Marty Spokony
U.S. Recruiting Manager, Xerox
Marty Spokony has been at Xerox for three and a half years and doesn’t skip a beat regardless of the many hats he wears as a manager of U.S. recruiting. Last fall we were able to learn about his history with DirectEmployers, the services he uses and what he enjoys most about a career in Human Resources.
What is your position at Xerox Corporation?
I am the U.S. Recruiting Manager and I manage a team of recruiters that supports all lines of business.
Do you recall how and when Xerox formed it’s relationship with DirectEmployers?
Xerox has been a DirectEmployers Member from the word “go.” Xerox is one of the original companies, but I have actually been connected to DirectEmployers even from my former employer. I worked for Unisys, also one of the original Member companies, so I have been aware of DirectEmployers for quite some time.
What is it about DirectEmployers that gives back to you? How does it help you in your everyday work?
DirectEmployers assists us with the SEO options and Direct Traffic reporting. These tools have actually helped our organization avoid cost, allowing us to walk away from other things that we were doing at higher cost.
We also benefit from the opportunity to network with Members. You find a lot of similar pain-points and can glean some really good knowledge from your peers.
DirectEmployers is a great partner when we have needed to draw upon their expertise to help keep us on the cutting-edge of what is coming for recruiting technology. DirectEmployers is made up of good people. Probably the best compliment I could pay them is that they are an organization I would want to work for.
In terms of networking, what are some of the things you rely on with regard to the annual conference or other in-person events involving DirectEmployers Association?
Although this year was my first annual conference, I have attended strategy meetings as well, which was great because I had the opportunity to meet many of my fellow Board of Director Members. Coming to the annual meeting allowed me to broaden that network.
Also, the learning sessions, like the Social Media pieces presented at the annual meeting, really resonated with what we are looking at as we examine the next step in our Social Media strategy.
Then there are the sidebar conversations on breaks between stocking up on coffee to learn a little bit more about what people are doing – it’s really just an all-around good experience.
If you talked with somebody else in the HR field that wasn’t a Member, what would be your “pitch” to encourage them to join?
I have the perfect example. We acquired Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) earlier this year and the minute they came on board, I started my pitch that DirectEmployers could benefit by helping them to avoid cost, while providing resources that they didn’t currently realize. That turned into not only ACS joining, but also one of the consulting organizations they had acquired. I also proactively work with other Members and staff to reach out to certain individuals. I would like to try to help bridge some gaps because I am a believer in what the organization stands for and I am certainly willing to help.
What is it about HR that you really enjoy doing?
I enjoy the strategy of business, and where business can go, particularly in our industry. I am fascinated by change and like to be thought of as a change agent. I enjoy consulting to an organization, but also believe it is fun to learn – we’re all students. Being in HR allows me to do all of these things. You get to wear a lot of different hats and be involved in many different processes, strategy, decision-making – at least that has been my experience. I don’t know if it’s unique to my company as Xerox is a great place to work. Net-net – it is just fun.
I love that! Thank you for your time.
Check out this infographic from Xerox:
