Customized Recruitment of Georgia (CR of GA): Georgia Department of Labor

Georgia Pinnacle Award for Business Development Nomination: Customized Recruitment

Contact Information of Individual Submitting Nomination

Nominator: Linda Manis

Agency Name : Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL)

Customized Recruitment of Georgia (CR of GA)

In 2013, Georgia Labor Commissioner, Mark Butler introduced a new unit, the Business Services Unit (BSU) to provide a more proactive and employer friendly service to the business community. One of the programs created as a result of this unit is our Customized Recruitment Program. Customized Recruitment is a specialized program that bridges the gap between employers and job seekers by offering individualized recruitment assistance to employers who are making an economic investment in our state by making Georgia their home. We realize that one of the most important elements for the success of any business is a skilled and qualified workforce. The Customized Recruitment Team is comprised of industry experts who help businesses streamline their hiring process and reduce company cost. Our dedicated team utilizes both traditional and innovative methods to recruit only the best candidates for our employers, all at no charge. When it comes to talent recruitment, one size does not fit all. We work one on one with our employers to customize a recruitment strategy that best fits their needs. The Customized Recruitment Team looks at each job or occupation individually, reviews the skills, education, and experience required for each job, takes into consideration the company timeline for hiring employees, and establishes a strategy that best fits those needs. The Customized Recruitment Team matches employer to employee quickly and efficiently while providing a quality workforce to meet companies staffing needs.

Through the Customized Recruitment Program, employers can select from a range of services such as posting job openings, recruiting, screening resumes for qualified candidates, coordinating and hosting hiring/recruitment events, conducting candidate assessments, marketing through various avenues such as flyers and handouts, placing job boards in Career Centers, press releases (print, radio, TV, online), social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, email blasts, advertising on the GDOL Upcoming Events, Featured Employer, and Hot Jobs pages, advertising through local workforce partners, etc. The Customized Recruitment Team serves as an employer's temporary marketing and human resource department.

Our team also collaborates with partner agencies to provide additional resources, for instance, the QuickStart Program is offered through the Technical College System and provides staff training for business and industry in Georgia, on-the-job training opportunities are available through our workforce investment partners, and internships, apprenticeships, and other training opportunities are also available through some of our various partner programs.

Statement of results, accomplishments, impacts and any other appropriate information that demonstrates why the nominee's efforts were an exceptional contribution.

The time and money that employers spend to attract, hire, and retain quality employees can be astronomical. New businesses spend a lot of time and money bringing staff from other U.S. cities and international locations, to Georgia to help recruit new employees. The Customized Recruitment Team understands that every company's goal and objective is to increase revenue and that recruiting a qualified staff costs thousands of dollars. Customized Recruitment has saved companies moving to Georgia an average of $1.3 million in recruiting costs. This record savings gives employers the confidence to invest in Georgia. To date, Georgia continues to be the only state in the U.S. that offers Customized Recruitment or any program like it. This often gives a new company the extra incentive to choose Georgia as their new home, as opposed to another state that they may be considering. When the Customized Recruitment Program began, it immediately became an integral part of the state's offering to businesses considering Georgia as their home, and quickly became an official incentive offered by the Governor's Office of Economic Development as part of the state's incentive package to prospective businesses. Customized Recruitment was recognized as such a critical component of the state's incentive package that the Georgia Department of Labor was awarded state funding to ensure that businesses continue to invest in Georgia. Georgia has been named the number one state for business six years in a row. Customized Recruitment played an important role in helping Georgia earn and maintain this ranking. As a result of Customized Recruitment's popularity and success, the Georgia Department of Labor's Business Services Unit has created a new program, Customized Recruitment X (CRX), to extend customized services to existing Georgia businesses who are expanding their investment in the state by creating new jobs and hiring new staff.

Other significant contributions

As illustrated, Customized Recruitment has made a significant impact on Georgia's success as a leader in attracting and maintaining business and industry in Georgia. The average cost savings of $1.3 million to new businesses is a remarkable accomplishment and has assisted Georgia in being named the number one place to do business for six consecutive years. The impact of Customized Recruitment has also not gone unnoticed throughout the nation. Other states across the country have reached out to the Georgia Department of Labor Business Services Unit for insight in replicating Customized Recruitment for themselves, proving that Customized Recruitment is emerging as the leading mechanism for changing mass recruiting as a whole. From the large impact of national recognition to the impact on the local small business owner, Customized Recruitment is a proven valuable resource that effectively has made an impact on business and industry for the State of Georgia.