D.W. Simpson On-Campus™
For more information, visit On-Campus.com, contact David Retford at 312-867-2345,
or email us at oncampus@dwsimpson.com

WHY OUTSOURCE ANYTHING?
There are at least two major reasons why a company might choose to outsource any given business function. The first is to replace an existing company capability (or avoid creating a new one) to continue at least the current amount of whatever is being produced at a lower overall cost than keeping it in house. The second is to complement the company’s efforts to increase the amount. Or the reason may be a combination of the goals of increasing results while also saving costs.

Companies routinely outsource all kinds of operations from advertising to legal review to employee benefits administration. It is not that any of these are unimportant or inconsequential areas, rather it has become a standard practice to hire outside firms that specialize in these to replace or supplement in-house capabilities in the most cost-efficient manner. Some functions at some companies are replaced entirely by outsourcing. In other cases, outside firms can help companies handle seasonal peaks and avoid idle capacity during the rest of the year. And sometimes it makes sense to hire a specialized consultant to complement the company’s effort and increase the overall work flow in the most cost-efficient manner. These are the same reasons our clients choose to outsource their college recruiting.

A DECADE OF EXPERIENCE
DWS On-Campus™ is a division of D. W. Simpson & Company, a firm that has specialized exclusively in the recruitment of actuaries for more than a decade. Its business philosophy has been to maintain close connection with actuaries throughout their careers whether or not a placement ever results from any one relationship. D. W. Simpson & Company acts as a career and job market resource to the actuarial community. In that capacity, the company began visiting actuarial programs around the country to provide this service to future actuaries as well.

For the past four years, our experienced recruiters have been meeting with an average of thirty seniors and underclassmen and their professors at each of more than twenty colleges in the United States and Canada. Over time, some of the company’s regular search clients who had become aware of this program inquired whether they could take advantage of this continual contact. In responding to these requests, a need and a business model developed to provide outsourced recruiting and representation on college campuses.

OUTSOURCED COLLEGE ACTUARIAL RECRUITING
D.W. Simpson On-Campus™ provides an opportunity for employers of actuaries to make use of our expertise in the actuarial job market and our continual coverage of college campuses to meet their recruiting goals. As an outsourcing service, DWS On-Campus™ can be used instead of maintaining an in-house college recruiting capacity, or to complement it and increase the number of candidates and academic programs the organization is connected with. And as with most other outsourced functions, DWS On-Campus™ clients pay a flat fee for the services provided (as opposed to the fee-for-placement based arrangement typical for contingent or retained searches.)

THE PROCESS FROM CAMPUS RECRUITING TO IN-HOUSE INTERVIEW
Each client chooses the colleges at which it would like DWS On-Campus™ to recruit future actuaries for it. In the weeks before our scheduled visit there, we contact every potential future actuary (whether officially in the program or in related fields of study) to invite them to our presentation and schedule interviews. The campus visit typically begins with the career presentation and Q&A session with the appropriate and interested students – often this is the actuarial club, math club, or insurance fraternity. Following this informal, interactive session, an On-Campus™ representative delivers a presentation about the client (prepared in full consultation with the home office) and distributes any leave-behind information and promotions provided by the client. Any students not already scheduled are then encouraged to sign up for an interview for the following day.

These formal, one-on-one interviews typically last thirty minutes and cover the candidates resume, exam and academic status, and behavioral characteristics. An experienced recruiter conducts each interview and then prepares an assessment report and recommendation as to whether or not the client should continue to pursue that candidate. (Of course, this is just a recommendation, and the client is free to contact any or all the interviewees at its discretion.) On-Campus™ then provides the client with a copy of the resume, assessment report, and recommendation for each candidate interviewed.

FOCUS YOUR RECRUITING RESOURCES ON THE CANDIDATES YOU WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE TO HIRE
Outsourcing some or all of your college recruiting to DWS On-Campus™ provides value in several ways. Your firm can extend its reach to more college campuses or cover the ones you already visit for the lowest cost possible. And your organization will be promoted as a positive place to pursue an actuarial career to a large number of students who might otherwise not be aware of your company. But the most important value is in the steady flow of prescreened candidates provided to your organization.
DWS On-Campus™ prescreens actuarial candidates against the criteria established by the client. These criteria include not only the technical and academic qualifications that can be determined from a resume, but also all the important characteristics and capabilities that can only be assessed in a face-to-face meeting. Once On-Campus™ has screened the universe of candidates at each campus and identified the ones you would actually be interested in hiring, your organization can then concentrate its full recruiting effort in the most efficient manner.

The fee DWS On-Campus™ charges is much lower than typical corporate college recruiting costs to cover most any given campus, not to mention that the business disruption and time out of the office that would be incurred by key professionals is avoided. This saving in costs and time allows your firm to spend more resources on the most appropriate candidates. Your focused efforts on this select group increases the probability that your organization’s message is accurately conveyed and that you will eventually hire the best possible employee.

For more information contact David Retford at 312-867-2345