The Goal
The PeopleWorks team at Brinker – the multinational company that owns Chili’s Grill and Bar – are an innovative bunch.
So when they started using SkillSurvey Reference® and SkillSurvey Source® and saw the kind of data they could get on candidates, they set about maximizing the value of that data.
“We have a great leadership team that really pushes innovation. We’re always looking for creative technologies that can help us find the best people.”
– Mike Manzo, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition, Brinker International
How We Helped
When the recruiters at Brinker first started sharing their statistics with the leaders of their PeopleWorks team, the reaction was instantly positive.
Mike recalled, “The recruiters were just wide-eyed, in awe of how quickly we were getting reference feedback. It’s just such a challenge even getting references anymore. All you get is when people worked.”
More importantly, the results spoke for themselves. With turnover for management currently 13 points below the national average of 32, Manzo and his recruiters can see their efforts paying off.
But being convinced they’d found a winning solution wasn’t enough for these recruiters. After using it for some time, they decided to integrate the data they were getting from references with the data they were getting from their self assessment tool.
“We’re putting this data together to create a view of what a successful candidate may look like. It’s really going to help us understand a lot,” Manzo said. “We’ve developed a set of KPIs and we expect candidates to model specific behaviors or we won’t bring them on board. It’s a bar we’re pushing higher and higher.”
Manzo recalls a few instances where people were hired – against the recommendation of the talent acquisition team – because the hiring manager had a strong feeling about the individuals.
The talent acquisition team was hesitant because the candidates failed to meet Brinker’s threshold and the guidelines established by Mike and his team; yet the candidates were brought on board at the insistence of the manager.
Mike added, “These are almost like little tests for us. And they’ve really validated the power of our talent analytics – work we couldn’t have done without SkillSurvey Reference.”
Also, his team is using SkillSurvey Source to actively recruit references enabling them to opt in to Brinker’s talent network.
Nearly 30% of references have submitted their names for consideration, and typically 2 of these passive candidates are hired per month.
“We are turning over about 60 less candidates per year. When you look at it in a dollar sense, we’re saving over $1.5M.”
Mike ManzoThe Results
We’re big fans of the way Brinker approaches the hiring journey. It’s a triumph of data-driven recruiting.
LESS THAN 2 DAYS
On average, references take less
than 2 days (1.85 days) to respond.
$1.5M SAVED
$1.5M in potential turnover
costs saved per year
4 REFERENCES
On average, 4 references
respond per candidate
REDUCED TURNOVER
Brinker’s 12 months rolling turnover
for management is 13 points lower
than the national average of 32
POWERFUL INSIGHT
Brinker averages 4 potential hires each
month that don’t move forward because of
insights gained through reference feedback
PASSIVE SOURCING
On average, Brinker hires 2 candidates
per month recruiting references through
SkillSurvey Source
About Brinker
Brinker International is a global enterprise responsible for some of the world’s favorite casual dining experiences including Chili’s Grill and Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurants.
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