Lubrizol's Two-Track Approach

Feature: Talent Acquisition Special Report: Burnishing the Brand

Lubrizol's Two-Track Approach
With entry-level talent, Lubrizol focuses on raising brand recognition. With mid-career talent, it targets benefits of living in the Cleveland area.
By Patrick J. Kiger

ubrizol, a Cleveland-based specialty chemicals manufacturer, aims to recruit both recent college graduates and midcareer professionals. Tom Zastudil, the company's director of domestic staffing and international assignments, says it's crucial to tailor the company's employment brand marketing to appeal to both sets of talent, who are likely to have diverse interests.

With entry-level talent, Lubrizol focuses on raising recognition of its brand. "Our job is to make sure they know about us," Zastudil explains. "We try to use every resource we can to do that." Lubrizol starts even before potential applicants enter college, sending employees out to local high schools to do hands-on science with teenagers. The effort continues at college job fairs and speaking engagements at engineering clubs.

"We do giveaways that will help them remember us," Zastudil explains. "Instead of just giving them a pen, we hand out flash drives, mouse pads and branded gift cards that enable them to download music."

To attract midcareer talent, Lubrizol's message emphasizes the benefits of living in the Cleveland area, from affordable housing to the joys of rooting for local professional football, basketball and baseball teams.

Rather than engaging in a bidding war, Lubrizol offers what Zastudil describes as "a holistic opportunity, in terms of benefits, career development, tuition reimbursement and development conversations. We're also very proactive in terms of global assignments."

To that end, by year's end Lubrizol will debut a new online system that will show applicants job openings at plants in 20 countries and in five different languages.

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Workforce Management, October 22, 2007, p. 40 -- Subscribe Now!

Patrick J. Kiger is a freelance writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. E-mail editors@workforce.com to comment.