Project Overview
Recruiting and retaining top-flight engineers is one of the biggest challenges for any technical organization. While the complete system and experience of recruitment at Cummins is very large and complex, I was tasked with specifically researching and understanding the point of first contact for many potential employees — the recruiting fair. While Cummins is a global leader in clean engine technology, recruiting top engineers to design diesel engines is difficult when they could choose to be working on jet engines, rockets, and other “cooler” products.
Approach
First, the research was framed with our clients to better understand how they think about and use recruiting fairs, and what information would be of most use to their efforts. A combination of contextual interviews, self-guided journals, and a multi-camera video ethnography set-up were all determined to be the most appropriate methods for the context and to uncover the information desired by the client.
Observations, Video Ethnography, and Self-Reporting Journal
Outcomes
One of the most important insights gained was the importance of interaction with the current Cummins engineers who staffed the booth. The young recruits actively sought out personal interactions with these individuals, while not paying as much attention to other booth touchpoints. This and many other insights allowed Cummins to redesign their booth in a way that facilitated more conversations and captured higher-quality candidates while also enabling Cummins to make contact with more young engineers than they were previously able to connect with.
Journey Map and Recruit Persona