PLEASE VISIT OUR SPONSORS

Application

Published November 2008

TiVo Reaches the Right Audience With Next-Generation Recruitment

 

  Jennifer Overholt

Study after study proves that leading talent management executives and business leaders place a high priority on staffing as a necessary strategy to achieve business objectives. For instance, a 2006 global survey of executives by Accenture found attracting and retaining skilled staff is one of the top three factors impacting an organization's ability to capitalize on growth opportunities.

And the 2008 Aberdeen report "The State of the Market" states, "The ability to identify, engage, hire, develop and retain has never been more pressing or complex. The talent gaps that have been hypothesized over the past few years are now a reality, and are compounded further by globalization and the 'Net' generation."

With the proliferation of job boards and online classified ad sites, publicizing a job opening is easier than ever. The real challenge for recruiters is not getting the job description out, but getting it in front of the right people. Recruitment consulting firm The Adler Group found 71 percent of HR executives "indicated that finding strong candidates for critical positions was a growing or huge problem." Solving this problem requires that companies not only execute highly targeted recruiting activities — they also must find ways to brand and convey corporate culture to attract the right candidates. Further, in the ongoing competition for talent, companies must consider candidate experience long before making a job offer.

Conveying the TiVo Culture
One company that successfully communicates its corporate culture to potential candidates is TiVo Inc. Founded in 1997, TiVo, a pioneer in home entertainment, created a brand new product and service category with the development of the world's first digital video recorder (DVR) for home entertainment. TiVo's corporate culture is much like the product itself: personable, innovative and straightforward.

Further, TiVo employees are not just run-of-the-mill gadget gurus. Like the products they create, the people at TiVo are visionary. The staffing team at TiVo seeks out candidates who exemplify the strengths of the TiVo team and culture. They want to ensure the organization's recruiting process uses those unique TiVo attributes to attract and engage prospective employees.

"We want to differentiate ourselves with candidates in the same way TiVo differentiates itself in the marketplace," said William Uranga, senior director of staffing at TiVo. "I didn't want job seekers to look at us like any other major brand. Our goal is to leave the candidate with a better appreciation of TiVo. That is very important to us in the competition for talent."

When TiVo's previous applicant tracking system (ATS) did not achieve this goal, Uranga searched for an ATS that went above and beyond traditional products and would help TiVo find and hire the right people for its growing business. TiVo views its candidates in the recruitment process as customers and shareholders, and Uranga said he needed a system that would help his team convey this to candidates.