Partnering in the Southeast Region

When you think of groceries, you probably are thinking more about what to make for dinner than who's behind the scenes ensuring that your groceries make it to the shelves. Cathy Edwards, however, puts in a lot of thought about how groceries get to the store and from the shelf to your shopping cart and out the door. She's a talent acquisition specialist for Food Lion, a grocery store chain headquartered in Salisbury, N.C.

Cathy is responsible for multiple recruiting efforts for Food Lion, including IT hiring for the chain's quality implementation department, which handles point-of-sale transactions. When she needed extra help to fill specialized IT positions, she turned to the expertise of The Connors Group's Southeastern staffing specialists.

A unique culture

During the last several months, Cathy has been tasked with filling a variety of staffing needs. Because Food Lion uses a very specific POS system, it's tough to find people who can manage and maintain it. And, because Food Lion has a unique culture, Cathy needed a staffing partner who could find passionate IT candidates who not only had the specific skills required, but also a commitment to outstanding service.

Based on the recommendation of a hiring manager at Food Lion, she contacted Christine Appleton at The Connors Group for help. The two quickly built a rapport.

"It's been a great partnership with Christine; she's always been there anytime I need her for anything," says Cathy. "When I contact her, she's always willing to work on the request even if it's brand-new to her. She'll do the research on the position so she gets the right candidates to us."

It's a process that works. The partnership with Cathy and Food Lion Human Resources paid off: Christine sent Cathy multiple candidates, two of whom were hired to fill the tough IT positions that Cathy was having trouble with.

"I do as much as I can to find candidates," says Cathy, "but having access to someone else's networking options has been a really good method for yielding the right people in the right salary range. I'd definitely use The Connors Group again."

Taking advantage of extensive resources

The networking resources that have benefited Cathy also pay off for retail organizations throughout the southeastern United States. The Connors Group works with retail clients from Virginia to Florida and has recently added staff in Florida, an expansion which increases the firm's ability to concentrate its attention on its clients in the region.

The Connors Group has worked with clients in the Southeast for several years and maintains an extensive network of qualified IT candidates. Being able to draw from a pool of local, talented IT professionals helps ensure that candidates will be a good fit both technically and culturally. In addition, The Connors Group's staffing experts give every client organization individualized attention.

Christine says part of what helps her find the right candidates is the research she does before meeting with a client. "I research the company in different ways, from talking with people to the Internet. Then I develop a set of questions that help me zero in on the culture, the position and the specific needs of the hiring manager."

If you're a retailer in the southeastern United States, find out how The Connors Group's candidate network can solve your staffing problems. Contact Christine Appleton, staffing specialist at The Connors Group, at 704-222-3538 or by email at christine@theconnorsgroup.com.