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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
ArcBest was selected as a 2023 Campus Forward Award Winner for their unwavering commitment to seeking out and hiring early career talent, their emphasis on diversity & inclusion, and investments in nurturing and retaining the next generation of talent. Please see below for the highlights of their approach to early career recruitment.
Demonstrated Investment in Early Career Hiring
ArcBest hires with a long-term focus. The company hires top talent and invests in them to ensure they have the resources and training needed to thrive — all aligning to the company's core value of ‘Growth’. By investing in top talent early, the company experiences stability in its workforce, which in turn helps ensure continued success and longevity of the company.
Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruitment
The pandemic drove improvements in the recruiting process. Now, more and more universities have virtual recruiting options, which has greatly increased ArcBest's reach and ability to engage with a larger number of students. ArcBest has long taken a broad approach to recruiting — focusing beyond just career fairs. With virtual options to engage with students, ArcBest is now talking to more classes, providing resume-building services, participating in panel discussions, and attending more events in general. With this technological approach and hybrid availability, the recruiting funnel for the organization is much broader with greater diversity, opening it up to more degree plans, backgrounds, and experiences. This approach is an all-around better investment for the organization.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
ArcBest is committed to creating a workplace that embraces all cultures, perspectives, and experiences. The company is committed to recruiting underrepresented talent at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, veterans transitioning into civilian life, and neurodiverse talent. For 2022, the company attended over 10 DEI/HBCU events —- exceeding its goal of 5. This included career fairs, info sessions, and on-campus interviews. Once hired, employees can participate in ArcBest’s newly formed employee-led resource groups. ArcBest also has a DEI Task Force that hosts events such as a Hispanic Heritage Panel discussion and a New Hire Inclusion Night, where speakers shared their ArcBest stories and provided powerful reminders about the importance of inclusion and belonging in the workplace.
Impactful Internship Program
ArcBest Technologies, an ArcBest company, is an innovative technology company that provides custom-built solutions and leading-edge technologies that help shippers and carriers successfully navigate the complex logistics landscape. ArcBest Technologies hires 18-25 interns every summer. Software Developer interns, for example, will work on live software and provide solutions to challenges presented by various departments within the company. Robotics interns will manage a research project that focuses on key R&D problems, and design, build, and program prototypes. In previous years, the company has hired almost all (98%) of the interns into full-time positions, with the option to work part-time until graduation. All ArcBest student workers/interns are trained on systems, special projects, and customer interaction to gain corporate experience. During the summer internships, the company hosts events like game nights, cookouts, and professional development workshops to enable new employees and interns to network with others across the organization.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
People are at the heart of ArcBest's success — that starts by supplying a best-in-class candidate and employee experience. A standard of showing appreciation is set for the new employees that extends far past their first week. Within their first year, ArcBest makes every effort to provide a warm and welcoming environment. One of the many efforts ArcBest makes is offering a New Hire Focus Group that holds fun events for new employees to network with their peers throughout their first year, and enables deep relationships to be formed early in their employment. Succession planning is also top of mind at ArcBest. Growth is a core value and part of that includes growing its people. Extensive effort is put into helping employees grow. The organization works to create scheduled evaluations, 1-on-1 opportunities to speak with managers, and the chance to give feedback to the company.