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Charlotte Russe leverages mobile for employee hiring and training

Charlotte Russe, a major mall retailer, has announced it will begin using the cloud-based PeopleMatter Platform for streamlined hiring and training techniques for employees on mobile devices.

The clothing chain, which targets a teen and young adult demographic, will be integrating the technology nationwide to automate the hiring process. The brand believes that the platform?s mobile and social capabilities will resonate with potential applicants and employees by using their preferred channels of communication.

?We believe the future of hiring and the job application process is mobile, as evidenced by recent trends in Internet traffic,? said Nancy Sansom, chief marketing officer at PeopleMatter, Charleston, SC. ?In this type of environment, attracting the best job candidates is a top concern for all businesses, especially the service industry which has high turnover.

?As the labor market tightens, companies must go mobile to attract candidates.?

Streamlining hiring process
With most bricks-and-mortar stores now accepting applications for holiday season employment, using a technology platform to help streamline the hiring process is an optimal solution. The PeopleMatter Platform, which has systems for hiring, learning and scheduling, offers a slew of tactics and programs for mobile devices.

Interested individuals may submit job applications via a mobile application on their smartphones. The mobile platform then tracks all applicants, and can instantly post to a variety of job boards such as Indeed and Monster if application quotas are not being met.

Once a hire is made, the PeopleMatter Platform handles the onboarding process with online paperwork and built-in mobile tools to serve as reminders, and also offers I-9 verification for hiring managers.

There is also a business analytics function that displays insights into how the hiring process is going with configurable reports.

?Customers use our hiring software ? including a mobile-optimized job application and 6-minute mobile assessments ?  to find ?best-fit? candidates apply using their preferred method quickly and efficiently,? Ms. Sansom said. ?By integrating with major social media networks, companies are able to attract new talent and build a list of candidates from their already existing fan-bases.?

Service industry standards
The PeopleMatter Platform claims to be the largest provider of management technology for the workforce built for the service industry, and hopes to work with more retail brands such as Charlotte Russe in the future.

Charlotte Russe recognizes the competitive edge for locating the best employees, especially ahead of the hectic holiday shopping season, and believes its partnership with the platform will culminate in a better applicant experience, and a high quality pool of new hires.

The brand believes these types of technology platforms are ideal for companies with hourly employees.

Once new hires are made, companies can use PeopleMatter?s Learn platform for training workers. Learn comes with a free mobile app, mobile or online training, courses and tests for managers and employees.

Managers can also take advantage of the Schedule platform for organizing busy schedules. It includes target labor controls, hourly thresholds, shift changes and a mobile schedule maker.

PeopleMatter and Charlotte Russe believe that the Platform will make the working process easier for retailers, managers and employees.

?While mobile devices are now the main source of Internet usage, 40 percent of mobile candidates abandon the application process when they encounter a non-mobile-friendly site,? Ms. Sansom said. 

?PeopleMatter has helped our customers increase job applications by 32 percent and mobile job applications by 53 percent, simply by allowing people to apply right from their smartphone with our mobile-optimized job application." 

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York