DICK’S Sporting Goods brought their employer brand to life with an omnichannel candidate experience.

In 1948, 18-year-old Dick Stack successfully opened a bait-and-tackle shop using his grandmother’s $300 life savings. Over the years, he expanded into sports equipment, golf gear, hunting and fishing products, fitness equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. Today, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. operates primarily in the eastern United States and is also the parent company of Golf Galaxy and Field and Stream. In fact, several locations even share back-of-house resources and employees.

Like many retailers, DICK’S Sporting Goods has significantly grown its e-commerce business, making technology hires a priority. On the brick and mortar side, store associate hires are just as important – and the company seeks former athletes and deeply knowledgeable sports enthusiasts and others who can give knowledgeable advice to customers. However, regardless of target audience, DICK’S career website content, job search function, and application process offered a less than stellar candidate experience.

To attract right-fit talent, DICK’s had to rethink its employer brand, offering a candidate-centric experience across all touchpoints. Realizing in-person interaction was key to its specialized, high-volume hiring needs, DICK’S created an in-store experience — National Signing Day — to bring its employer brand to life. DICK’S also used programmatic media, complete with splash ads, career site pop-ups, and videos shared across social channels. As a result, DICK’S fulfilled over 94% of its hiring goal for the season. The company also reduced its cost per applicant (CPA) by 80% and cost per hire (CPH) by 73%.