Recycling Services (RSI) develops, implements and services office paper recycling programs in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Capitalized with $10,000 in 1984, David Levinson and Michael Finn formed the company to respond to the growing solid waste problem in Illinois by making recycling services available to businesses and the general public. Now in its 25th year, Recycling Services operates a 40,000 square-foot recycling plant located on the southwest side of Chicago, where it processes over 9,000 tons of secondary fiber per month. The company employs 50 people.
Challenge
As a growing company, RSI needed to hire new staff members to handle existing business as well as to continue moving the company forward. The owners were searching for candidates who not only had industry knowledge and experience, but also who had the same environmental commitment and passion as the owners. As such, finding the right candidates could be a time-consuming and complex process.
“We needed a clearly defined and repeatable hiring process,” said David Levinson, a co-owner of RSI. But, like most company leaders, Levinson did not have the time to invest in establishing the process or carrying it out. And, since hiring the right person was so important, he could not risk hiring the wrong person just to fill an open position.
Solutions
The RSI owners decided to use Anchor Advisors’ recruiting services to help them find the right candidate. After interviewing Levinson to understand the job requirements as well as the character traits RSI were looking for in a candidate, Anchor Advisors wrote a job description that captured the job requirements and then created a job posting that would appeal to the appropriate target audience. Anchor Advisors then marketed each job through web advertising and other media to obtain a rich candidate pool. Anchor Advisors screened the candidates to ensure they were qualified, presentable and a good fit for the company. As a result, RSI had a strong list of eligible candidates to interview for each position.
Results
Using Anchor Advisors’ recruiting services, not only was RSI able to develop an effective hiring process, but they were able to establish job and candidate requirements and qualifications. By having Anchor develop the job description and initially screen candidates, RSI management was able to focus their time and energy on growing the company. Once RSI was presented with a list of suitable candidates, much of the time-consuming work and research was done. By the end of the process, RSI was able to hire qualified candidates who have fit in well with the company.
RSI also walked away from the recruiting partnership with an established, repeatable hiring process they can use as other hiring needs arise. The process also gives them the ability to find the right person for the job and their company, and not just simply fill a position.
