Country Fair Increased Hiring by 25% in a Single Month by Partnering with Talroo
Country Fair, Inc. owns and operates a chain of 72 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. Staffing their stores became a challenge in 2021 due to the pandemic and lower unemployment rates.
Country Fair looked to Talroo to help them hire staff for their busy season (June to August) with the goal of reaching the right candidates to care for their customers and drive their mission — offer fresh food, from local brands at a convenient location.
The partnership has allowed them to exceed their hiring goals and ensure their stores are adequately operating and providing the best experience for their customers.
Number-one Source of Quality Candidates
The biggest challenge for Steve Seymour, Director of Personnel Training & Development at Country Fair, Inc., is finding people to work when unemployment is low.
“Talroo has helped expand and enhance our applicant pool. When it comes to recruiting, there isn’t just one solution, there are hundreds of little things. Talroo has solved for many of those little things. They’re our number-one source of candidates.”
Talroo is providing the technology to bring in more applicants and Country Fair’s HR representatives take the baton one step further with the candidates by setting up interviews, answering questions about the hiring process and handling key touchpoints to onboarding. Working with Talroo and the customer service team to help increase the number of candidates combined with Country Fair’s personal efforts to reach out to every candidate upon the submission of their application has attributed to an increase in hiring by 25% — hiring 30 associates a week. Running their stores fully staffed means they’re able to remain open during peak business hours and provide quality customer service to patrons.
Retention and Lower Turnover
In 2021, the combined turnover rate for full- and part-time associates was 150% according to NACS State of the Industry Compensation Report. Country Fair prides themselves on having lower-than-average turnover rates at only 64% in 2021. They attribute this low turnover rate to their culture and how they hire, train and onboard their associates.
Steve says, “Talroo has contributed to the process of sourcing and finding qualified candidates by responding to both our location specific and corporate needs.”
Country Fair also partners with a Big 5 assessment company and requires all candidates complete a quick assessment during the application process to grade the applicants’ level of customer service and see if they have the right attitude to work in their stores.
Caring for Customers is Full Circle
Country Fair prioritizes taking care of their employees, so in turn, employees will take care of their communities and customers. Talroo does the same for Country Fair as a customer. Steve says, “What I love most about Talroo is their customer service and the responsiveness of the team. I can reach out when I need something and I’ll hear back within an hour. I appreciate their attentiveness.”
If there are particular areas of concern in their recruiting efforts, Steve and his team look to Talroo for solutions and tactics to tackle those concerns.
Download the PDF: Country Fair Partners With Talroo →