Malls turn to mobile video applications to help fill 1000 new positions

Metrotown at Metropolis and Tsawwassen Mills get Wirkn

While shopping malls are meccas for trend-forward shoppers, they are also one of the leading employment destinations in the world. In the United States alone, malls employ more than 12-million people, accounting for 9.3% of the nation’s workforce! Malls are ideal places for young talent, students looking for part-time work, and experienced managers. With positions ranging from entry-level stock room and sales assistant, to supervisors and managers, malls–and their tenants–have a lot to offer prospective employees.

It’s not easy being a mall these days. Online shopping has undisputedly taken it’s toll, making it more critical than ever that retailers and malls provide a quality customer experience that a shopper just can’t get from their computer. With 90% of retail purchases still occurring in-store, retailers have a lot of reasons to ensure that they are hiring the best available talent for their businesses.

Investing in talent and recruitment: Ivanhoé Cambridge, one of the largest owners of high-end shopping mall properties in Canada, recognizes this need and is giving its tenants a helping hand. This past week, two of its malls in British Columbia, Metropolis at Metrotown and Tsawwassen Mills rolled out Wirkn–the leading mobile employment solution for teens and millennials, to help showcase the more than 1000 open retail and restaurant positions its tenants currently have at these two locations.

Metropolis is one of Canada’s largest shopping malls featuring over 400 leading retailers. The less time it takes managers to screen candidates and set up interviews, the more time they have for their other important duties, like helping customers in the store.

“I met with one retailer who hires 600 employees each year,” said Fred Naud, Wirkn project manager, who was on-site at the mall last week showing retailers how to use the platform. “By far, the most popular feature amongst the managers was the ability to quickly view and screen applicant video cover letters and create a shortlist for interviews. It saves them hours of time, and they can quickly size up an applicant’s personality and skills.”

While Tsawwassen Mills is only set to open in October, tenants have already started active recruiting. “Wirkn is getting a lot of traction with applicants. Applicants can’t yet visit the mall, but all the jobs are consolidated in Wirkn. Candidates can discover the brands they want to work for and quickly apply right from our mobile app,” Fred explains.

Helping retailers find and hire the most talented team possible, as efficiently as possible, is paramount.

“It’s our desire as a mall property group to help our retailers be successful,” said Tracy Smith, VP digital marketing & solutions, Ivanhoé Cambridge. “This includes helping them attract and hire the best people for their businesses. Wirkn is helping us to do just that.”

Wirkn’s user-friendly interface, and ability for applicants to easily submit video cover letters, makes matching job hunters with positions simple and efficient. The app enables employers and job seekers to respond to postings quickly over any mobile device or desktop. Wirkn even has a chatbot on Kik that lets Kik’s base of 250 million “chatters” take a personality quiz and then matches them with open jobs in their area.

Visit Wirkn to learn how the employment solution helps retailers and eateries of all kinds thrive, and makes applying for a job fun and easy!