Miriam MahfouzTalent Acquisition Podcast: Miriam Mahfouz, ADP
We Are Who We Serve: Recruiting The Next Generation Leaders at ADP
A Candid conversation with Miriam Mahfouz, staffing leader with Automatic Data Processing.
Welcome to a special Talent Acquisition Channel podcast on TotalPicture Radio from Riviera Advisors’ 10th Anniversary Celebration in beautiful Long Beach, California. Miriam Mahfouz is staffing leader with Automatic Data Processing. With 570,000 clients, ADP is one of the world’s largest providers of business outsourcing solutions.
"I think an advantage for working at ADP as an HR professional is that we can go out to clients and actually be able to talk the talk and really understand what their challenges are, the things they need to simplify their life and grow their business, and so it’s almost unique in the sense that we are talking to the people that really need the service and we live their challenges day in and day out and their successes and we know what needs to be done." - Miriam Mahfouz
Interview Transcript, Miriam Mahfouz
Welcome to a special Talent Acquisition Channel podcast on TotalPicture Radio from Riviera Advisors’ 10th Anniversary Celebration in beautiful Long Beach, California. Riviera Advisors is a premiere global human resources consulting film that helps organizations worldwide improve their internal recruiting and staffing capabilities. Visit RivieraAdvisors.com/podcasts to access all of our interviews with HR and talent acquisition leaders recorded at the 10th Anniversary Celebration as well as many thought leaders in HR and recruiting recorded at IACPR, SHRM, ERE and other high-profile conferences and events.
This is Peter Clayton reporting. Joining us today is Miriam Mahfouz, staffing leader with Automatic Data Processing. With 570,000 clients, ADP is one of the world’s largest providers of business outsourcing solutions.
Peter: Miriam, welcome to TotalPicture Radio.
Miriam: Thank you Peter.
Peter: Tell us a little bit about your background and responsibilities at ADP.
Miriam: I’ve been with ADP for 13 years starting out in human resources as an intern and for the last 10 years, I’ve been part of the staffing and talent acquisition team working primarily with senior sales leaders on their strategic initiatives and their staffing.
Peter: What would you like HR and recruiting professionals to know about ADP?
Miriam: That we are who we serve. Basically if you think about ADP, we make the life of HR and staffing professionals easier, really, by outsourcing their products through us.
Peter: One of the things you told me when we talked last week prepping for this interview was one of the interesting things is that a lot of your clients are in HR and in recruiting so they get it.
Miriam: Right, absolutely.
Peter: Can you expand on that a little bit and just tell me what some of the advantages of that are?
Miriam: I think an advantage for working at ADP as an HR professional is that we can go out to clients and actually be able to talk the talk and really understand what their challenges are, the things they need to simplify their life and grow their business, and so it’s almost unique in the sense that we are talking to the people that really need the service and we live their challenges day in and day out and their successes and we know what needs to be done.
Peter: What are some of the new initiatives and challenges that you’re working for 2011, Miriam?
Miriam: We are growing. The organization is growing rapidly. We have sales forces that continue to grow. Our staffing talent acquisition team itself is growing significantly. We’re really looking at expanding in the marketplace, and one thing ADP is known for is double digit growth which we’ve been known for the in the past and continue to go after market share, and so by growing the sales force in our organization, we do that each year.
Peter: One of the things I really like about your career portal is you have photographs and profiles of real employees on the homepage. Authenticity is not only a buzzword, it has become one of the real challenges we’ve seen in the last couple of years along with the importance and resources committed to a company career portals and employer branding. Can you tell us about some of the initiatives you’ve been involved in with your career portal and the whole employee branding arena?
Miriam: Absolutely. I think one, authenticity is a buzzword at ADP; transparency is another word, integrity. You’ll find that we take pride in our associates and our associates help brand our company in how many employee referrals we get, our name in the marketplace. We did have a little bit of a challenge with our branding of who ADP is, maybe on the university campuses and college recruiting, but over the last year and a half, we’ve implemented a specialty brand marketing division in the staffing organization that really went out and did a great job of attracting talent and really putting ADP on the map when it comes to employer of choice.
Peter: I think that’s been a real challenge because obviously you have this history of being the payroll company, right?
Miriam: Right.
Peter: Just like Xerox has been the history of being the copying company and Pitney Bowes has the history of being the postage stamp company, right?
Miriam: Right.
Peter: But now you are into so many more businesses and in consulting and so many different areas that you’re no longer just payroll.
Miriam: Absolutely, and so by offering different products and different services, I think that that’s helped expand our brand and so that people don’t just think of payroll; they think of a full HR solution.
Peter: Miriam, I’d like you to reflect on the past 10 years as a staffing leader at ADP. What are some of the significant challenges you’ve seen in HR and talent management and perhaps some of things that have really changed in the industry, some of the sea-changes you’ve seen?
Miriam: I think the marketplace is completely different. The way talent is attracted is different; using social media has become a significant part of our strategy. Ten years ago, I remember the whole post and pray mentality and now it’s really more of the hunt. Just changing the name of staffing to talent acquisition, I mean we’re truly acquiring talent and how difficult it is to find the right person for the right job at the right time. I think ADP has become very progressive in how we’ve attracted those individuals and really retain them in such a stellar company.
Peter: Speaking about the hunt, how do you use social media? Do you use LinkedIn for sourcing? Are you on Facebook? Do you have a Facebook career page and how do you go about using social media which has become so critical?
Miriam: Social media has actually become a channel of sourcing for us, so we no longer just rely on the typically boards or employee referrals, associate referrals but we are on Facebook. We have a career webpage which is very interactive. We do a lot on LinkedIn. We have dedicated sourcing individuals that specialize in blogging, working through LinkedIn and Facebook, and really attracting a talent community. So again, it may not be that there’s a person available at that moment or a position available at that moment but having that community and really having relationships with those individuals through social media has enabled us to be able to fill positions a lot quicker once they’re available.
Peter: Miriam, I think you’re in a really unique position to share with us your advice regarding working with the firm like Riviera Advisors; how do you go about evaluating the need for the kinds of services that Riviera provides and decide on whom to partner with?
Miriam: Often organizations spend a lot of time talking to themselves internally, whether we do a lot of networking internally within our organization. I think the nice thing about looking at Riviera was having an external output, external look at our needs and our assessments and strategies, and so having that point of view coming from the outside in but really, really understanding our organization has been beneficial and very, very positive.
Peter: I think also you really have a unique vantage point at ADP to discuss the current trends in outsourcing HR and recruiting functions. What are you seeing and where do you see that companies are really benefiting from outsourcing parts of their HR functions?
Miriam: We are seeing a lot more specialty, a lot more focus on function in that organizations understand by outsourcing, it helps them do their core business so much better and so much efficient. I think of it often – even on my own personal level, I can file my taxes myself but I’d rather outsource that because I know that I can have a professional do it for me while I focus on what I need to do. It’s the same idea, and we are seeing that there’s a need from every company, whether it’s a one-man or two-man employee company up to as large as our clients are that the outsourcing has really helped make their business efficient and let them focus on what they’re in business for.
Peter: Do you think the talent acquisition market is going to be more competitive in 2011?
Miriam: Absolutely. I read an article the other day that even sales postings were up 300%. Organizations across the board I think are increasing requisitions, increasing hiring, so I think the talent pool is going to get even tighter. I know it’s kind of a strange time in the marketplace with the economy the way it is, but I think it’s going to start to get a little bit more challenging to find, again, that right person with that specific talent.
Peter: Miriam, thank you so much for taking time to speak with us today on TotalPicture Radio. It’s been really nice. I mean the chance to meet you here out in Long Beach.
Miriam: Thank you Peter.
Peter: Thanks.
We’ve been speaking with Miriam Mahfouz, Staffing Leader with ADP.
We’re always interested in hearing from our listeners, please share your thoughts and opinions on our podcast today. Visit the Talent Acquisition Channel on TotalPicture Radio. That’s totalpicture.com to add your voice to this discussion. And be sure to visit rivieraadvisors.com/podcast for a complete library of thought-provoking in-depth interviews on HR and recruiting, including the complete transcripts from these discussions from Riviera Advisors 10th anniversary celebration.
To learn more about Riviera Advisors real world experience and leading and managing corporate internal recruiting and staffing functions, please call toll free 800-635-9063 or visit rivieraadvisors.com. Riviera Advisors is a member of the Asher Talent Alliance, a global alliance of talent acquisition providers working together to benefit the unique and individual needs of their clients. To learn more about Asher, visit ashertalent.com.
This is Peter Clayton reporting. Thank you for tuning in to TotalPicture Radio, the voice of career and leadership acceleration.
About Peter Clayton
Peter Clayton, Producer/Host, is an award-winning producer/director of radio, television, documentary, video, interactive and Web-based media who has created breakthrough media for a wide array of Fortune 100 clients.
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