With only two Human Resources professionals driving its growth, Group Delta is a geotechnical engineering, environmental, materials testing and inspection consulting firm with 8 offices throughout Southern California. The company employs 120 highly-skilled professionals including geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, environmental scientists and geologists, soils laboratory and field technicians and deputy inspectors. As an employee-owned (ESOP) company, employees feel personally vested in the company’s success and take pride in their work. Every employee knows ‘great people, great projects, and great service’ drive Group Delta.

Group Delta competes against much larger companies for the same highly-skilled, highly-educated technical professionals. Talent in this industry is particularly difficult to recruit because they tend to stay loyal to one employer for several years or even the majority of their careers. Convincing this talent to join a new company requires the ability to expertly convey a company’s values and career investment opportunities.  

Three years ago, Group Delta employed 72 professionals. Since 2012, the company has grown by 69% with the help of a single dedicated HR Manager driving all aspects of talent acquisition.  The company recently opened their 8th office in Vacaville, CA and plan to continue growing by 5 new hires a quarter in 2017.

To attract specialized talent with limited resources, Group Delta employs a two-prong approach: build its employer brand and leverage technology to drive candidate interest.

A LinkedIn Careers Page helps Group Delta promote its new client projects and career opportunities. Most recently, the company shared a video where Group Delta’s CEO Mike Reader interviews Skanska project manager John Yen at the LA Metro Regional Connector Transit Corridor construction site in downtown Los Angeles. This content gives candidates a window into the company’s projects and an introduction to the CEO.

Group Delta posts jobs on LinkedIn because the posts are dynamic, following talent throughout their experiences and activities on LinkedIn. From scrolling through the LinkedIn newsfeed to viewing profiles, jobs are promoted to matched talent. Traditional jobs boards feel “static” by comparison.

To quickly source candidates, Group Delta relies on LinkedIn Recruiter. The “have been in their role for a while” spotlight within Recruiter is particularly helpful in finding candidates who may desire a career change. Due to their investment in their Career Page, the team also finds success by reaching out to its page followers.

 

“When you’re a small recruitment team, you need to be where the talent is. LinkedIn is worth the investment because our talent use and trust LinkedIn. It helps us engage the talent we need.”

Susan Larrañaga, Human Resources Manager

 

Group Delta’s strategy to drive talent acquisition through brand engagement is paying off.

By strategically growing its employer brand, Group Delta’s Careers Page has been viewed 40% more than last year and its follower base has grown by 62% in the last 12 months. This attention directly impacts candidate application: The company has seen as 42% lift in job applications and are “very happy” with the quality of applicants driven by LinkedIn.  

The company’s focus on its employer brand has had a secondary impact: Employee referrals are up by 15% from a few years ago. Employees with niche skills are becoming brand advocates for Group Delta, encouraging professionals they know to join the company.  

Today, 60-80% of all new Group Delta hires are from LinkedIn: roughly 50% from job applications and 50% sourced from Recruiter. Last year, 58% of all Group Delta’s new hires were touched in some way via LinkedIn.

The Group Delta team has learned how to fuel the organization’s hiring despite challenges that might cause other teams to give up. Here are a few insights from their experiences:

  • Be adaptable and leverage technology to the max. Product trainings make a big difference in your ability to get the most out of your investments.

  • Use all your resources. Every employee knows someone, so encourage referrals to jumpstart your candidate searches.

  • Hire for attitude and aptitude.  A team that gets along together will be more successful than any one person can be alone.