Disparate, Outdated Hiring Practices
To compete in Aspen’s tight talent marketplace, Caleb Sample, Head of TA, wanted to transform Aspen Skiing Company into a business with a modern, highfunctioning talent acquisition machine. When he began his role, the company’s TA function lacked structure and consistency. They still used paper forms. On top of that, these disparate processes were spread across five careers sites that were hard for candidates to find. It was a poor experience for both candidates and hiring teams.
Hiring in the Aspen area is challenging due to the many high-volume, seasonal roles and the high cost of living. Supervisor, professional, and executive roles are particularly challenging, and Aspen Skiing Company needed a system that could address both hiring needs. After evaluating nine solutions, ASC chose SmartRecruiters to help modernize and streamline its talent acquisition function.
About Aspen Skiing Company
- Industry: Travel & Tourism
- Region: USA
- Employees: 4,500
- Headquarters: Aspen, Colorado, USA
- Hiring Model: Centralized
ASC operates four mountain resorts (Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk) with summer and winter experiences; the Five Star, Five Diamond Little Nell Hotel in Aspen; the contemporary Limelight Hotels in Aspen, Snowmass and Ketchum; world-class events including the World Cup series and X Games; and a multi-store retail portfolio.
Head of TA for Global Brands
A Full-Scale Talent Acquisition Transformation
Several years later, the talent acquisition function at Aspen Skiing Company looks different in many significant ways.
Candidate Experience
When candidates apply through SmartRecruiters, they get matched automatically to the right job, or a recruiter transfers them to the right job with just one click. Candidates can create their own profile and track their job status. They also get to choose their “love language,” as Caleb calls it, by setting a preference to communicate via email, phone, or text.
Hiring Team Experience
A standardized, clearly defined hiring process set up in SmartRecruiters created efficiency for hiring teams, allowing them to hire faster at scale during crunch periods while delivering a quality candidate experience. Whether they have four recruiters on staff or ten during peak season, any recruiter can step in and easily figure out what to do next, reducing pressure on the small number of employees with deep institutional knowledge.
Head of TA for Global Brands
Streamlined Careers Site
One central careers page across all four Aspen Skiing Company brands makes it easier for candidates to find and select jobs based on their interests and desired location.
Internal Mobility in Support of Seasonality
In the mountains, people often work different roles across seasons. For instance, one employee might be a ski instructor in the winter and work in a hotel in the summer. SmartRecruiters makes it easy for these people to move around within the organization. Additionally, the SmartRecruiters CRM allows recruiters to easily source candidates in the pre-season hiring period.
Key Outcomes
In the first year after implementing SmartRecruiters, Aspen Skiiing Company experienced:
- 104% increase in candidate volume
- 24% decrease in recruitment marketing spend
- Fully automated and streamlined core TA processes
Results: More Candidates, Lower Costs
Streamlining the talent acquisition function with SmartRecruiters gave Aspen Skiing Company the transformation Caleb wanted, and then some. In the first year, applicant volume across all four brands increased by 104%. Better jobs visibility on the central careers site resulted in a 24% reduction in recruitment marketing spend. With the basic TA functionality taken care of, thanks to SmartRecruiters, Caleb was able to spend time building a Guided Discovery feature on the careers page to help candidates self-select into the application process. With the right people in the right jobs, Aspen Skiing Company is now better equipped to do what it does best: deliver memorable vacation experiences.
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