Case History: Creative Recruitment Strategies for a New Industry
How Eastridge helped, one alternative food company target its talent search to scale up operations.
For many companies, the first step in hiring is to post open positions and vet candidates that apply. In fact, it is often the first step for many recruiting firms. Unfortunately, this singular approach can be limited to only candidates looking for a job at the moment. For many disciplines, such as science, the skills and background needed only further narrows the field of talent.
One alternative food company found themselves in need of talent to scale up its operations, taking advantage of the rise in demand. Working with Eastridge Workforce Solutions, the company was able to open up the pool of talent to candidates not necessarily actively seeking another job. This not only increased the number of candidates, but also produced candidates with the skill and proven track record to ensure success.
Partnering with Eastridge, the company was able to fill roles leveraging strategies that move beyond the ‘post and pray’ method that many companies rely on.
The partnership with Eastridge started with a conversation about where people with specific bioprocessing skills might work. Together, the client and Eastridge created a list of competitors and adjacent companies.
“We created a list of companies that compete for talent,” says Drew Rennie, the Associate Director at Eastridge Life Sciences. “This might include direct business competitors or companies that employ similar talent.”
The team also didn’t confine its search geographically broadening to an international search.
“The skills that the client needed were so specific that increasing the geographic ranges would give them as many choices as possible”
The search broadened to targeting meat alternatives, food alternatives, cell-cultured seafood, and meat companies. By researching and identifying the top competitors in the market, the recruiters were able to reach out to their employees and explore the possibility of finding candidates with relevant experience.
The team also worked with the client to identify where current successful employees worked previously. This helped to identify other companies to target that were necessarily business competitors.
“We ask questions that helped the client replicate and scale up recruiting success they’ve already had,” says Rennie. “Are there companies from which you’ve seen really strong candidates in the past? Who is your top employee right now? What company did they come from?”
By combining talent-competitive companies, replicating and scaling past success, and expanding geographic searches, Eastridge was able to source the bioprocessing talent needed for its client to take advantage of a growing market.
“Targeting a talent search based on thoughtful client conversations and careful research is essential to any recruiting strategy,” says Rennie. “But in the life sciences, it's even more vital as the talent pools tend to be smaller and more specialized.