How these North Bay companies use technology to speed onboarding of new employees
Simply Solar CEO Cliff Johnson said technology has reduced the administrative workload to onboard and hire new talent at his Petaluma company by 75%.
“The way it works for us is we are able to automate from beginning to end,” said Johnson, who for 14 years has been hiring people. He and other HR and company leaders in the North Bay are finding ways to cut the red tape.
New hires at the nearly 100-person Sonoma County firm no longer need to spend their first days at the office completing paperwork. Instead, they spend time at headquarters getting acquainted with how the company works, learning about its goals, and understanding how they fit into the bigger picture.
Revamping the process
The Petaluma-based company transitioned to automated onboarding and HR management system starting in February 2021 adding an applicant tracking system in May of that year.
After a job has been posted via the platform and people have applied for it, anyone at Simply Solar who has access to the system can track and score the resumes.
“What it does is it allows us to be collaborative and quick on hiring decisions,” Johnson said.
Then , with a single click an offer can be made, then tax disclosures and other documents secured, with onboarding all accomplished via this same portal. Payroll is also part of the software system.
Johnson said the pandemic, because initially people were not switching jobs, forced the firm to be more deliberate in finding workers.
“We had to develop a system where, for lack of a better term, we were hunting for candidates. We don’t just passively recruit anymore. We are very active in finding people,” Johnson told the Business Journal.
Last February Simply Solar hired a staff member to be a dedicated recruiter. Johnson said this is cheaper than hiring a recruiting firm who he said would take 45% of a hire’s annual salary as payment for placement.
Implementing technology
Far Niente Family of Wineries and Vineyards has also changed its onboarding strategies.
“Prior to about a year ago, onboarding mainly consisted of new hire paperwork with human resources and then the majority of immersion was done at a departmental level,” Julie Secviar, vice president of human resources for the Far Niente, said. The winery group includes Far Niente in Oakville, Nickel & Nickel in Oakville, EnRoute in Sebastopol, Bella Union in Rutherford, Post & Beam in Oakville, and Dolce in Oakville.
“We have now evolved that to have a daylong program with senior leaders of the company sharing information about their departments and how every position is integral to our success,” Secviar told the Journal. “We finish with an immersion into our wine portfolio, our vineyards and a guided tasting.”
Christine Hunter, senior vice president of Central Valley Lumber based in Napa, worked with applicant tracking systems at her previous jobs so she wanted to bring that technology to her current workplace. It was in October 2021 that the building supply company became automated for hiring and boarding.
“When the employee comes in the first day they are working and not filling out a 2-inch packet. They can fill it out at home where have all their personal information, which makes the most sense,” Hunter said.
The applicant tracking system doesn’t misplace files, allows for updates to be made so no one has outdated documents in his filing cabinet, and information to flow in a timelier manner, she said.
Central Valley Lumber has 219 employees working at its seven stores in Napa, Sonoma, Solano and Yolo counties, as well as at its headquarters.
“What I’m doing for hiring and onboarding is not revolutionary. I think all HR people are trying to streamline and make it easier for managers. Now we have better metrics that people can see,” Hunter said.
Metrics may include knowing exactly how many people have looked at a job posting, employee retention, how long it takes for people to complete onboarding tasks, and productivity.
It’s also about the employee experience, Hunter said, by making the process from applying for the job to interviewing to onboarding to getting paid be seamless.
Katie Kuruliak, Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa’s director of talent and culture, said, “Technology has widened the net for our hiring teams. Fairmont utilizes a proprietary platform to assist with talent assessment. This tool helps identify strengths in many areas including: cognitive, personality and motivation.”
The Fairmont has 250 full-time employees, 72 part-timers, and 59 seasonal workers.
“Like many businesses the resort has implemented smart strategies for hiring, retaining and onboarding new service professionals,” Kuruliak told the Journal. “We have expedited the interview process, whereby offers can be made to candidates within hours in some cases.”
