Not many people remember the days of yesteryear, when hiring a candidate meant posting in the newspaper classifieds and hoping a qualified professional walked through the door. When working with an expensive recruitment agency, they would flip their way through a Rolodex and sift through stacks of resumes in a filing cabinet, hoping to find a perfect match for their client. Most companies looking for skilled and talented team members were limited to candidates who were available locally. Thank goodness these days are behind us!
Despite all of the available technology today, companies still have trouble finding good, qualified candidates for their businesses– but they have a new resource to turn to.
The Source and Recruit Company is the next chapter of the recruitment evolution. Founder Matthew Burzon created the company as a contemporary virtual business resource using industry-leading technology and dozens of mind-warping tricks from the AI boom. One of the tools the company finds useful is OpenAI’s GPT-4.
“GPT-4 is great for writing job descriptions, candidate emails, social media ads, drafting screening questions, developing lists of keywords, and writing Boolean search strings,” Burzon says. “AI eliminates administrative tasks, giving us more time to talk with people, and that’s why we love it.”
Burzon’s first e-book, Modern Mastery: Sourcing Talent in the Digital Age, is an invaluable source of information about modern talent sourcing techniques that his own company utilizes in their day-to-day operations. The free e-book offers practical advice on acquiring talent and building exceptional teams.
For example, the book stresses the importance of company branding. “Did you know that 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before applying for a job? This is why having a strong online presence matters,” says Burzon.
Burzon’s book highlights the fact that diversity is more than race and gender: “It encompasses age, socio-economic background, education, physical abilities, mental health, sexual orientation, and even diversity of thought.” Diverse teams benefit a company by bringing new ideas and divergent viewpoints, leading to new and profitable business methods. Unsure of how to efficiently build diverse teams? Modern Mastery: Sourcing Talent in the Digital Age is the perfect place to start.
As more companies rebound after the downturn of the Covid-19 pandemic, The Source and Recruit Company grows, too, to fill the increased demand for services, Burzon says.
“I opened an office in Vermont eight years ago, and our name at the time was Talon Recruitment. We were busy from day one, eventually growing into a staff of eight talented professionals. Heading into the fourth quarter of 2023, Vermont’s unemployment rate is at an all-time historic low of 1.8%, and we are seeing similar trends in other markets we serve. We fully expect to double in size for 2024, and quite frankly, that growth is likely just the tip of the iceberg.”
Many small to medium businesses have trouble keeping up with technology, and using traditional recruitment services can be expensive, but that’s where The Source and Recruit Company comes in.
“We’re big on providing recruiters on a fractional basis to help our clients meet specific hiring objectives. This approach alone cuts typical agency spend in half. The technology recruiters use is getting more and more sophisticated with each passing day, and it’s only useful if you know how to use it effectively,” Burzon says. “The Source and Recruit strategy gets an incredible return on investment because the technology stack is already in place and everyone is trained and ready to go.”
Burzon says the pandemic was a challenge. However, because The Source and Recruit Company was well-established, it weathered the worldwide crisis and emerged stronger, and was able to retain all staff with help from federal grants and other resources.
“In March 2020, virtually all of our clients put their hiring on hold. We happened to be in less than ideal industries for the times, and it was very scary,” Burzon says. “Fortunately, obtaining business relationships in the booming material handling automation, senior living, and spirits industries helped put us back in the black. We had a record year in 2021 and then broke that record again in 2022.”
Another thing that makes The Source and Recruit Company unique and differentiates it from its competitors is their partnership with PXT Select™ Talent Management Solutions.
“One pre-hire assessment we frequently use is called the ‘Step One Survey,’ which looks at candidate work ethic, attitudes toward illegal substance abuse, reliability, and integrity. This tool is useful for reducing turnover by setting a bar on applicant quality,” he says. “It easily pays for itself with every use and we are able to use it in all states with the exception of Massachusetts and Hawaii.”
For mid and senior-level roles, his company uses the flagship product, PXT Select™. “Hiring managers complete a performance model for the specific position they are looking to fill, which establishes proprietary guidelines regarding cognitive ability, working styles, and professional interest areas. We then measure candidates against the performance model and determine the percentage match. While the assessment is no more than 30% of the overall hiring decision, it’s valid, reliable, and effective at reducing turnover and predicting on-the-job success. This is our favorite predictive analytics selection tool for improving the overall quality of hire.”
“Before we started using PXT Select™, we had intelligent staff prematurely burning out because they were wired differently from what we could offer in terms of work. This would ultimately lead to frustration, blow-ups, and turnover. After implementing PXT Select™ we now have staff who are naturally wired in alignment with our business needs, and in turn, we’ve found drastic improvement in employee retention and overall satisfaction with the company and its operations.”
With operations spanning Vermont, Boston, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Salt Lake City, Utah, The Source and Recruit Company is making its mark in the rapidly evolving employment sector. As businesses grapple with challenges ranging from high turnover to the complexities of growth, this company is responding with technology-driven solutions designed to meet diverse needs. Catering to both small businesses and larger enterprises, The Source and Recruit Company specializes in customized talent acquisition strategies, aiming not just to fill vacancies but to find the ideal match for each role.
