Creating evolutionary changes through strategic initiatives

Going beyond the norm and implementing solutions that create better working systems can be the difference between businesses thriving – or falling behind.

For Megan Twine, talent acquisition manager at Fluent Commerce, the idea of shaking up a system or process is not a daunting task, but one that is necessary to ensure a business continues to evolve. By doing so, employers are able to look at what’s working, what’s not and what can easily be improved for the betterment of both the employees and the organisation as a whole.

Megan was recently bestowed the Talent Acquisition Rising Star of the Year award at the Seek Talent Acquisition Recognition Awards (STAR Awards).

The award recognised her commitment to improving the hiring process, promoting diversity and inclusion, and fostering a strong company culture through meaningful events and activities.

For Megan, the idea of creating evolutionary change through strategic initiatives started with the first conversation she had at Fluent Commerce.

“I wanted to identify if we were aligned and that we could hit the ground running and make change quickly. Any change would need to improve both the current workforce there, so employees’ work lives, but then also we really needed to get the name of Fluent out there to create a better employee value proposition and attract new talent, and there was a lot that could be done in that space quickly,” Megan explained.

“To reflect on the last two years and see how far it’s come has been amazing. Internally and now also externally, it's been really recognised how much we've done in that space.”

Some of Megan’s most notable work includes her implementing an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that streamlined the hiring process and provided real-time data analytics, resulting in a cost savings of $421,200.

“From the get-go, I asked management, ‘What sort of tracking system are you using?’ and they said ‘Excel’ or ‘Google Sheets’. The engineering team had set up a Duraboard for hiring which some people use it in the tech world to track projects, [however], I told them all of this wasn't a scalable solution; ‘You can't reflect back on this for years to come’,” she said.

After looking around the market, Megan and her team came across an ATS that allowed easy integration with Fluent Commerce’s systems.

The ATS also enables Fluent Commerce to reflect on previous candidates. Generating contracts has become a much simpler task too.

“Rather than coming to me to ask questions, people can just jump on the system [and get what they’re looking for]. It’s had a big impact on the whole process and it’s a lot more professional and less messy,” Megan explained.

“[The improvements] to reporting is significant too – just to be able to give information to the board management meetings so they can actually see what we’re doing and how quickly we’re doing it. All the stats they asked for previously, we can now do at a click of a button.”

In addition to her work in implementing the new ATS, Megan also introduced industry-wide events, such as “WomenHack” and “Girls in Tech”, and implemented candidate-centric approaches, including internal workshops and role-playing exercises that embodied company values.

Further, Megan was able to successfully reintroduce a company-wide event called Fest, which included logistics for international employees, team building activities, market updates, and charitable work with Our Big Kitchen, where over 130 employees created more than 1,000 meals for the community.

Tweaks to how the company attracts talent is a key passion for Megan.

Rather than relying on referrals, word-of-mouth and agency recruiters, she reinvigorated Fluent Commerce’s approach to jobs boards, such as Seek – something that proved valuable from both a talent acquisition standpoint but represented a real cost benefit too.

“We have a really great internal culture but no one knew about it, so showing that off was important,” Megan said.

“Stuff does cost money so it was about proving to our senior leadership group that this is going to be a money-saving exercise for us. [Utilising job boards better], you can see how much that has saved us rather than hiring through agencies.

“You just have to get the buy-in, tell the story and show the data. From that point, they trust you to make that decision so we can move ahead with doing those sorts of things.”

In terms of her STAR Awards win, Megan said being recognised has given her even more confidence to go the extra mile in implementing effective change within her organisation.

“My colleagues entered me on my behalf which was really amazing. They recognised the importance of the awards. It was such an honour to be even shortlisted – I was shocked by that,” she said.

“When I won, I had people come up to me and also message me on LinkedIn and reach out to me. I hadn't realised how amazing it is to have that recognition and realise what I've been doing since I started [has been important work].”

On her advice to encourage others to enter awards programs like this, Megan said:

“It's a great opportunity to really understand where you’re sitting, what you've been doing and what you’ve achieved. It's a good benchmarking exercise.

“I think people should apply and also nominate people around them so that you can recognise those around you too.”

To learn more about this year’s STAR Awards, click here.

To check out STAR winners and finalists, click here.