Niche Market February 2007

Independent Business Group creates a standardized, more efficient “New Hire Kit” for a client

Since 1982, Copart Inc. has provided salvage vehicle auction services for licensed dismantlers, rebuilders and used vehicle dealers. Though it is headquartered in Fairfield, Calif., Copart’s 2,421 employees are dispersed throughout its 120 facilities in the United States and Canada. With the scattering of such a huge work force, developing a standardized way to induct new employees into the “Copart family” had become quite a challenge for the company’s Human Resources team.

Copart wanted to create a new hire package that would introduce new employees to the company and its business philosophy. The kit would not only have to relay basic benefits and company information, it also would have to emphasize the key role each employee plays in the company’s success. Jim Sanchez, a sales representative at the distributorship, Independent Business Group, Hayward, Calif., was given that task. For eight months Sanchez brainstormed with the Copart HR team and a design firm, Sun Graphics, to create the New Hire Kit.

“There were a lot of different things that weren’t being done consistently throughout the company,” Sanchez says. “We had to start from absolute scratch.”

Part of that meant organizing the new hire paper trail since some of the company divisions were using outdated forms. “The longest part of the project was updating the paper flow so that it would be more efficient,” he says.

Sanchez says that after several months of meetings and research, they were able to narrow it down to one kit for all of Copart’s divisions. The kit was composed of:
1) A folder in expansion pocket format that had a puzzle-theme on its cover to emphasize that employees are a vital piece of Copart’s success.
2) A magnet with the name of the employee’s direct supervisor, yard or department specific information, the number to the benefit helpline and Copart corporate information.
3) Customized employee training information form.
4) A Copart coaster.
5) A Copart pen.
6) A New Employee Orientation DVD.
7) A “Welcome to the Copart Team!” brochure that served as a printed preview for the video.

Sanchez is particularly proud of how the DVD turned out. The 12-minute video highlights Copart’s history, provides an overview of the company’s mission, has a virtual tour of Copart with an introduction of key managers, discusses the company’s business philosophy and lists its available benefits for employees. “A Copart staffer did a storyboard that said scene for scene what would happen in the video,” Sanchez says. “It was really sophisticated. Everyone had to sign off on it."

TIPS

1) Come with lots of ideas. Jim Sanchez, a sales representative at Independent Business Group, uses the example of how IBG and Copart had a completely different idea initially on how the new hire kit should look. “At first the theme was a key,” Sanchez says, “but during one meeting, I suggested the concept of a puzzle instead and Copart said, ‘I like that better. Go with that.’”

2) Ask questions to determine what the customer really needs to make it a successful program. “We had to ask the regional managers what they wanted to know about their new employees, and designed the kits accordingly,” Sanchez says.

3) Prepare for the unexpected. During the course of creating the “New Hire Kit,” Sanchez realized that the kits would also have to be offered in Spanish. “This was definitely a ‘by the way’ request. We were talking to Copart and they kept saying, ‘People aren’t turning in their forms. We’re not getting the information we need,’” he says. “So we kept asking, ‘Why is that?’ And then finally someone said, ‘Well, they may not be able to read some of the forms.’ The problem for some employees was the language barrier.” Luckily, Sanchez knows some Spanish and worked with an employee at Copart to translate the text.

Make the Pieces Fit