One Small Firm’s Unlikely Superstar Recruiters
Keeping our country safe from the threat of cybersecurity attacks is one of the many tasks Senior VP Joe Donnelly of EHS Technologies (EHS) was facing about a year and a half ago when his growing company picked up a strategic small business contract from the DoD at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Donnelly had to build a top-notch cybersecurity team with current active security clearances. As a Navy veteran himself, he knew the best place to do that was with retired military, National Guardsmen, and reservists. “They quickly understand the requirements, employ their drive, intellect, and problem-solving skills, and embrace a team culture,” said Donnelly.
But the cyber attacks kept coming. They needed more talent pipeline. The demands kept growing. They were running out of time. And they were wasting a lot of money on staffing firms who couldn’t deliver.
Luckily for Donnelly, a friend tipped him off to AliroVets after about 6 months into the contract. Donnelly immediately saw the promise of what AliroVets could bring to EHS Technologies.
AliroVets streamlines the word-of-mouth referral process fast
The AliroVets platform presents a frictionless, seamless conduit within which EHS can attract the best, most qualified cybersecurity professionals because the referrals are coming in from the coding frontlines on their own teams.
The platform relies on personal candidate referral networks where teams have a hands-on view into the pipeline for positions on the ground. As the team sees the needs emerge for technical codes, they ping their friends and social networks in anticipation of filling the need—even before they notify HR the job should be posted. This way, when the referral comes in, the process is expedited, bonuses are paid based on the tool’s incentive structure, and the company actually saves money in the process.
Further, EHS is receiving quality candidates. Employees are recruiting their friends and former military connections as they are eager to work side-by-side with trusted disciplined colleagues on the toughest cybersecurity threats. The onsite EHS cybercoders using the AliroVets system have become superstar recruiters.
In this way, the AliroVets platform operates almost like a “blockchain of relationships,” or a ledger system, efficiently identifying the need and filling it quickly with quality candidates before the administrative team even has to open a job req.
But wait, there’s more
The win-win-win nature of the platform with its innovative incentive structure not only saves EHS a lot of money and time, it has an added benefit of creating a stronger organizational culture and shared sense of community and purpose. This is especially meaningful in the post-military job market, where it’s even tough to get your first civilian job, and even more difficult to re-create that unity you feel when you’re in mission.
“We veterans lean on each other, and we have to because we’re already late to the party. Very rarely do you get a pass to the head of the line. You’ve got to work your way in, and climb pretty quickly. But getting in is the first step.” said Donnelly.
Donnelly sees the app as streamlining a tried and true system that has been around for decades, i.e., “who do you know?” and cuts through all the bureaucracy to deliver the best candidates with minimal administrative intervention.
“Before AliroVets, there was a ‘we do the work; you do the staffing’ attitude,” he says. “Now we’re growing together and all sharing in the benefits. We get great candidates right out of the gate, and the referrer and the new hire earn a bonus for each successful hire, so it all works out. AliroVets is a huge cost saving to us, and EHS has almost a 100% success rate with the vets we hire.”