You’ve combed our Success Center and found a job that describes you to a “T”. You apply, and maybe as soon as you click the submit button you begin to wonder- what are the steps in Mazzella Companies’ hiring process? We sat down with Tony Dworznik, Talent Manager, as well as Bradley Lyle, Project Manager, and Teresa Hurst, Accounts Payable Supervisor, two recent new hires at Mazzella Companies, to answer questions about just that.
What is the first step in the hiring process?
One of the first steps in the hiring process at Mazzella Companies, after you’ve applied, will be a phone interview with one of our Talent Partners for an initial screening. Teresa mentioned that her Talent Partner reached out to her before she formally applied “I received a call from my Talent Partner first. He saw my resume and work history out on LinkedIn and reached out to see if I was interested in applying for the position.”
Bradley says of his initial interview, “My Talent Partner was fantastic throughout the initial process, and beyond. He constantly kept me updated and was open to communicate with via phone, text, and email, so it covered all the bases.”
While the initial phone screen is the norm, some positions will require additional interviews, and as Tony mentioned, “Not every position will be exactly the same. For our hourly skilled positions, we have got it down to one interview after the screening. For other positions, like a management one, it could be more than that, but we’re trying to streamline the process because everyone’s time is important, including the candidates.”
What digital tools does Mazzella Companies use in the hiring process?
There are a variety of digital tools that can be used in the hiring process and Mazzella Companies is currently using three digital tools to streamline, simplify, and amplify the hiring process.
With so many locations, and team members enjoying the flexibility of working for different companies in different locations, Teams plays a key role in engaging prospective team members. Creating a valuable opportunity for both the applicant and the interviewer to show more of who they are, including body language and facial expressions, Teams helps to make interviews more personal when in-person can’t be worked into the schedule.
Currently, Mazzella Companies is utilizing a system named ICIMs, where anyone looking to apply for a position at any Mazzella Companies location can upload their resume and research open job listings. In the next few months, the program will transition to a new program named UKG. Tony says, “We are going through a streamlined process with a new system called UKG that’s going to make all of this even simpler and all in one place.” The new UKG system will not only be a part of the team members hiring process but also the system they use for any time entry, tax forms, and time off requests making it a system that will follow a new team member from their first interview until retirement.
Most Mazzella Companies’ new team members will take an assessment prior to their formal interview called, The Working Genius. As Tony puts it, “We are using The Working Genius, which has given us the ability to really look at the team and not just the individual. When the assessment is taken, it’s going to tell us how you like to work best – what brings you the most joy and fulfillment in your work.”
The assessment itself takes about 10 minutes to complete and provides a custom and detailed report with insights into your top two areas of Working Genius, Working Competency, and Working Frustration. When asked how the new team members felt about it, Bradley said “everyone on our team, we all kind of laid out our results and it was funny because we all trended the same way. I think we all have our own dynamics, but it’s interesting”. Teresa said that while there weren’t any surprises with the results, she understood how it was being used to see if she was a good fit for the company and how it gave deeper insight into her background.
What documents are needed in the hiring process?
When asked what documentation would be needed of new hire upfront, Tony said “The best thing you can have is a resume because it’s going to filter everything into our application so you don’t have to fill most of it out manually”. Once the application process turns into and offer for employment , prospective team members will need documentation to verify employment authorization and identity.
When a new team member begins the onboarding process, a list will be provided with all available identification options, including but not limited to items like:
- Driver’s license
- Passport
- Social security card
- Permanent resident card
- Military ID
How long will the interview process take?
When Tony was asked how long the interview process is taking, he plainly said “Right now the interview process from job posting to offer is a month and a half to two months and that needs to be shortened,” going on to say, “We want to bring them into the fold as quickly as possible, but we also want them to have a good understanding of what the job is, what your day-to-day expectations are. Our goal here at Mazzella Companies is to be able to ask the right questions at the right time and have debrief sessions so that we can cut down that number of interviews.”
When new hires were asked the same question, Bradley stated that his interview process took about two months total while Teresa experienced a much shorter interview process saying, “In total I had three interviews. One was with my Talent Partner, one was over video conference with my would-be-manager, and the third I came in for and did a three-person panel interview” with the entire process being only a weeklong affair, adding “I was very impressed, and it was nice that no one dragged this out or made me wait.”
Both candidates expressed a shortened interview process being preferred, but that they enjoyed being able to meet with so many members of their team prior to taking the position with Bradley adding, “it was nice because you got to see different angles from different positions within the company and they all had their own insight and it gave me a better understanding of the group dynamic.”
When are salary expectations discussed?
Per Tony, salary is discussed upfront during the phone screening saying, “we want to make sure we’re being as transparent as possible and with that we’re going to talk about pay during our phone screen”, adding, “Transparent communication is key. Not just telling someone what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. Sometimes those conversations are easy, and sometimes not, but they’re important.”
Both Bradley and Teresa said that there was absolute transparency in the discussion of pay and no surprises when it came to offer letter time with Teresa saying, “I did ask what the salary range was, so I wouldn’t waste the company’s time or mine because sometimes people oversell or undersell themselves, so I wanted to make sure I was in the same range that they were looking for.”
What happens once you get an offer letter?
Once you receive an offer letter, it’s up to you to review it and negotiate any changes, which Teresa said was an easy process, “there was only one change that I asked for and it was changed and resent while we were on the phone, and I signed and sent it right back.” Bradley noted it was a seamless situation saying, “they had all my information on the requirements I had for salary and vacation, so I wasn’t surprised when I got my offer letter, it was everything we had discussed upfront, once I got it, I approved it almost immediately.”
Right after the offer letter is signed Tony says, “HR will send over the background screening and drug test information and your I-9 – our goal is to get that all done and completed by day one.”
What was the deciding factor in accepting your offer?
While Teresa was really drawn to how friendly everyone was, how family-oriented the company was, and that taking this position moved her closer to home, Bradley shared, “I wanted to be with a company where I had the ability for growth. The last places I worked at were smaller companies where there weren’t any opportunities to grow. Here though, I’m able to look down the road and see the opportunities. Here, you can not only be a team member within a group, but you also have your individual goals that you need to strive and achieve for”.
What tips can you offer prospective team members?
When Tony was asked what advice he could offer to a prospective new team member, he said to come with questions going on to say, “Some of the best questions that you ask are better than most of the answers that you can give. Being engaged, making sure that you practice a little bit, think of what questions you’re going to ask, that’s going to make for a really good interview and may also make you more comfortable”.
Tony went on to share some Mazzella Companies goals for 2023 saying, “the goal for our Talent team in 2023 is to bring down the number of positions we’re replacing and lift up the positions that we’re hiring which are new to the company and by hiring the people who are best for the position – that’s how we’re going to make that happen” and adding, “I want to make sure people are being put in the right place for them versus just what we want for them.”
Conclusion
Whether the new job you’ve applied has the potential for a higher pay raise, a better balance of work and home life, or a role that you only dreamed was possible, Mazzella Companies goal is to make the application process a great experience. And if you don’t get the job? Tony says, “The best thing they can do is create a relationship. Even though you might not get chosen this time, there are always opportunities here and the next one might be the right one, so we always tell people to keep putting themselves out there.”
