HR Trendsetter: Stacy Donovan Zapar, Founder of Tenfold

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photo of Stacy Donovan Zapar

Audio: Stacy Zapar on the top recruiting challenge in 2015 and how to overcome it.

Job postings are so 2013—at least at Zappos, which made headlines in May 2014 when it eliminated them altogether in favor of its Zappos Insiders program.

Recruiting consultancy Tenfold in San Diego worked with Zappos to launch an “entire social recruiting strategy from scratch, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google Plus and more ... all within a six-week period!” says Stacy Donovan Zapar, Tenfold founder. “We wanted to give insiders a place to communicate with us, learn about us and give us a chance to get to know them, too.”

Zapar helped Zappos come up with creative approaches for engaging job candidates, including Google Hangouts, biweekly Twitter chats, weekly blog posts and online webinars. “We are constantly thinking of fun new ways to interact,” she says. —Christina Folz

Help for Help Wanted

With job postings, we had to wade through lots of applicants, and we only hired 1 percent. Having to reject so many people was not a good use of our time and not a great candidate experience. Now people can become Insiders by submitting a resume, and they are automatically considered for relevant positions that become available. We spend our time proactively sourcing and having positive, exploratory conversations.

Her Advice

Be willing to take risks, even if you’re not sure how they will turn out. Expect hiccups, missteps, pushback and questioning. It’s all part of the process.

How She’s Making a Difference

The proof is in the pudding! The bounce rate on our careers page is down 50 percent, and we’re on track to have three times as many Insiders sign up post-launch as we did total unique applicants last year—and eight times more sourced candidates.

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