Case Study: Samtec

jobvite_Samtec

Customer-Focused Company Seeks ATS to Unify and Simplify Recruiting

Since 1976, Samtec Inc. has been a foundational force in the connector industry, focused on finding a better way to make connectors while valuing the customer first. Samtec started in a garage with only $100k in capital and has grown to operate in over 40 countries. The company has grown to $800 million in total sales. As one of the pioneers in sudden service, Samtec’s attention to its customers means needing to source not only the best and brightest workers for its team, but also those who can convey the company’s mission.

“Back in the beginning, we didn’t have an organized or structured system for our hiring. It was more of, “Here’s a requisition — go find somebody. We sought out an ATS because we needed to be able to centralize that process into one system,” says Michael Townsend, Compliance Coordinator and ATS Systems Admin at Samtec “Before Jobvite, our previous system was too cumbersome to maintain. It was overly structured and lacked customization –– we got out of using it as quickly as we could. Switching to Jobvite was the easiest transition.”

Townsend and his team looked to find a new ATS to unify their global recruiting efforts into one system.

“We didn’t want to design our process around a system — we wanted a system that we could customize and design around the process we have in place. We treat our candidates like our customers; we reach out, provide feedback, and communicate. We needed a system that helps us do that even easier and simpler,” says Townsend. “For us, Jobvite was the best way to do that. It had the best customization, most user-friendly experience, and allows us to optimize our efforts more than we ever thought possible.”

jobvite_Samtec_1Simplicity and User-Friendly Design Increase Hiring Manager Engagement

Samtec went live with Jobvite in 2017 to unite the recruiting efforts of different offices into one system. “With our last system, you had to enter a rec twice to get it posted! It would take 20-30 minutes just to enter. Hiring managers had no idea how to use our previous system and that work would come back onto the hiring team,” says Townsend. “Hiring managers that wanted to be hands-on had too much difficulty figuring out the system.” “With Jobvite, it’s completely different,” explains Townsend. “Jobvite has just made our lives so much easier. It structures everything in one area so managers understand how to navigate it. They have used our ATS more in the past three months with Jobvite than the last three years with our previous system.”

Another interesting element to Samtec’s hiring strategy: the company has a retention average of 15 years – massive for tech talent, in particular. And with 30-40 percent of people coming from some kind of referral, it’s easy to see why referrals are an important place for Samtec to invest.

“Employee engagement is a hot topic, but we’ve been doing it for 40 years. Early on, we had a system to let all of our employees have a stake in the game,” says Townsend. “From employees being able to seamlessly share application invitations within the platform to integrations with LinkedIn and Indeed, Jobvite allows us to enhance and support the work we already do and focus on growing our team through the networks of our employees.

jobvite_Samtec

Sourcing Highly Skilled Talent, Regardless of Location

Many of Samtec’s hiring managers have been running global departments for over 25 years — they’ve grown up with the company culture. Looking ahead, Samtec is searching for new ways to infuse that culture into new hires. “A quote we like to live by is, ‘Don’t look for culture fit, look for culture contribution.’ That’s what Samtec has always done. We want people who can contribute in a positive way, bring different ideas, absorb how we do business, and make us stronger,” says Townsend.

“As we are a skills-first company, we need to find top talent that is outside of just our home in Louisville. Jobvite allows us to recruit heavily beyond our geographic region and find the right people that are a perfect fit for our needs.”

Samtec is the kind of company where people go to build and likely finish their career. They come to Louisville to not just work at Samtec, but to live and thrive. “Jobvite allows us to recruit in new ways we haven’t before, which is more important than ever with the competition for top engineering talent. We’re looking forward to utilizing Jobvite Recruitment Marketing to create campaigns that work for our unique needs and to get more involved into social media recruiting so we can expand our talent pool amongst our employees’ network,” elaborates Townsend. “Changing our company’s approach to recruiting has been incremental but growing steadily and we’re excited to continue the work that’s been done with Jobvite.”

Samtec Evolved Their TA Processes to Achieve Better Hiring Results

Jobvite’s Evolve Talent Acquisition Framework helps TA teams deliver world-class results. From initial assessment to specific action plans, Evolve empowers TA leaders to identify and prioritize areas for improvement so that no effort is wasted.

Teams, processes, technologies, and strategies are optimized over time, and organizations emerge stronger, more efficient, and better able to adapt to the needs of the ever-evolving talent marketplace.

The Evolve framework offers four levels of talent acquisition maturity. Companies like Samtec can move from a Level 2 to a Level 3 maturity level by optimizing their people, process, and technologies to proactively attract and engage talent with highly automated processes. They’re able to drive effective recruitment marketing and sourcing strategies, tactics, and programs.

For more information on Evolve, check out jobvite.com/evolve.

About Samtec

Founded in 1976, Samtec Inc is a privately held, $625 million global manufacturer of a broad line of electronic interconnect solutions, including IC-to-Board and IC Packaging, High-Speed Board-to-Board, High-Speed Cables, Mid-Board and Panel Optics, Flexible Stacking, and Micro/Rugged components and cables. Samtec Inc Technology Centers are dedicated to developing and advancing technologies, strategies and products to optimize both the performance and cost of a system from the bare die to an interface 100 meters away, and all interconnect points in between. With 33 locations in 18 different countries, Samtec Inc’s global presence enables its unmatched customer service.