Does focusing attention on recruitment & retention really make a difference when introducing change initiatives? Our position is - hire the right person for the right job and they will perform well. Because the individual performs well, he/she is likely to stay which translates into a tenured and knowledgeable staff for the organization. At Centennial, we believe that retention of top performers is instrumental to the success of any behavioral change initiative.

The wireless industry is synonymous with change, so it is imperative that we hire individuals who can deal with constant change. We are always looking for new ideas to improve our recruiting strategy. To get started, we turned to the book, "Finding & Keeping Great Employees," by Jim Harris, Ph.D. and Joan Brannick, Ph.D. Here is our story.

One of the first steps taken to develop our strategy is to utilize corporate branding as part of the overall recruiting process. Branding is a hot topic for companies today for it establishes the identity of the company as an employer. It encompasses the firm's values, policies and behaviors toward the objectives of attracting, motivating, and retaining the organization's current and potential employees. To be successful, the company must know its core purpose and incorporate that into everything they do with staffing. As a retailer, Centennial uses branding with our point-of-sale advertising. We choose to incorporate part of this branded image into recruitment. By tying the two together, we are able to get in front of passive and active job seekers through retail advertising, as well as traditional "Help Wanted" postings.

Why worry about branding? Branding promotes values. Corporate values equate to the culture of the organization. It is the culture of our organization that attracts and retains our associates. Centennial has a very strong customer service and sales culture. Effective recruiting and retention strategies are tied to the corporate culture and the internalized company values. According to Harris and Brannick, the top two reasons people join a company are the opportunity for personal growth and the culture.

It is every company's goal to get "the cream of the crop" when it comes to the quality of the hire. How do we reach the top 10% when we take into consideration the fact that some of the applicants we want to join our organization are not actively seeking employment? In other words, what is the best way to get our "brand" in front of a passive job seeker? One key element is that managers within the corporation know that recruiting is part of their responsibility. Each store manager has access to an unlimited number of customers every day. By making recruiting part of everyone's responsibility, we can reach more potential applicants than an organization that relies upon one or two HR managers. Store managers have access to the branded collateral we use at job fairs, so when the right customer walks into our store, we can provide them with the necessary information they would need to consider Centennial as a potential employer.

Another key element is community involvement. Centennial Wireless is very committed to the communities where we provide our services. Board or committee level representation in the Not-for-Profit world offers multiple ways to network with local executives and managers. When we recently created a new marketing position, the job description was forwarded to various contacts we had throughout the community. Many of the applicants who responded were not searching on Monster or reading classified ads. They only knew of the opening because one of our trusted associates called them with the information.

By working closely with regional sales management, we often have booths at cultural events. While offering a special package or promotion for the event, we also distribute information about our core values and career opportunities. This "two-sided" approach allows us to once again make use of our best recruiting asset - the successful sales person!

While Board memberships, fundraisers, and volunteer activities are excellent networking opportunities for recruiting, they also serve another important function. What does your community involvement say about your company? Do you have a Community Action Plan? A few examples of Centennial's community involvement include work with organizations such as:

Gone are the days when an organization can sit back and challenge the applicant to prove their worth. The qualified applicant is in the driver's seat and the employer has to present the benefits of working for their organization. From our experience, elements such as career development, growth opportunity, and corporate values, when used as recruiting tools, have as much impact, if not more, than salary and benefits.

Creativity in all recruiting activities is essential. Harris and Brannick call it the "WOW factor". In our efforts to continually improve upon our recruiting strategies, we are implementing some of their ideas.

While college job fairs are an excellent source of applicants, why limit the search to that one arena? When seeking more tenured applicants, we think about where they go for entertainment. Movie theatres, art fairs, microbrewery festivals and Home & Garden Shows are excellent ways to reach that passive job seeker. In addition to having a booth, we are considering sponsorship of various seminars, cultural and sporting events. As a sponsor, we have additional visibility through the public relations surrounding the event. We have also established our organization as part of the community in which the applicant resides.

Once we have a pool of applicants from which to choose, the challenge we face is how do we ensure we are putting the best applicant in the right position? The hiring process includes multiple steps to ensure the right fit. To hire our inside sales associates, we have developed a process that incorporates behavior-based interview as its foundation, knowing that past behavior is the best indicator of future performance. The components of our hiring process include:

• Pre Qualification Phone Interview
• Behavior-Based Interview
• Competency and Skills Evaluation
• Team Interview
• Reference Checks
• Final Interview with Upper Management
• Job Offer Extended

Once hired, our focus turns to ways in which we can keep these great employees. Again, we turn to Harris and Brannick for guidance. The section of the book that applies is "Eight Best Practices in Retention." The author's definitions are listed below along with Centennial's own interpretation and implementation of these retention strategies.

Our retention strategies are directly tied to our corporate culture and internalized company values, which include:

All associates and customers are important.

• We treat each other and our customers with respect and trust.
• We act with integrity and honor.
• We work hard and keep our senses of humor.
• We support continuous learning and training for all associates.
• We are good civic citizens, supporting our communities.

Engage the Soul - Great employees naturally search out, join, and stay with organizations that give them compelling reasons to commit their hearts and souls...companies clearly understand that imagination, creativity, and a passion for excellence all reside not in the mind but in the soul.

Centennial works hard to engage both the minds and souls of our employees. We have a number of checks and balances in place to ensure that this happens.

• Annual Associate Survey
• Intranet Discussion Forums
• Competitive Compensation Packages & Benefits
• Employee Stock Purchase Program
• On-going Training Opportunities
• Rewards & Recognition Programs

What Gets Rewarded Gets Done - Top-performing companies align their rewards to the core culture. They realize that the stronger the connection between reward systems and core culture, the greater the productivity of employees.

Centennial is dedicated to recognizing those who stand out amongst their peers. Our company offers a wide variety of programs that recognize and reward employees for outstanding performance in sales, customer service, and various other support services.

• President's Club is designed to recognize the top 10% of Associates.
• Centurion Club is designed to recognize the next top 10% of Associates.
• Best of the Best is designed to recognize the top performer for the organization.

More than Money - Money is not the primary motivator. Something deeper inspires employee excellence, something that connects to the employee in a personal way...great employees sustain world-class performance more from their passionate connection to the core culture than from a passionate need for money.

Centennial's Mission Statement sums up our view of this best practice.

"Centennial is a regional wireless communications provider with a strong local presence. Our ambition is to build lasting relationships with our Associates by offering programs that will attract & retain the best people in the industry through living our values.
We also want to develop long lasting relationships with our customers....Our strategy is to take care of the Associates because the Associates will take care of the customers and Centennial will be profitable.
By adhering to our values & following through with our strategy, Centennial can continue to move forward as a successful leader in the industry."

Learning Drives Earning - Aligned companies reap the benefits of a knowledge-rich workforce. Companies filled with knowledge-rich employees who clearly understand how and why their knowledge ties into core culture always outperform nonaligned companies.

Centennial truly recognizes the value of training. We realize that our employees bring invaluable work and life experiences with them when they join our company. To make the most of our employee resources, Centennial is committed to investing in the "knowledge" of our employees.
 
Just to emphasize our commitment to learning, the company invested more than $750,000 to launch our corporate university in 2000, and continues to provide the financial support necessary to operate and maintain the university. The university curriculum is constantly updated and revised to meet the needs of our employees. We also add new classes and training opportunities every year.
Employees have an opportunity to earn an Associates degree and a Bachelors degree, as well as enroll in various CEU's. We also maintain a university library for use by our employees for self study and improvement.

Get a Life - Work-life integration remains a critically important element of strategic retention. Progressive, aligned companies...understand that retention of great employees significantly hinges upon their ability to allow employees to regain a sense of control over both their work and personal lives.

At Centennial, we recognize the importance of creating balance between an employee's professional life and his/her personal life. We offer employees a benefit package that includes vacation as well as personal days. We provide a variety of health and education benefits, including counseling services and tuition reimbursement programs. We provide training in both time management and project management so employees can better manage their work and personal lives.

In the Loop - A critical key to successful retention is to tie communication to the core culture.

Excellent communication within Centennial is one reason for our success. We provide employees with information on a daily basis. Some forms of communication include:

Lighten Up - Aligned organizations understand that great employees are sure to remain with a company that is not afraid to lighten up...an environment that reinforces to employees that it's OK to be yourself, to share the humor of your daily struggles, to be a little silly, to find the lighter side of business, and to share your heart. Great employees are magnetically connected to organizations that lighten up and have a little fun.

We believe this is extremely important to our employees in the wireless industry. Ours is a constantly changing environment. One way to combat the stress associated with change is to find a way to laugh a little and have some fun. This best practice is so important to Centennial, that it is found in our company values. "We work hard and keep our senses of humor."

Free at Last - Perhaps the greatest irony in world-class retention practices is that the greater the employee freedom, the greater the retention...Top employees thrive within environments that allow maximum operational freedom...world-class companies allow employees great leeway in solving problems on the front line without "kicking it upstairs."

We believe that employees are more productive when given the power to make decisions impacting their success. Our employees are empowered to make "good business decisions."

We believe we are beginning to see the return on investment for our recruitment and retention strategies. Some examples of this ROI include:

• Since we implemented the standardized Inside Sales Hiring Process in January 2003, the employee turnover rate has decreased from 40% to 28%.
• By utilizing the new process, the length of time to fill an Inside Sales position has been reduced from 51+ days to 41, which translates to higher levels of productivity and overall employee satisfaction.
• In analyzing sales productivity, the sales associates hired with this process are averaging 107% of quota.

Because of our initial success, we are now incorporating this process throughout the organization. It is still too early to provide a detailed analysis of all the behavioral changes we are currently experiencing, but based upon feedback from associates and management, as well as the statistics we are compiling, we know we are on the right track and making a difference within our organization.