LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Thorntons Inc. and PeopleMatter, a human resource management solution provider, announced last week the ROI achieved through the companies?? collaboration to streamline HR practices.

With 173 locations and more than 1,850 team members serving customers throughout the Midwest and South, Louisville-based Thorntons requires an efficient hiring process. Implementing PeopleMatter??s HIRE solution has helped Thorntons save 83 hours a month in onboarding alone.

"PeopleMatter??s solutions combine the elements of motivation and employee-focus that we embrace," said Mike Woerner, vice president of human resources at Thorntons. "With similar team-based, high-performance cultures, working with PeopleMatter takes our philosophies of 'Hire for Attitude?? and 'Train for Success?? to the next level."

Prior to implementing PeopleMatter solutions in Feb. 2012, Thorntons operated with paper-based hiring processes. Manual hiring restricted managers to reactive HR practices. Often the corporate office would be unaware a location was hiring until a candidate??s background check was submitted. The manual hiring practices didn??t give the company the required competitive edge.

Thorntons also realized its previous labor model was inefficient in managing turnover. Managers were not able conduct preemptive hiring, which made staffing challenging when employees working 30-35 hour weeks left a store that had ten team members. Under this model, stores continued operating understaffed while managers completed the hiring process.

Woerner said that Thorntons now has the ability to understand the applicant traffic that is coming into its stores, as well as conduct anticipatory hiring, "Our managers are able to be more proactive now."

HIRE moved Thorntons?? applicant tracking and onboarding processes from manual and paper processes to a web-based ATS. Pre-screening tests, such as integrated assessments and background checks, help store managers find the right candidates. With all the hiring paperwork rolled into one online Platform, Thorntons saves an average of 45 minutes per new hire on Day 1, and approximately $40,000 in administrative or managerial time has now been reallocated to new hire training.

Thorntons has seen the benefits of automation throughout the entire hiring and onboarding process. PeopleMatter??s built-in tax-credit screening has helped the convenience chain submit a projected $27,500 in tax credits every month. Step-by-step online onboarding helps team members save approximately 1,000 hours a year. Additionally, the company saves an average of 125 hours a year with PeopleMatter??s automated I-9 and E-Verification tools.