Architect of US Capitol
HR Operations
The Client’s Need
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The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) has a varied mission on Capitol Hill to operate the Capitol Visitor Center and the U.S. Botanic Garden, maintain the facilities and grounds for the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court, and manage construction and renovation across the Capitol complex. AOC had significant talent acquisition challenges attracting candidates for a wide variety of high volume and hard-to fill jobs. The CHCO engaged AvantGarde to provide a comprehensive approach to identify hiring process bottlenecks, move to a talent acquisition model, and provide supplemental HR capacity to meet the surge demands.
Our Approach
AG implemented a multi-phased approach to meet AOC’s talent management needs:
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Improve the Hiring Process: In the first phase of this work, AG conducted a business process analysis of the hiring stages at AOC to identify policy and process changes that would speed referrals and presented customer engagement changes to improve the interactions with the hiring manager. A hiring process map was designed to outline key steps and timeframes in the modified process.
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HR Staff Training: AG developed and delivered training on the modified approaches and new ways of doing business to the AOC HR team to provide the tools, templates and resources to deliver this new staffing customer experience.
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Talent Acquisition Plan Development: Once the new talent model was in place, AG then provided a full-time onsite Talent Acquisition Specialist resource to execute the updated model by working with senior leaders to develop organizational talent acquisition plans focused on current and long-term workforce needs. The needs identified in these plans fed into a reinvigorated agency branding process to use social media and creative recruiting techniques such as text recruiting.
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HR Staffing Specialist Augmentation: To address the hiring surge, AG placed onsite resources to operationally execute the talent acquisition model. AG’s specialists worked with hiring managers to consult on hiring needs, actively collaborate with the Talent Acquisition Specialist to integrate branding strategies into the vacancy announcement and coordinate social media postings, and then assess applicant qualifications and issue certificates.
The Result
With AG’s consistent expert support, AOC has implemented its new talent acquisition model which reduced hiring time by 20 percent, completed all Talent Acquisition Plans which documents highest priority jobs and targeted recruitment strategies, and simultaneously improved the customer experience while addressing the hiring surge. AG continues to be an integral part of the HR Management team at AOC.