Tower Automotive

ERP

ASSESS

Founded in 1993, Tower Automotive is a leading global designer and manufacturer of automotive structural components, assemblies and modules. The company boasts over $3 billion in sales, and employs more than 12,000 individuals in 15 countries. Tower's HR leadership approached Bernard Hodes Group with the challenge of launching a company wide "colleague" referral program for their 8,000 domestic employees. The parameters demanded the administration be entirely paperless and integrate with the existing Kenexa applicant tracking system.

STRATEGIZE

The strategy needed to deliver effective and creative messaging and confront key technological considerations. We began by generating a powerful idea that tied into the automotive focus of the company. Under the theme "Race To Glory," the creative would be built around two "laps" of grand prize opportunities that offered travel to major NASCAR events.

IMPLEMENT

Creative components included posters, flyers, table tents, paycheck stickers, and direct recruitment cards. All materials drove participants to a vanity URL, www.TheRaceIsOn.com, which provided details and allowed users to submit referrals. A full-scale extranet site was then developed to support this URL, which our client nicknamed "TRIO." TRIO allowed Tower staff to share information on rules, regulations, FAQs and prizes. The site was also designed to accommodate administrative demands with an online referral/application module.

Success of this program hinged on our ability to fully integrate our Hodes iQ ERP module with our client's existing Kenexa system. We addressed all details, while our creative team worked on collateral materials for the scheduled rollout. Grand prizes were finalized and included trips to the Pepsi 400 and Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida. This added impetus for employees to make desirable referrals.

MEASURE

The results of this program are outstanding! Referrals increased by 160% compared to previous programs at Tower Automotive. Overall, referral rates improved from 8% to 23%, indicating that a much higher percentage of Tower's employees were providing colleague referrals. And to date, payouts amount to $53,000--$110,000 less than the $420,000 it would have cost for alternative recruiting methods.