Hiring technical talent during a pandemic

For organizations like Grand Rapids Metrology, a measurement equipment management company in Michigan, the Covid-19 crisis made hiring technical talent challenging.

Before the pandemic, the company relied on in-person interviewing to help fill its open positions, until the call for social distancing moved most aspects of life – including recruiting – online. Knowing that it would need to continue hiring no matter what, Grand Rapids Metrology needed a way to screen candidates remotely, with ease. At the same time, the company wanted an experience that would help them get to know job seekers to ensure hires aligned with Grand Rapid Metrology's core values, which include joy, helpfulness and a commitment to customer service.

To address these needs, the company sought a solution that would allow hiring teams to meet candidates virtually. Marc Boersma, Director of Business Development for Grand Rapids Metrology, ultimately selected Wedge to help interview right-fit talent, explaining, "Technical expertise is not enough for the type of work we do. We need to be able to hire people who have the interpersonal skills and the people skills to deliver good service. And we weren't able to do that in an effective and efficient way before Wedge."

Seamless ATS integration and smiles

With Wedge, Grands Rapids Metrology benefits from a highly flexible solution that not only allows candidates to show off who they are but also enables a streamlined screening process. That helps save the company time, speed up hiring and deliver a positive experience all-around.

Boersma says, "With alternative interviewing, you can't see a smile during the initial interaction. With Wedge, we're not only able to vet for the technical side of things, but candidates are able to display more of the character side of things and the interpersonal skill side of things to allow us to make great hires."  

In addition, Wedge integrates directly with the company's applicant tracking system, creating further efficiencies in the talent acquisition life cycle. Boersma explains, "We integrated Wedge with our ATS, and it's seamless. It's amazing. We have applicants apply right there, vet the resumes and transition them to the Wedge stage of the process. Nowadays, when we're trying to limit in-person interaction, it's great to be able to get a sense of who the candidate is before we bring a people onsite."

Faster, more effective hiring

Since implementing Wedge, Grand Rapid Metrology has seen incredible success with hiring efficiency, reducing time to hire from 60 days down to 32, Boersma shares. He continues, "It's amazing to see how ability from a job posting to a job offer, how quickly we've been able to be able to do that because of Wedge. It limits the lengthy phone interviews; it limits the long onsite interviews vetting multiple candidates. By the time we have someone come in, we've narrowed it down to maybe two or three people, and we've got an offer start to finish within maybe two weeks of posting a job, simply because of how fast everything goes."  

With Wedge, Grand Rapids Metrology can now screen candidates from anywhere at any time with ease. Through this approach, the company continues to engage and hire the high-quality technical talent it needs – and quickly.