Tap into different pipelines
Vanderbilt University Dining has formed partnerships with different community organizations in Nashville, helping to widen the operation’s candidate pool. Working with the nearby International Center for Empowerment, the university’s team has recruited a dozen immigrants and refugees this year. The team also works with a veterans’ resources nonprofit to attract former service members.
Similarly, Minneapolis Public Schools' nutrition team works with the district's adult basic education department to create a foodservice management class for community members of different backgrounds. "This class has provided us with candidates who have, in turn, helped spread the word of open positions," says Michele Carroll, culinary and nutrition services business manager for the district.
The culinary team at Ohio Living Westminster-Thurber in Columbus, Ohio, has found several older candidates through job placement and training nonprofit Goodwill. "A lot of millennials want $15 an hour and nothing too menial," says Jason Koprivich, director of culinary and nutritional services for the senior living community. "These seniors are coming back into the workplace in a huge way, and they're wrapping their arms around our younger people and helping to shape them." Some job-seekers working with Goodwill aren't always a good fit for the healthcare community, because of their criminal backgrounds and organization's background check policy, Koprivich says. However, members of the department donate their time to mock-interview people who might not be able to qualify for a job at the facility, which helps spread the word. One person who participated in the job training sent his daughter over to apply.