Article

Adecco reaches more qualified applicants with Job Shop kiosks

Adecco has taken the lead in the staffing industry by placing Job Shop kiosks in shopping malls, and the experiment is proving a successful method for finding qualified job seekers.

April 21, 2002

Finding qualified employees is a challenge, and staffing companies are always looking for an edge in reaching potential hires. But Adeccohas broken new ground in recruiting with its Job Shop kiosks.

In two years, the international staffing company has installed 153 of the touchscreen units in 33 states and Canada, and is pleased with the early results. Adecco estimates 2.1 million people used Job Shop kiosks in 1999. Overall, the kiosks have helped the company locate more than 200,000 qualified applicants.

The company claims the kiosks are less expensive than conventional recruiting methods, such as newspaper ads and trade fairs, and provide a convenient alternative for job seekers. As a result, the company has found a more qualified pool of applicants.

The rate of successful job placement through kiosks is 10 to 12 percent, compared to a 3 percent placement rate with other methods, according to the company.

The results are no surprise to Adecco.

Testing in Europe

Before the U.S. launch in 1998, Adecco tested 80 Job Shop kiosks in Europe with equal success. Developed in Germany by Adecco's European division, the kiosks were originally developed as a way to combat unemployment after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The deployment of the kiosks was concentrated in Germany, France and Switzerland, Adecco's international base.

"It's pretty much what we were hoping for," said Victoria Mitchell, director of corporate communications for Adecco's North American division.

She calls the kiosks a "24-7 job fair."

"We anticipated, because of the immediacy of the kiosks, it would reap us a more direct and more immediate way of interacting with these folks," Mitchell said. "It requires very little effort on their part."

Shopping for Jobs

Most of the Job Shop kiosks, 125 to date, have been installed in malls. Another 23 were set up on or near college campuses. The machines have also been placed in social service agencies and transportation centers.

The company scouts each location to make sure there is sufficient traffic, then considers the types of positions available in the area.

The decision to target shopping malls makes sense because they provide high pedestrian traffic.

The Job Shop kiosk at Mayfair Mall in Milwaukee, installed in June, is one of Adecco's newest placements. While Adecco wasn't willing to share its numbers on how many people use the kiosk, it brought some unexpected to attention to the shopping center, according to Mayfair Mall general manager Jane Maro.

Maro said one interesting development is that she's gotten inquiries from some of Adecco's competitors.

"We've had more employment agencies call and wanting to do the same thing," she said. "They're inquiring, but nobody else has actually done it."

It's hard to miss the Job Shop kiosk in a typical mall deployment, said Fiona Campbell, Adecco's U.S. vice president of operations.

"It has a very interesting loop of images appearing on the screen," she said. "Sometimes, people are more active about job seeking when something is presented in front of them."

Curiosity hasn't hurt Adecco either.

"There's something irresistible about a kiosk. Even people that may not be considering temporary work are attracted to the machines," said Adecco's Mitchell.

"We know how everyone loves computer games, a lot of people approach the kiosks first as a game and get drawn into it because of the technology involved," she said.

Technical Considerations

Although it claims to be the first staffing company to use kiosks for job placement, Adecco knows that distinction can't last forever. With the anxiety of a parent protecting a first child, Adecco is hesitant to give specifics on the hardware and software it uses.

The Job Shop kiosk is a PC secured in a cabinet with a straight base and angled screen casing. The computer is connected to a touchscreen monitor and a modem. A color display topped with the Job Shop logo backs the kiosk and bears an enticing message: "Apply TODAY. WORK tomorrow."

With a touch of the screen by the job seeker, the Job Shop kiosk displays questions in English or Spanish. Next, the applicant chooses one of eight job fields including electronics, sales, manufacturing and customer service.

The applicant answers questions concerning education, experience and salary requirements. The information is sent to a local Adecco office, where the applicant's skills are matched up with available jobs.

Matched profiles are transmitted to a central server database each night, and then distributed to Adecco branches.Applicants learn about matches through telephone, e-mail or post card.

Since the Job Shop kiosk was introduced in America, Adecco has taken steps to make the unit comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

By altering the angle of the screen offered on its original kiosk, Adecco introduced an ADA compliant model in 1999. The modification provides a better view of the touchscreen for job applicants in wheelchairs.

What's next

Adecco is now designing its next generation of Job Shop kiosks.

The revamped kiosk will be linked to the Internet, allowing the user to access job applications online. Providing Internet access, Mitchell said, will "streamline the process, making it easier for applicants to receive automated responses from us."

A pilot of the new Web-ready kiosk is in use in France. By early 2001, a similar version is expected to launch in the U.S.

With more than 5,000 locations in 59 countries on five continents, Adecco provides part-time and full-time staffing services for companies across the globe.