Recruiting Strategy, Talent Placement, and Coaching: How Bloom Worked with Palette Skills
Fresh off receiving government grants, nonprofit sales training organization Palette Skills was ready to grow. They needed to make a few key strategic hires and mature their HR systems to support the organization.
This created a unique challenge for Aysha Teja, the Director of Operations. She not only had to place key people in smaller markets like Windsor, Ontario, but she also was responsible for all of Palette Skills’ operations and curriculum development.
She knew she needed a strategic HR partner, so the traditional agency fee model simply wouldn’t work. That’s where Bloom’s Fractional HR Executive offering came in to help, resulting in placing key roles and designing new systems and processes for Palette Skills to continue to grow on their own.
Choosing Bloom
“I had tried to do hiring on my own, but as Director of Operations, I realized I had too much on my plate,” said Aysha. “I wanted someone who could be a strategic partner and work with me, but also do the legwork for me.”
When Aysha realized she needed external support, she tried two recruiting agencies before choosing Bloom. However, she didn’t like the idea of working with an agency:
- The fee-based model meant that even placing a small number of candidates could cost over $100,000.
- The agencies she talked with didn’t align with all of Palette Skills’ values.
In contrast, Aysha felt that Bloom was a perfect fit:
- Bloom’s Fractional HR Executive offering meant that recruiting services would cost far less than an agency.
- Working with Bloom meant Aysha got a full roster of senior HR professionals to help coach and guide her in multiple areas of HR systems development.
- Bloom’s values of team building, inclusion, coaching, and anticipation of future needs aligned perfectly with how Aysha wanted to build Palette Skills.
How Bloom helped Palette Skills
While Palette Skills needed recruiting support, Bloom’s Fractional HR Executive offering meant that Aysha got a lot more than just candidates in the door.
Level setting and understanding the business
At the start of any Bloom engagement, the team focused on in-depth brainstorming, coaching, and getting to understand what Palette Skills needed from its talent and where the organization was heading.
“Bloom helped me articulate what I was looking for from the roles we were hiring,” said Aysha.
Writing job descriptions
After identifying what Palette Skills really needed, Bloom helped Aysha develop unique job descriptions that would ensure the organization stood out to candidates.
“Bloom gave us some good tips on how to write a job description, so it really stands out,” said Aysha. “The job descriptions allowed us to show off our personality and our expectations.”
Candidate searching and screening
Using a mix of Bloom’s exclusive talent network and outbound reach outs, the Bloom team sourced ideal candidates for the roles. It handled all the initial phone screens, taking that responsibility off of Aysha’s plate so she could focus on her other duties.
“We couldn’t be happier with the candidates that Bloom brought to the table,” said Aysha. “Bloom helped us get the calibre of candidates we need for this stage of growth.”
Interview process coaching
Once candidates got through the first screen, it was time for Aysha to interview them. Bloom coached Aysha on a few interview skills and techniques for making an inclusive, candidate-friendly experience that would help her truly identify the right people for the roles.
“Bloom provided interview process coaching, advice, and was there to talk with me about what I liked about the candidates or why I might not want to move forward,” said Aysha.
Onboarding support and coaching
After picking the right candidates and making the offer, it came time to onboard. Bloom helped Aysha add a few new elements to her onboarding process, which meant the candidates were more prepared to take on their new roles.
“I’d tried onboarding someone else on my own before, and Bloom helped me realize there is a lot more I can be doing to set someone up for success right from the beginning,” said Aysha.
Difficult HR moments coaching.
Even in times of growth, there are difficult conversations that need to be had. When that happened at Palette Skills, Bloom helped Aysha navigate the conversation professionally and in a way that mitigated any future issues.
“Having Bloom support and coach me through difficult challenges has been invaluable,” said Aysha. “Having them made a tough experience for myself and others in the organization a lot better.”
Growth success with Bloom
Overall, Palette Skills was able to get comprehensive HR systems coaching and placement for multiple open roles — all for less than the cost of one agency hire. Bloom not only respected Aysha’s desire to be involved in the process but encouraged it. From there, Bloom handled all the heavy lifting and made sure they worked alongside Aysha’s vision and goals to make them a reality.
In the end, Aysha was incredibly happy with the quality of candidates and the coaching that Bloom provided — noting that she would happily recommend Bloom to any growing startup.
“I can’t say enough positive things about Avery and about Bloom,” said Aysha.
