At our 2013 Annual Meeting and Conference, we debuted our first ever Member Awards Competition to call attention to our Members’ initiatives in the areas of recruitment, technology and OFCCP compliance.
We were wowed by the submissions and fantastic results that companies shared from their various campaigns. One such entrant, which tied Schlumberger’s Steel Toes to Stilettos entry to win the Recruitment Tier 2 category, was J.B. Hunt Transport, and their RISE Rotational Development Program. This initiative required J.B. Hunt to prepare and fast track employees to assume leadership positions due to a quickly expanding business segment.
Based in Lowell, Arkansas J.B. Hunt is one of the largest transportation logistics companies in North America and has built a reputation as a safe and reliable transportation company that services a diverse customer base throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. In addition to their asset-based highway and intermodalservices, J.B. Hunt developed a new transportation brokerage business segment called Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS). The RISE Rotational Development Program was created in turn to help staff the ICS business segment, helping to further prepare and fast track employees to assume leadership and other key roles within the new segment at several locations across the nation.
With a lofty revenue goal of one billion dollars by 2016, finding the right individuals to staff the various ICS branches was crucial to its success. After careful planning, J.B. Hunt determined the target audience of the RISE program to be college graduates with a bachelor’s degree in business, sales, marketing or related disciplines. Additional preferences were that the candidates needed to have graduated with a 3.0 GPA from a four year accredited college or university, been involved in student organizations, and at least six months of relevant work experience.
Not only was the RISE Rotational Development Program a new initiative for J.B. Hunt, but it also required a complete process restructure and a paradigm shift when it came to recruiting these hires. To help recruiters further connect with their target audience, they launched a RISE Facebook page that better linked the new graduates with one another, before and after they joined the program. Through this page, graduates became better acquainted with their peers and learned about the local area, which made moving to an unfamiliar area seem more like an adventure than a step into the unknown.
By implementing the RISE Rotational Development Program, J.B. Hunt has seen phenomenal results:
- 93 candidates have been brought to Lowell for onsite interviews, and 63 offers have been extended, for a 68% offer rate
- 42 offers have been accepted, for a 67% acceptance rate
- Cost per hire has decreased further to $1,448
We’d like to congratulate J.B. Hunt on the creation and implementation of their RISE program! Adding a new business segment and overhauling your recruitment program is a huge undertaking and we applaud your efforts.
If you’re ready to showcase your company’s success, take a moment and submit your organization in the DirectEmployers 2014 Member Awards competition! We’d love to see your initiatives and give you a chance to stake your claim as “best in class.” Visit the Member Awards website to learn more and watch for new posts featuring past award winners.
