ENHANCED RECRUITING SIGNALS HIGHER GROWTH FOR SPRINT PCS
StraightSource Answers the Call to Bring Clarity to Hiring Dilemma

The Challenge
The Solution
The Results

The Challenge
Sprint PCS faced a catch-22. The call center operations for one of the nation's leading providers of wireless voice and data services was expanding rapidly, accelerating the need to build four large new call centers in less than six months. However, the operations were growing so fast that the company could not afford to take its key operations personnel "offline" to manage the process, nor did they possess a small army of experienced personnel capable of evaluating and processing the necessary 50,000 applicants in four cities.

"We lacked the recruiting capacity internally to hire the necessary number of people without disrupting our daily call center operations," explained Alan Winters, vice president, Call Center Operations at Sprint PCS. "We were growing exponentially by a ratio of 100 percent per year," Winters added.

Winters and Sprint PCS knew the solution extended beyond its walls. They needed a fast-moving recruitment partner that could handle the enormous applicant processing effort to staff four new call centers in a highly competitive industry.

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The Solution
StraightSource had previously staffed each of Sprint PCS's new call centers, beginning in 1996 when the company first entered the wireless market. But the most recent project was an even bigger challenge due to the need to quickly build the centers simultaneously. "StraightSource was the only company that presented a pre-designed process to scale with our call center growth," Winters said. "Their recruiting experts walked us through the process with an unmatched depth of expertise and clearly outlined each step with clarity."

Winters was equally impressed that StraightSource could easily replicate their recruiting process in these call centers and apply it to upcoming cities slated for future staffing. "Once we gave the green light, I was fully confident they would produce the employee pool that we needed," he added. "From organizing job fairs to defining selection criteria, and from interviewing to managing all processes, StraightSource presented us with an expansive pool of candidates to consider."

StraightSource approached the Sprint PCS effort using its discovery design approach. During the discovery phase, StraightSource dedicated a team of seasoned professionals to understand the job responsibilities of each Sprint PCS call center operations employee and identified the skills and personality traits needed to help people succeed in those jobs.

After the discovery phase, StraightSource developed the necessary tools to manage the process, including a comprehensive database of candidate information, interview templates to screen candidates, and measurements to identify the most qualified candidates likelihood to succeed. StraightSource even developed the forecasts detailing the candidate generation and applicant processing requirements needed to meet all timelines.

StraightSource's experience in large-scale campus hiring and process-driven methodology was a windfall for Winters - meeting his challenge of recruiting quickly en masse with a process easily replicated in each call center city.

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The Results
StraightSource helped Sprint PCS launch a highly successful marketing campaign to promote the company as an attractive employer and a pillar of the community. In one city, the marketing campaign attracted 3,500 people to a single job fair. "StraightSource's process is quite unique, making the experience fun and educational for potential employees," commented Winters.

Sprint PCS achieved its goal of opening four massive new call centers on time, with the right people for the duration. Winters says, "The key to our success was due in part to the careful selection criteria and process. StraightSource chose the right people and that added tremendous value and productivity to our call center operations."

• Met all timelines and every operational objective universally.
• One-hundred percent new hire goals met.
• Synchronized all processes and mirrored results across all sites.
• Managed all process components, eliminating thousands of management man hours.
• Enabled all service levels to be met.

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