“I really do believe that all of you are at the beginning of a wonderful journey,” said a famous green-skinned amphibian. “As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this, ‘There are never enough comfort stops. The places you’re going to are never on the map. And once you get that map out, you won’t be able to refold it no matter how smart you are.’”
On hearing these words of wisdom, senior ADP HR Business Partner Dale Gordon said, “Throw away the map, let’s use GPS!” Now why didn’t Kermit think of that?
On August 16th and 17th, Cobalt celebrated its own vision. All Cobalt employees were officially welcomed to the ADP family by Steve Anenen, president of ADP Dealer Services and John Holt, the newly-minted senior division vice president of ADP’s Digital Marketing Group, with other Cobalt and ADP leaders. Welcome gatherings were held in Seattle at the Bell Harbor Conference Center on the Seattle 
Waterfront, the Sofitel San Francisco Bay in Redwood City, and the Four Seasons Columbus in Hilliard, Ohio. In each case, Cobalt employees, now ADP associates, gathered for presentations and celebration now that the deal was done. Be sure to stop by the Cobalt Talent Facebook page to see more pictures of the celebration events.
It was a big day for Cobalt Senior Operations Analyst Melissa Satterwhite, a Cobalt Diehard with more than ten years at the company.
“I remembered the first time I met John, when he interviewed me wearing flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt,” she recalled. “John was an early pioneer in automotive Internet marketing – some might argue he was the early pioneer – passionately believing that car sales would be radically changed through the Internet. The fact that each of us were sitting in the room yesterday, being greeted as ADP associates, is testament to his vision.
“This is a moment for celebration and reflection,” continued Satterwhite. “We celebrate that our hard work and determination has brought us to this point and reflect on our new opportunities with ADP.”
And John Holt? He’s glad that the deal is done, and he can get back to work. “Congrats to all of us and my thanks as well. This has been a team effort – one thousand plus strong, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have led Cobalt and have the opportunity to continue in that role,” he said in a message to the company.
“There is a great big home for a kick-ass digital marketing group inside of ADP. I want to run the division that always gets more done than folks think is possible, with vision begetting new vision like a rising tide coming higher and higher on the beach. This is how we’ve done things for 15 years, and I see no reason to stop. The higher you climb the better the view.”
Maybe Kermit did see the solution after all – it was just years before GPS. His advice was simpler. Forget the map, roll down the windows, and enjoy the ride.
The Cobalt Group
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Where in the World Is Tyler Poe?
August 10, 2010 — aspeyerAs a technical recruiter, he looks for employees to fill specific openings. Some positions he hires for are a senior Perl programmer, Java developer, and data analysts. To do this, he sets up phone interviews with applicants and candidates that he finds on Monster and Dice.
“They [have to] get through me,” he said. “I decide if they go to the next level.” If the applicant gets through the phone stage, he sends the top five performers an online assessment. After that, he schedules an on-site interview.
If you can’t find Poe at his desk, you might have to look all over the building. Part of his job includes touring potential employees around the company. Four to five times a week, a candidate comes to Cobalt for an intensive, four-hour interview.
“I meet with them first, tour, answer high-level questions, and check in,” he said. Poe works to make the process less intimidating and more comfortable for the understandably nervous interviewee. He often arrives an hour early to make sure they don’t have to wait around and shows them Cobalt life. After the candidate get settled, Poe is on the run again, going to the nearby Jimmy John’s to fuel him or her with a sandwich and water for their long interview, after which, he asks the candidate’s first impressions are and walks the person out.
Poe tries to get to know the new hires, because “the biggest key is building relationships.” He spent the day chatting with someone who had just been hired and was moving from Indiana. “I’m trying to ease his fears; he’s alone, and I did it,” he said, referring to the move he also made from Indiana six and a half years ago.
“I’ll make sure he gets time and try to make him feel welcome. [We] keep in touch a couple times a week,” he shared. “Any question I don’t know, I will find out the answer.”
If all else fails, and you are still looking for Poe, he often spends time in a conference room. Every day, he and the other hiring managers meet at 4:30 to discuss resumes and possible new employees.
“I work closely with hiring managers and find what they must have,” he said. Sometimes he is consulted in the final hiring.
Although Tyler Poe is always on the move, he is one employee that stands out, and he keeps Cobalt looking toward the future.
Margaret Kahn
Contributing Writer
The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive