“When you start a new business, especially one like Chick-fil-A, you're going to get a lot of candidates really quickly. So we needed a system that could prioritize those and help us manage everything.”
Client Experience & Support
Ahead of Chick-fil-A Lenexa's grand opening in early 2020, they had four weeks to hire 100 new Team Members. HR Director Traci Ketter knew the buzz around their new business would generate a lot of applicants really quickly, so they needed a system that would help them manage the volume.
Before opening their doors, they set up HigherMe to streamline all their hiring from recruiting to onboarding so they could be ready to serve their community from day one.
Hiring at a new restaurant
“When you start a new business, especially one like Chick-fil-A, you're going to get a lot of candidates really quickly,” says Ketter. “So we needed a system that could prioritize those and help us manage everything.”
In addition to finding a system that could help them manage application volume, Chick-fil-A Lenexa also needed software that would integrate with their existing payroll software.
“One of the primary decision making factors that the owners were looking for were systems that are compatible with our HR payroll systems. Among those HigherMe seem to have the most forward thinking system where they were constantly looking for upgrades, and ways to improve the system. That was really exciting.”
Getting their account set up was simple, as HigherMe’s Customer Experience team configured the system so that it was most useful for the Chick-fil-A Lenexa team.
“The integrated interview communications were super helpful. I can invite people to interviews using my blocks of time that I set up within HigherMe. When candidates confirm I get an email back, and I can push it directly to my calendar."
Traci Ketter, Chick-fil-A Lenexa
Chick-fil-A Lenexa and HigherMe
Ketter joined Chick-fil-A Lenexa as HR Director a month and a half before the restaurant’s grand opening. “I was super grateful to have this system selected and in place. When I came on, it just made my job so much easier,” she says.
HigherMe’s software automates job board posting, pushing out posts to Indeed, Monster, Facebook, and more. Chick-fil-A Lenexa also set up signage outside the restaurant to let their community know they would be opening soon, and had a Text-To-Apply number to capture applicants from drive-by traffic. Finally, their own company website was crucial to driving applicants to their HigherMe-powered careers page.
Ahead of the grand opening, Ketter had 400 applicants to screen, and with HigherMe’s tools, it was simple to stay organized and choose which candidates to contact straight away. “HigherMe has all the statuses that you can use like new, contacted, interviewed, pending, onboarding, hired, future candidates, and that helps keep us organized.”
Ketter was going to be interviewing between 200 and 300 candidates. With HigherMe’s automated interview scheduling, it was easy to keep everything organized. “The integrated interview communications were super helpful,” explains Ketter. “I can invite people to interviews using my blocks of time that I set up within HigherMe. When candidates confirm I get an email back, and I can push it directly to my calendar. It’s super helpful, because as soon as you start trying to manage the communications from your own email platform, then you have a mess on your hands.”
Finally, new Team Members sign all onboarding paperwork digitally before their first day, such as the W-2, tax forms, WOTC application, and employee handbook. “Instead of having a giant mound of paperwork for each Team Member to complete upon hire, they can do all of that in the online system. And to me, that's a standout,” says Ketter.
With the help of HigherMe software, Ketter and the team hired 100 new staff in time for the restaurant grand opening.
“The thing that surprised me the most is how robust the system is, and how well all the additions that are being continually added fit my needs as a business. I've never seen a hiring system that is this robust.”
Traci Ketter, Chick-fil-A Lenexa
Software for HR Directors
As the HR Director, Ketter is in HigherMe every day. The software allows her to spend less time on hiring tasks and more time connecting with candidates and getting to know the people in her community.
“If I can hire a candidate by clicking a button, I'm going to follow up on that and spend some time with the candidate - training them, getting to know them, and, you know, doing things that are a lot more fun than dealing with the paperwork,” says Ketter.
With time-saving tools, integrations that are critical to Chick-fil-A, and continuous software improvement, HigherMe has been a one-stop shop for Chick-fil-A Lenexa to hire and recruit candidates.
As Ketter explains: “The thing that surprised me the most is how robust the system is, and how well all the additions that are being continually added fit my needs as a business. I've never seen a hiring system that is this robust.”
HigherMe works with 1 in 12 Chick-fil-A restaurants across the US and Canada. To learn more, watch our 5 minute demo video or request a demo here.
.svg){kind=icon}
