction

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Account Manager Engagement Strategy
18
Over 25 different pieces of plug and play collateral
aimed at increasing candidate engagement
throughout the selection process
Consistent content shared with AM candidates in
three phases: Pre Offer, Post Offer, Post Start
Improved Day 1
No Show rate
Decreased
offers reneged
Increased
accepted offers
3%
5%
4%
RESULTS

19. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
Influencing Business Decisions with Talent
Acquisition Data and Insight
19
31,226
Prospects
8,744
Applicants
5,866
Passed Assessments
3,445
Recruiter
Interviews
915
HM
Interviews
531
Accepted
Offers
Expansion
Markets
Predictive
Analytics

20. @jensommesi | #HCIevents
Lessons Learned
20
 Know and understand your company’s point of view on
Recruitment Marketing.
 Partner with corporate marketing.
 Assess current technology.
 Market trends.
 Understand scope and prioritize elements of strategy.
 Start small. Repurpose. Be transparent.

21. Questions?
Jen Sommesi
CDW Talent Acquisition
jennlau@cdw.com
@jensommesi