Makro sold on StepStone Solutions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 18, 2010 -- London, 18 August: Makro, one of the UK’s largest wholesalers, has implemented StepStone Solutions’ e-recruitment platform to handle its recruitment processes through its new online careers portal www.makrocareers.co.uk. Despite only going live in June 2010 Makro has already forecast a 150 per cent return on investment (ROI) within 12 months.

The new e-recruitment solution has already had a significant impact. Within the first week of going live Makro processed over 350 applications resulting in the company making immediate hires through its new careers portal. Makro also received almost 27,000 site hits and roughly 5,500 job views within the first seven days. For a company that ordinarily received 200 speculative CVs every day, StepStone Solutions has helped streamline its recruitment considerably. Filter questions for each vacancy reduce the number of unsuitable applications, while conducting the entire recruitment process online, from application to arranging interviews, significantly reduces the administrative burden and, as a result, reduces time to hire.

With a workforce of 4,400 employees across its 30 UK stores Makro places an emphasis on customer service – it is therefore vital that it recruits employees that will reflect this ethos. The customised system, which was implemented in less than three months, gives hiring managers, HR professionals and business leaders greater visibility of the positions and candidates available. They can also search the portal for potential recruits by location and department, as well as via a key-word search. In addition, candidates can opt to receive job alerts when future positions become available. The highly efficient system is also expected to have a positive impact on Makro’s employer brand as applicants are informed of their progress quickly and accurately, with all communication taking place through the portal.

Nicola Lake, head of resourcing at Makro, comments: “Our new careers website will not only transform the way candidates can search for and apply for jobs, but also improve our in-house management of the recruitment process. The majority of the job applications we were receiving were speculative, but our new system gives greater visibility of what opportunities exist at Makro for those wanting to join us. It even provides automated job alerts which eliminate a lot of the admin for us. Our investment in www.makrocareers.co.uk sets us apart from our competitors and we want to do everything we can to attract the best talent to deliver the best possible service to our customers.”

Matthew Parker, CEO of StepStone Solutions comments: “Makro reaped the benefits of our e-recruitment system in the first week, and estimating an ROI of 150 per cent in the first 12 months demonstrates the solution’s ability to cut costs and improve efficiencies from the off-set. It is vital that companies like Makro have a cost-effective, seamless recruitment process if they are to attract and recruit the right talent and we’re delighted to have put them on the right track to achieving these objectives.”

In July, Makro launched an employee referral scheme and the company is currently considering additional StepStone Solution products to enhance its career programme.

Makro
With more than 35,000 products in every store and over 2,000 fresh lines, Makro is one of the UK’s largest cash and carry operators. Employing 4,400 people in stores which stretch from the north of Scotland to the south of England, Makro is part of METRO Cash & Carry.

METRO Cash & Carry is represented in 30 countries with around 670 self-service wholesale stores. With more than 100,000 employees worldwide, the company achieved sales of about € 31 billion in 2009. METRO Cash & Carry is a sales division of the METRO Group, one of the most important international trading companies. In 2009 the Group reached sales of around € 66 billion. The company has a headcount of some 300,000 employees and operates more than 2,100 stores in 32 countries. The Group’s performance is based on the strength of its sales divisions which operate independently in their respective market segment: METRO/MAKRO Cash & Carry – the international leader in self-service wholesale, Real hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn – European market leader in consumer electronics retailing, and Galeria Kaufhof department stores. More information at: www.metrogroup.de

About StepStone Solutions

StepStone Solutions delivers world class technology for finding, recruiting, retaining, managing and developing people. Our global talent acquisition and talent management solutions are available in many languages, with seamless, internet-based access. With the support of our experienced professionals they can be quickly and reliably implemented anywhere in the world, using SaaS or on-premises delivery, to give rapid return on investment. Over 1,500 organisations in 40 countries rely on StepStone Solutions every day to improve their business performance, build effective talent strategies, and to help their people have more effective, enjoyable and rewarding careers. StepStone Solutions operates in 16 countries and employs around 450 people. Its global customers include Carlson Wagonlit, Deloitte, Deutsche Telekom, Lufthansa, Kruger Products, PUMA, and Virgin Atlantic. In August 2010 StepStone Solutions announced an agreement to acquire Talent Acquisition company MrTed.

For more information see: www.stepstonesolutions.com and www.mrted.com
Product information: www.stepstonesolutions.com/solutions/
Read our blog at: www.stepstonesolutions.com/communitypost
Take the Talent Strategy Assessment at: www.talentstrategyassessment.com
Try our Business Case Builder: www.stepstonesolutions.com/impact-tools/en-gb/bcb.
Read our research on talent management in 2010: www.stepstonesolutions.com/eiu

For further information about StepStone Solutions please contact
Karla Winch or Dan Bond
Brands2Life

+44 (0)20 7592 1200
stepstonesolutions@brands2life.com

For further information about Makro please contact:
Karen Adams, Becky Roberts or Nick Wakefield
Phone: 0161 817 6600
Fax: 0161 817 6601
E-mail: makro@tangerinepr.com