A Partner in the Candidate Experience

Picture your typical interview experience. You get a call one day after being solicited by a recruiter for a job out of state. The company is very reputable, the people are great and the role seems exciting... but it’s in Iowa. You’ve never been there, nor have you thought you may one day live there.

This is the situation for many candidates when we first engage with them about a role at Pella Corporation. We’re a very proud Iowa company and are always excited for an opportunity to share what our home state has to offer. Some candidates prefer to live in or close to a metropolitan area and are often surprised to find that Greater Des Moines (DSM) boasts an impressive range of entertainment, arts and other amenities that rival those of much bigger cities. Anytime a candidate has that preference, we’re happy to show them why DSM is a great option.

Benefits of the Greater Des Moines Region

For candidates who choose to settle closer to our Headquarters in Pella, DSM is easily accessible for expanded entertainment, nightlife and shopping options. Whether it’s Des Moines, Pella or somewhere in between there’s something for everyone. This makes it much easier for a candidate to picture making a home here in Iowa.

How Pella Corporation Acquires Talent

Last year, our professional talent acquisition team at Pella Corporation had an offer acceptance rate above 90%. Most companies offer acceptance rates are around 80%. Pella Corporation’s strong offer acceptance rate is critical to our success because it means we’re able to bring in the best talent for our organization. If we can get an individual to interview on site with us, we’re confident we have a real opportunity to bring them into the organization if we choose to offer a role with Pella.

Our caring culture is the primary differentiator for candidates, and they can see it firsthand through our candidate experience, which includes the very important connection with the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

One of the areas that our candidates value the most about their interview experience has been the tailored tours facilitated by The Partnership. Pella’s talent acquisition team has partnered closely with The Partnership in the past few years to ensure that the personal needs of a candidate and his/her family are identified and met by both the tour and additional support provided by The Partnership team. By having our talent acquisition team connect candidates directly with The Partnership team, she’s able to call them and gain insights to what that individual is looking for in a place to live and work and understand what parts of DSM are most relevant to the candidate and the family. She can ask questions about the neighborhoods they may want to live in, how many kids they have, what activities are important to them and even what sort of school or place of worship they may want to learn about in the region. It’s meaningful, personal and caring. Our candidates rave about the experience.

These in-person tours allow people to see themselves living in DSM in a way that a Google search and Zillow listing just can’t show you. They have enabled us to attract great talent from top companies across the country in these past few years including young families from Washington D.C., experienced professionals from Georgia and even young professionals from Oregon. They’ve allowed us to win in the talent marketplace and build a talent advantage at Pella Corporation.

Partnering with The Partnership was an easy decision. It is in some ways an extension of our talent acquisition team, a complement to our culture and assures a positive and meaningful candidate experience. This collaboration helps us ensure that each candidate has a lasting positive impression of Pella Corporation and DSM.

Greater Des Moines (DSM) has one of the best business climates in the country. The region is nationally recognized for having a talented and educated workforce, a cost of doing business 13% below the national average, a low cost of living and an exceptional quality of life. In 2022, Site Selection Magazine named it a top metro for number of economic development projects. Find out more about how your business can succeed in DSM with the help of the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Economic Development Prospectus.

With the #7 Lowest Cost of Living in the U.S. and a Top Metro for Number of Economic Development Projects (among metros with a population of 200,000 to 1 million), Greater Des Moines (DSM) is a region where you can have it all. Learn more about what it’s like to live here.