ALWAYS A STEP AHEAD IN RECRUITING

Hilcona and Bell are well ahead of the competition in the search for new employees. This was revealed by the latest «Best Recruiters» study, in which they came fi rst and second in their industry. The study, the results of which are based on scientifi c criteria, is the largest of its kind in the Germanspeaking world.

Although this year, instead of the usual festive event in honour of the best candidates of the «Best Recruiters » study, there was only one online award ceremony, the joy of the HR managers at Hilcona and Bell regarding their good results could not be diminished by the digital format.

«We naturally are very pleased with the award, and coming first again in the industry ranking proves that we are doing some things right in the recruitment process», says Birgit Schmidinger, Head of Human Resources at Hilcona, while Johannes Meister, Head of HR Bell Food Group adds, «The fact that we are now in second place in the industry comparison after coming eighth last year is impressive, and confirms that we have implemented the suggestions for improvement from last year’s study with tremendous success.»

Both employers also achieved excellent results in the overall ranking. Of the 408 companies from Switzerland and Liechtenstein that were tested, Hilcona came 22nd and Bell 38th. Bell thus made a clear leap forward. In the previous year, the company was only 176th in the overall comparison.

For the evaluation, the study institute considers the three pillars «online recruiting presence », «online job advertisements» and «applicant response». Its catalogue of criteria, which this year included more than 240 individual aspects, is developed in close cooperation with the scientific advisory board and is adapted annually to meet current requirements. For the test of «applicant response», which is considered the core of the study, the study directors even slip into the role of «mystery jobbers» and send fictitious application letters to the companies. Both the time until the feedback is received and its content are then analysed.

In addition, «real» applicants have the opportunity to record their personal experiences with a company in a questionnaire. The results are made available to the companies, but are not included in the score due to their subjectivity.

«We have been able to make significant improvements in all three of the areas considered», reports Johannes Meister. «In pillar three, we have even managed to move up from seventh place to the top position. This has certainly been helped by improvements, for example in response times, which we introduced after the last study».

For ten years now, «Best Recruiters» has been putting the application procedures of the largest employers in the German-speaking world through their paces every year. This enables the institute to derive helpful tips and optimisation strategies and thus supports the tested companies in being even more successful in terms of recruiting and offering applicants an improved «Candidate Journey».

For Bell, one thing is already clear: Next year they want to achieve at least the same result in the «Best Recruiters »study. And Hilcona will not rest on its laurels either. «There is always something that can be done even better», says Birgit Schmidinger. «So when it comes to social media, we certainly still have some upside potential. But we will consider carefully whether activities in this area really do offer added value to applicants and to us as employers.»

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