Case study

How Herr’s increased candidate quality while reducing cost per hire

Tags:

Food & Beverage

Recruiting in the food and beverage industry is no picnic, especially for a company with a flavor as unique as Herr Foods. Herr’s prides themselves on their unique roles and thorough onboarding program, which makes retention especially important.

Founded in the 1940s, Herr’s has grown from a small family-run operation into a major player in the snack food industry. Despite its international scale, Herr’s still does things a little differently than the competition.

Curtis Kodish, the Human Resources Partner supporting the sales side of the businesses, is one of three on a team that coordinates company-wide recruiting efforts. The team is tasked with keeping job vacancies below 3%, a testament to their ability to balance efficiency with thoughtful hiring.

But their old applicant tracking system (ATS) was holding them back more than helping, especially after COVID-19 changed the hiring landscape. Their bare-bones ATS was cost-effective but feature-poor, making it harder to connect with potential hires efficiently. Herr’s found themselves losing out to competitors at a time when the race for talent was at its fiercest.

Curtis and the team knew they needed more functionality, but they also needed to get good value for their investment. That’s when they found Pinpoint, which was the perfect balance.

Key info

Headquarters: Pennsylvania, USA
Industry: Food and beverage
Headcount: 1,600
Size of talent team: 3

The challenge

At Herr’s, the challenge of competing for talent was compounded by the limitations of a manual, outdated ATS. “We found ourselves coming up short or making up for where our ATS didn’t deliver,” Curtis said.

A few challenges stood out as the most urgent:

Slow, manual processes: Herr’s old ATS had very few automated features, so the team spent a lot of time printing resumes and manually scheduling interviews with candidates—many of whom were no-shows. All of this wheel-spinning sapped the team’s time and energy.
Poor candidate experience: Applications weren’t mobile-friendly, a significant miss because many candidates like to apply on their cell phones. And the applications took candidates far too many clicks to complete.
High cost per hire: Indeed is the industry leader in Herr’s recruitment space. The cost of maintaining visibility on the job board through sponsored listings ate into the money Herr’s had saved on their low-cost ATS.
Low candidate quality: Herr’s candidate quality was generally low for entry-level roles, even when the quantity was high. Some applicants who showed up for interviews didn’t even remember applying.

Herr’s decided they needed a new ATS, and they needed the perfect balance: advanced features that could handle their recruitment cycle without overcomplicating it, all for a reasonable cost.

How Herr’s found their perfect balance

1. Mobile-friendly applications

In a nod to the growing trend of mobile job applications, Herr’s and Pinpoint have focused on making the online application process as mobile-friendly as possible.

They’ve reduced the number of clicks to apply, simplified their processes, and broadened their pool of potential applicants. These enhancements have made Herr’s more accessible and appealing to job seekers, reflecting their brand culture more effectively.

2. Built-in careers page

Before Pinpoint, Herr’s was considering investing in a new careers site—so finding that a mobile-friendly page was included in their new ATS was a massive bonus.

The new and improved careers page isn’t just about looks; it’s a vital part of the recruitment funnel, helping attract candidates through a faster application process and a strong employer brand.

3. Automated interview scheduling

Thanks to automated interview scheduling, Herr’s recruitment team has been able to remove a big point of friction from their process. “It’s been a great time savings for my team,” Curtis said.

More efficient scheduling hasn’t just benefitted the recruitment team; it’s also improved the candidate experience. Candidates can now schedule interviews at their convenience in just a few clicks—a huge win when every click, tap, and second matters.

4. Solid customer support

Curtis sang the praises of Vanessa, Herr’s customer support contact at Pinpoint. “She’s been so helpful and responsive with every question we have,” Curtis said. “It’s not always like that once you get out of the implementation phase. Sometimes support can trail off, and we haven’t experienced that at all.”

Ongoing collaboration has been crucial in the transition, ensuring that Herr’s recruitment team always has the tools and support they need to excel.

The results

Since adopting Pinpoint, Herr’s has seen significant improvements in the quality of candidates who find them on job boards like Indeed, even though they now sponsor far fewer listings.

By targeting the right candidates more efficiently, Herr’s has cut back on unnecessary applications and interview no-shows, attracting applicants who are genuinely interested and engaged. “Our job fill rate is amazing,” said Curtis.