Penn Foster Gains Higher-Quality Matches and 20x Faster Time to Hire

Update costly manual process for finding content specialists

The content development team at Penn Foster works with over 100 independent content specialists a year to design and write course content. But finding talent is challenging as Penn Foster’s courses cover a variety of topics, which required niche experts ranging from criminal justice to textile manufacturing. Plus the team’s manual process of searching and vetting talent was time consuming and costly. On average, the team spent 40 hours to find, interview, and engage each person. They needed a way to find high-quality talent faster and with less work.

Consolidate to a solution that serves up proven talent

The content team streamlined by consolidating talent searches through Upwork. Not only did the team gain access to the largest global talent pool, but the solution also saved them time by streamlining how the team searches, engages, and pays talent. With speed also came accuracy. Almost immediately after the team posts a job, Upwork serves up a shortlist of high-quality matches for consideration. The team can quickly choose the right person as talent is proven through several metrics including job success scores, portfolios, past projects and reviews.

Cut hiring down to 1 hour and increased production

What used to take 40 hours to find and engage each independent specialist, now only takes 1 to 2 hours. The thousands of hours saved each year frees the team to focus on strategic tasks that help forward the business. This includes producing up to 10 more courses per quarter.