Transcript
Speaker: everybody, welcome to another episode of the Frontlines podcast. I'm your host Tim Sackett with my bestie Madeline Lerano. Madeline, how are you doing? I am doing well. I'm excited. We have a very exciting guest today. We've already been asking her many, many questions. I know. And we're live in Atlanta at Workday Horizons, which is very cool. So we're getting to do this on stage, not the normal kind of Zoom screens and all the other stuff. And your mic works, which is also an amazing thing. This is a new thing. And I don't have my blurry Zoom filter, which is unfortunate because that does make me look better, but here we are. Sarah, welcome. Introduce your everyone to the millions of listeners on the pod. Yeah, well, thank you for having me. My name is Sarah Wright, and I'm the head of TA for Valvoline Inc. So if you've ever passed by a Valvoline instant oil change, and my team would be the ones who staff those stores in the U.S. s and Canada. So thank Excited to be here today. We've been on a great journey with Paradox and Workday the last two years and just seen a lot of amazing transformation.
Speaker: That's amazing. I always forget to and tell everybody that Workday is actually our sponsor of our show. So you got to throw it out there right away for us. That's that's great. yeah I'm sure they love that. I'm sure they love that as a sponsor. It's like Tim always forgets to mention our name. i'm like aha It's not the most important thing. Come on. talking to Sarah. Yeah, we're talking to Sarah. Sarah, can you share a little bit about how many store locations, how many employees, what are we talking about in terms of size? How many hires, yeah, annually? Yeah, so my team oversees corporate hires. So as a network, so Valvoline is made up of both corporate stores as well as franchises. So from a corporate perspective, we're at about 1,100, and our franchises, I believe, are right around 1,350. So around 2,400 total, no signs of stopping.
Speaker: So we're a high growth organization. It turns out cars need oil. Yeah. Yeah. yeah They do. They do in batteries and windshield wipers. yeah Yeah. And we're piloting in the EV space and heavy duty. So, you know, we're thinking about the future too.
Speaker: Cool. Excellent. Yeah. You said something air that I didn't even know, you're already used to me asking questions that you're not prepared for, but female CEO, which I think is super important, because I think when most females, and I grew up with all women, so like in my mind, how many times they've gotten taken advantage of going into an auto repair shop or something where they don't feel comfortable. How has the perspective of Valvoline changed with a female CEO in terms of how you deal with customers?
Speaker: Yeah, i um I think first and foremost, she's so credible just because how knowledgeable she is, right? And so she's Harvard educated, she worked as a consultant, she worked at Walmart. And so um shes she's very down to earth, which I think is also shows the culture of Valvoline too.
Speaker: But at the end of the day, she's just she's very competent. And I think when it when she speaks, she commands attention because of the value of the words. And I think it's very similar to um our our females in the store, right? Like one, we noticed that when there's one female in the store, you're gonna you see more come along. So she's mate she's kind of normalized. yeah yeah Women within the automotive retail services. um But at the end of the day, what we do in the stores can be learned too. And so I know i think we want to change the industry so that this is for everybody. And and we say we want to reflect the communities that we serve. And with our training program, it doesn't matter you know what your diversity is. um You can be very competent. And I am confident that we have many women that are wowing our customers every day. And you know as a female, it gives me a lot of pride. It really does. It makes it more attractive, too, for women that want to apply there, absolutely want to work there with a female CEO. I love it. Absolutely. And we we have employee resource groups too. We have one that's called Power, and that's focused on women. and
Speaker: And it's women empowering women within Valvoline. So excited to see how we're changing the industry in this way. i love it. So it's interesting. We've talked a little bit, and I think when we first met, i didn't realize how much of Workday and its product suite you're using for frontline yeah workers. So can you talk us through a little bit about how you're partnering both with Workday Paradox and then with Workday yes beyond hiring yeah to support your frontline workers?
Speaker: Absolutely. So we went on this journey probably two to three years ago to figure out who we wanted to partner with. And the the mindset behind is we're high growth organization. There was a lot of opportunity we knew from a technology space so that we could drive efficiencies and scale. in a better way as we add many more stores. And so ultimately we landed with Workday for many reasons. One, it um it was easy for our frontline workers to use. And that is so important. doesn't matter how great the technology could be if the people that you're putting front aren't able to figure out how to use it, right? So it's easy to use. um We're using it today to drive scheduling in our stores. So um it It took a lot of work off of our service center managers. It's aligned with our POS, and so it generates our scheduling. But one of the great benefits is it's helped us to manage labor.
Speaker: Yeah. Right? So we're using our data to figure out What are the peak times that need to be staffed in the store? And then that information, so it's reduced labor costs, but ultimately it gives us a better understanding of our headcount, right? So when that translates to recruiting, um we have more accurate numbers. We're not relying so much on kind of that gut feel.
Speaker: um And then we partner with Paradox from an ATS perspective. um we We're all in, right? So our experience um has... reduce the amount of manual work that our recruiters need to do. So if you go to our career site today, Megan, our chatbot is going to engage you at all hours, right? so um And it's going to ask some pre-screening questions. And then it's going to automate. The front end of our process through Paradox is all automated. And so only the qualified candidates are actually the candidates that the recruiters touch. And so the recruiters are really being lifted up to focus on the high value activity. and focus on candidate quality so that we're sending the right folks to the store. So, um yeah, we we're all in. You guys do something that's super unique in the industry. And if you think about almost anything within the retail sales space, and you guys are basically retail. We are. But it could be hospitality, it could be whatever. is a pretty typical kind of, I'll say broad stroke of somebody applies to the job, they probably get screened, it might be AI screened, might be a recruiter screened, then it goes on to a manager, right? And the manager ultimately decides, oh, yep, I want to interview you too, and then whether it's on video or in person, whatever, the manager makes the decision.
Speaker: Correct. You guys, and I don't even know how you got there because it's like the holy grail of like TA hiring, is your recruiters do the screening, interviewing, and then send candidates who are ready to be hired to a manager who then just makes a decision without interviewing them. Correct.
Speaker: You act like it's so normal. They have to do approval. They have to do the approval. But you act like that is so normal. I never talk another company. It is normal me. is. But how would you get to that when these managers are willing to give that up? It's trust, right? It is. And it's built over time. And we're really not the only company doing it. There's some other larger companies, too. But this is for our technician roles only. Our higher level, higher impact roles, they will go in for interviews. But this is where we landed.
Speaker: So right. during in COVID, this was the process. We have to move fast. but We can't, yeah. Well, and that too, but there was just protocols on in-person interviews, right? And so ultimately, so we we went live in COVID and then the hiring manager, the important part here is the hiring manager is making the hiring decision.
Speaker: So the recruiter connects with the hiring manager up front, understands what they're looking for. A lot of this is repeatable types of positions, right? And then it's screening based on what the hiring manager says and only passing along the candidates that align with it. And then the hiring manager has an opportunity to say, like, hey, ask questions, and then thumbs up or thumbs down, do we move forward? And we've tested this model, and we've actually taken pockets or areas and gone back to in-person interviews to see if it drives retention. yeah And it doesn't.
Speaker: There's no correlation. so but But it doubles your time to hire, oh which then impacts revenues into a story. So zero impact to quality, double the time to hire. so um What we've learned then, we partnered with a study at the University of Kentucky, too, that helped us to get to this as well. But again, ultimately, the hiring manager makes the decision, but there's a level of trust. And so when you you say, like, how how did your managers get on board with this? Well, I would say COVID was how they got on board with it. but But then they started to ask. We want to be more involved in the hiring process, right? And so then...
Speaker: I would share data. I would say, hey, it takes five interviews to get to one hire. If you have three positions open in your store, do you have time to do 15 interviews in a week? Because our time to hire is seven days. And they're like, oh my gosh, no, there's no way I can do it. I'm already overwhelmed. And so said, so what I hear you really saying is that you think there's an opportunity for your knowledge to close a gap to hire a higher quality And they're like, yes. Sarah should run for mayor. I know, this is amazing. So then it comes down to the relationship between the recruiter and the hiring manager. You have no idea how rare that is, though, to get to that point. Absolutely. You said the trust between the recruiter and that hiring manager that has to build over time, that they go, OK, I understand that the person that Sarah's sending me is someone of quality, is someone that she would hire as well, or whatever. It's so hard to build that. And you're talking at scale, you're doing that. We are. And a big part of that too is getting in the stores. And so our recruiters feel like a member of the operations team, very much so, because that's who they work with in and day out. But our recruiters, some are certified as technicians. We go in two times year into the stores and build relationships. We have weekly calls. So there's all these quality checks and touch points that we have on a weekly and monthly and yearly basis that has helped us build a strong relationship. And then the data helps. When you're able to show improvements and your stores are staffed, that proof's in the pudding, that's what we say in Kentucky.
Speaker: um The trust is built to results. yeah yeah You don't have the scheduling challenges that everyone else faces with hiring manager schedules. I mean, it's amazing. It is. Yeah, because that is like one the most difficult things. That's the number one. we had talked about that on the bigger panel. on and like It's the hardest thing to get to turn on AI scheduling is to figure out. I know like Rachel Allen at 7-Eleven is a friend of ours that you know when they did theirs, they just went, you know again, same thing with you. if You have thousands of locations. It's like,
Speaker: She just said no, every Tuesday from 2 to 4, every single store has to to have that as ah as an interview time. And you just forced it until you figured out who could play along and then start to manage their schedule a little better. But it's it's a difficult thing to pull off. It really is. And what if you're a candidate your best candidate is not available on that small window? Yeah, 100%. And then how long has it taken you then actually get them in the store as you're coordinating in these small windows, which then impacts revenue of your service industry for sure? Yeah, that's so good.
Speaker: So thinking about how you're using Paradox now, Workday Paradox, and you're using Workday, are there other areas you're looking to expand into?
Speaker: We are. So on our roadmap this coming year is going to be going live with performance maintenance management module within Workday. um We see an opportunity to create more consistency and then just transparency and accountability with ah with it. So we're excited for that. We think that's going to be a high impact.
Speaker: module to implement. The other thing is, you know focuses on retention. we've We've focused a lot on recruiting. We we feel like we're partnering with Workday and Paradox to lead the way there. Now it's the in-between and it's onboarding, right? Like what do we need to do to make sure our hiring manager is better prepared to onboard our candidate or new hire, you know, knows what day one, and day two, day three is going to look like and and on. So there's going to be a focus on the onboarding module. um And then we we're going to continue to innovate in the employment assessment space.
Speaker: When you talked about like the scheduling side, of you guys are using the scheduling for workday. But is there's ah is there another level to that where you start to turn on? Like if if ah if ah ah one of your employees says, oh, I can't work Monday's afternoon shift, and I'm supposed to traditionally, like that would be calling your manager who makes you feel awful and blah, blah, blah. like So you guys are using that where AI will then take that, figure out who else might be available for to fill that job. Is that another one you're testing? um So that's the second wave of of Workday for us. So yes, it's um the flexibility side of the scheduling tool. Gen we know what needs a lot of flexibility and is asking for that.
Speaker: Our managers are saying, I just need to make sure my store's staff. And if you can find me someone at the store down the street who's willing to work and cover a schedule, um they're open to it. um And driving retention is is the most important part of that as well. So yeah, we're excited to see what that could mean for our family members. Yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker: It's amazing. So when you think about kind of the growth of the company and everything that you're experiencing within talent acquisition now, um how much does change management play into all of that? Because, i mean, we've all seen this and we get excited by Workday Paradox. And when I first saw it, I was like, oh my gosh, Josh Seacrest talks about like implementing it at McDonald's and like all the managers were on board, but we know change management a process and takes a long time and is ongoing and you've made a lot of changes. How do you factor that in?
Speaker: Yeah, it's definitely the hardest part, yeah right? Because that's the people element. My CHRO and I chat a lot, and and i it's like, we can create all the great solutions on paper, but until it's actually executed, it's just great solutions on paper, right? Yeah. And so, you know, it starts at the top down. Like, what are your priorities? And um and and it it starts with your executive team sharing with their leaders that, hey, this is what we want to do this year, and we need a partner beside, you know, HR, or whoever it may be, to implement this. And then it's taking ah taking those that's impacted on the journey. yeah
Speaker: That's really important. You know, i think about our TA team. Some members of the team have been with organization 26 years. It's hard to change them. Right? Yeah. Right? Well, they've just, and they've seen a lot, right? And some of it is they've probably seen some things that didn't work out and yeah some did. So there's there's some past experiences that might create create some resistance.
Speaker: So transparency is so important to say, hey guys we're in the we're in the strategy stage, right? But this is what we're looking at. And then as it gets further down the vetting cycle, you you keep them updated. Like, hey, these are the things that we're really excited about. We think we're going to explore this. And then when you actually get to a place where you're like, OK, I'm pretty sure this is the decision we're going make, you bring in some of those that are going to be impacted and and say, help us to vet this out. Like, what are we missing here? So that they get buy-in and input. And then the solution's better because they do it every day. right right And they're going to think about things at a level that I won't because I don't do it every day. And then they become change agents. And they had a say in it. because They're involved in They helped to build it. And so then they're invested in its success, too. I would think, like, just from my experience, is like when I had really great, I think HR innovation, TA innovation happens when your ops leaders are all bought in as well, right? Like that relationship has to be so tight because you they know specifically anything you throw is just something extra that's be thrown on.
Speaker: And so as you build out kind of this AI capability, like they have to be bought in to go, yeah, this is actually going to give us time back. It might be some change management up front. It might be a little painful to get launched and start, but there's a trust is as well there. So like I think your ops people have to be like an amazing partner with that. Yeah, they absolutely do. I think about scheduling. At first, there was a little resistance because that's big, right? We're a service industry. That has to be right you know to meet your targets but offer great guest experience. And give that up. It's huge. That is scary. And so you know I remember you know there were a lot of conversations, and ultimately we had a meeting of the minds. So the executive leader said, I'm going to get all of these leaders across functions on a call. And we're gonna, he he took us on the journey. And at the point we all started to go on the journey with them and share our concerns or ask questions, you started to see buy-in and then we pilot it, right? A pilot really helps to prove it out, tweak what needs to be tweaked. And then what happens is when it is a great solution,
Speaker: then your ops leaders start selling it to others because it's changing their lives and their business in a better way. yeah and And then it becomes very easy on the corporate side. Well, there's a but a bunch of sellers, like, because it's it's a big piece of, i mean, and you could argue that it's 15 to 20% of a manager's job is scheduling.
Speaker: on a weekly basis like throughout the year. And like i like I kind of tease, it's a little bit of science, art, and witchcraft to get it right. But at the end of the day, it's like, I mean, that's a hard, so some managers or feel really like, oh my, this is ah just a major part of my job. and And taking that task away, you have to give them something else they can do. Did you guys really work to say, okay, hey, as we take this away, here's how you fill that you on. I think it was complete opposite for our managers. We we knew their plate was overloaded. yeah right so It was more about helping them to focus on the high impact and and and higher priority tasks and showing them that this is a service. and that They were very receptive. As long as their store is staffed, I don't think that they want the actual task. They just want to make sure their store is properly staffed. and so It gave them more. Absolutely. Like, bring it on. More people, more of our leaders are asking for you know now and more services um because it's creating great value and helping them to then go focus on training the new hire. Yeah, I love it.
Speaker: I love the pilot. Like, why have everyone's getting away from pilots? Like, nobody wants to do a pilot because it requires some investment. But I do think if you make that investment, you just see it more in the long term. Oh, yeah. Companies have moved so far away from this. Well, and you But also I think there's a part of that, like back to your point, like you have to be an adult enough to go, we're going to pile some stuff that's not going to work. And that's just money.
Speaker: But we have to go all in to try it. It's not wasted. It's like, hey, we learned some things and we'll adjust. Yeah, it fell fast is what we say, right? Like if you're going to innovate, there's going to be some failures. And that's okay because it's like Elon Musk and the...
Speaker: the rockets, right? Like they keep blowing them up, but they keep learning something from it And it's it's like us, if we're going to if we want to do this at scale, you don't want to fail at scale. Oh no. Right? no that impact And then it doesn't, not only does it impact your business, but then it impacts trust. yeah if you If you tweak things and then go back, less adoption, right? So if you do it in a pilot, it's controlled. Again, you get to make those tweaks that you need to make. So then when you do go at scale, there's positive impact, right you know, for the implementation. Awesome. so I want to thank you so much for sharing with us today. It's been there been amazing. How can people find you? um Feel free to look me up on LinkedIn. It's Sarah Wright. And again, head of TA at Babelene. Awesome. All right. Madeline, Tim Sackett, it's the Frontlines pod, Workday Horizons live. This is amazing. we'll We'll do better next time.
