Accelerating Sourcing Innovation through SearchLab

Executive Summary

A mid-sized manufacturing and distribution company partnered with AIRS to enhance the sourcing capabilities of its small but growing recruiting team. As an existing ADP HCM client, the organization had a strong HR and applicant tracking foundation. However, with increasing competition for specialized manufacturing talent and limited name recognition beyond its regional market, the company needed to evolve its approach to finding qualified candidates.

Through a private, customized SearchLab training, AIRS helped the recruiting team learn how to uncover hidden talent using advanced internet search techniques, alternative sourcing channels, and creative online research methods. The result was a stronger, more confident team, that was equipped to build proactive talent pipelines and reduce reliance on traditional job boards.

The Challenge

The organization faced a combination of resource, market, and experience-based challenges common to mid-sized employers in specialized industries:

• A small recruiting team: With a small number of recruiters supporting multiple divisions, the team had limited time to devote to proactive sourcing.
• Inexperience of the team: Some recruiters were new to recruiting and primarily familiar with reactive approaches such as posting jobs and screening inbound applicants.
• Heavy reliance on active candidates: Most hires historically came from LinkedIn® and Indeed®, leading to competition for the same limited pool of job seekers.
• Low employer visibility: As a regional, mid-sized company, the organization was not widely recognized outside its immediate geography, making it challenging to attract passive candidates. 
• Difficult-to-fill roles: The team struggled to find qualified candidates for niche manufacturing positions—including CNC machinists, welders, design and mechanical engineers, and plant managers, especially given the company’s semi-remote location.
• While ADP HCM support streamlined their job posting and candidate tracking, the team sought training on additional strategies to proactively identify and engage passive, specialized talent beyond job boards and traditional channels.

The SearchLab Solution

AIRS SearchLab provided the company’s recruiting team with hands-on, data-driven training designed to uncover candidates across the open web and niche industry communities. The private, customized team session focused on building sourcing confidence among both new and experienced recruiters while integrating existing ADP tools and workflows.

Key areas of focus included:

• Search Mastery: Learning to construct precise internet searches to uncover hidden talent.
• Sourcing Strategy: Identifying online resources and platforms such as directories, professional association websites, and additional professional networks.
• Sourcing Efficiency: Building repeatable pipelines aligned with their existing HCM workflows to save time and improve long-term candidate engagement.

This tailored approach ensured that recruiters could apply SearchLab techniques directly to their manufacturing-specific requisitions, increasing both efficiency and confidence. 

Results and Impact

By combining ADP’s robust technology with advanced sourcing techniques taught by AIRS, the organization transformed its recruiting approach from reactive to proactive ensuring better access to skilled, qualified manufacturing professionals even in a competitive and semi-remote market.

Why SearchLab?

In today’s tight labor market, the ability to find and engage passive, specialized talent is a competitive advantage. SearchLab helps recruiting teams:

• Discover candidates beyond traditional job boards.
• Build proactive sourcing strategies aligned with business objectives.
• Maximize the value of ADP Recruiting Management and Workforce Now tools.
• Strengthen recruiter confidence through hands-on, real-world sourcing practice. 

Learn how AIRS can improve your recruiting team’s performance with SearchLab and other sourcing and certification programs. Contact AIRS at airs@adp.com or click here to learn more about AIRS Certifications.