Internationally-renowned for their innovative approach, Sodebo, a leader in fresh, deli-style products, has been using France's favorite professional social network (PSN) to boost their recruitment strategies and develop their employer brand since early 2014. And this choice has certainly paid off.

PARIS (France) - With 2,000 employees, a turnover of €410 million in 2014, and 9 production facilities based on a unique site in Montaigu, Vendée, hiring is a key part of Sodebo's development. Looking to share their job offers in the most effective way possible, safe in the knowledge that they will be reaching the correct targets within an entire library of relevant, highly-qualified profiles, the company turned to Viadeo having been won over by the quality and reputation of a PSN with 9 million members in France alone.

Using Viadeo Recruiter on a daily basis, the company's HR team took a hands-on role in hiring campaigns, publishing job offers and/or sourcing new talent. Elsewhere, a Viadeo Company Page allowed them to forge a direct link with the company's followers by regularly uploading and updating news and other information. In order to make the package even more effective, Sodebo included a link to the "Job Aventure" section of their website while their Company Page also provides an additional channel for HR communications with their own employees.

www.viadeo.com/v/company/sodebo

Olivia Eschenbrenner, the company's Chief Recruitment Officer, said: "With just a few clicks on Viadeo, internet users can find and explore the range of roles we have on offer, uncover the various "ingredients" of our HR strategy, and read about Sodebo career paths from several of our own employees. Indeed, highlighting our employees' views was absolutely essential as, for us, nothing provides a better glimpse into a company than actually hearing from the people working there."

It took just a few months for this Viadeo package to become an integral part of the company's hiring practice and to be incorporated more generally into the brand's digital HR communications policy. At Sodebo, understanding and anticipating the needs of their applicants, integrating new practices, and evaluating the impact of new technology are just a few of the challenges facing their HR team on a daily basis.

Today, Viadeo is Sodebo's tool of choice when it comes to hiring "support staff" (e.g. communications, IT, or sales roles) but the PSN is much more than a simple hiring tool. Indeed, the Sodebo HR department have noticed a considerable increase in followers and visits to their site in recent months.

As Olivia Eschenbrenner went on to explain: "The use of PSNs has forced our hiring methods to evolve. Simply publishing job offers is no longer enough, today the hiring process often needs to be proactive and we're constantly moving further towards sourcing. The link that we can establish with potential applicants is also changing and we decided to clearly identify our recruiters on the Viadeo Company Page so that users can easily get in touch with us. Ultimately, this package provides us with a great sense of transparency and proximity, two values that are very important to us."

Far from being content with these promising results, however, and with the aim of permanently improving their methods, Sodebo intends to maintain their efforts in 2015. Ultimately, this will allow them to make their Company Page even more appealing and to further develop the "Sodebo community", constantly attracting new followers.

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