From High Turnover to High Performance: Ennis Fabrics’ Success with TRAITS

Ennis Fabrics—the 53 year-old textiles and supplies company—originated in Edmonton, Alberta, and has since expanded its distribution globally. As the business grew, so did the complexity of its recruitment needs.

Before Kirk Reiniger and Leanne Theiss joined the team, Ennis Fabrics relied heavily on expensive recruitment agencies to fill positions. While this approach addressed immediate hiring needs, it came with incurring significant costs and also drained valuable time and resources. The team began implementing TRAITS into their HR strategy in 2016, creating a more effective and sustainable approach to their recruitment and retention.

The difference is night and day. “Before using TRAITS, we were facing more employee performance and fit challenges than I was comfortable with,” shares Theiss, Ennis Fabrics’ Manager of People, Operations & Culture. “This has improved considerably, demonstrating that we now have high-calibre employees working for us who are the right fit and aligned for their roles.”

TRAITS has made a significant impact on the company’s recruitment process. According to Reiniger, the tool has increased the accuracy of hiring while streamlining the hiring process, reducing bias, saving money, and enabling more effective coaching and development. Here’s how:

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1. It Provides Accurate Insight Into a Person’s Skills and Attributes

Reiniger, Ennis Fabrics’ Vice President of Sales, had previously used other behavioural-based interviewing, but found TRAITS to be uniquely insightful.

When he got his own TRAITS assessment done, he was surprised by the accuracy of his results. “I felt like it blended art and science,” he reveals. “It gave me deep insight into myself, which is why I wanted to engage further with the tool.”

This marked the shift from relying on recruitment agencies to doing their recruiting in-house. Reiniger thought that if the tool could tell him that much about himself, then it would be useful in learning about other people; he was—and is—a firm believer in a rigorous recruitment process. Theiss adds, “The majority of the time, the people that match our job models are exactly what we are looking for.”

2. It Promotes Better Interviews

TRAITS enhances the interview process by providing insights early on, helping to guide the review of resumes and inform interview decisions before any deeper evaluation of candidate results. Instead of relying solely on resumes or subjective impressions, the team now uses TRAITS assessments to narrow down the list of interviewees, ensuring they’re aligned with the company’s needs.

Now, Ennis Fabrics uses TRAITS widely throughout the organization across all functional areas of the business. One of the ways that the team is able to hire better candidates is because the TRAITS assessments lead to better interviews. Reiniger believes that this is because the results can spur more targeted questions that help the organization easily find the right fit for the role. He feels that most people who conduct interviews ask simple, close-ended questions—questions that don’t always lead to great answers that glean insight. The tool also eliminates inconsistencies between interviewers, ensuring a standardized process across the company’s various locations that’s free of personal bias.

“We wouldn’t be able to have a recruitment strategy without an analytic tool because of the subjective nature of interviewing,” he says. “Without TRAITS, we’d have to do a lot more research and identify an alternate tool to bring some science back into the art of interviewing.”

3. It Lead to More Standardization and Consistency

With a standard approach to candidate evaluation, Reiniger doesn’t need to worry about discrepancies in how interviews are conducted at different locations. “We’ve set a clear bar for the types of people we want in our organization, so I don’t need to worry about variations in the recruitment process between our Ontario and BC teams.”

Standardization also eliminates the risk of personal biases skewing hiring decisions. “When people are asked the same questions and assessed against the same benchmarks, it’s easier to compare candidates and make fair decisions,” he adds.

Now, when a manager wants to hire someone, they can rely on the results of the candidate’s TRAITS assessment and answers to the interview questions. “This helps everyone be on the same playing field,” he says. “It also helps us get confirmation of what we see through the interview process.”

4. It Creates a Faster Recruitment Process

Along with creating more consistent and standardized interviews, implementing TRAITS has sped up the entire recruitment process.

Now, the team has candidates complete a TRAITS survey right away. Then, the team shortlists candidates based off of their results and how it aligns with the position. “While we review all resumes, our primary focus is on candidates who align strongly with our TRAITS job model”,” says Theiss.

“This eliminates someone being hired because the interviewer enjoyed their conversation despite having results that are misaligned with the role,” adds Reiniger. “It helps reduce the time it takes to interview someone who you probably weren’t going to hire because of their results.”

“TRAITS is a tool we use because we trust it,” Reiniger continues “There needs to be significant rationale as to why we would consider hiring somebody who isn’t in alignment with our target job model. There are varying degrees of alignment, but if somebody’s opposite of what we’re targeting, then we won’t pursue them. However, if they’re in the neighbourhood of what we’re looking for, it would come down to their knowledge and experience.”

5. It Removes Unnecessary Cost

The cost of hiring and training is a significant investment for any company. With TRAITS, Ennis Fabrics has reduced these expenses by ensuring that candidates are the right fit from the start. “When we find the right profile, they’re more likely to stay longer, be happier, and perform better,” says Theiss.

“In our business, the cost of recruiting, hiring, and training is immense because of the amount of SKUs that we deal with,” adds Reiniger. “A salesperson isn’t fully functional for 9 to 12 months. There are so many hours that go into onboarding and training, and if that person makes a mistake, it can cost a quarter of a million dollars when all is said and done.”

Since using the tool, Theiss says the company’s turnover has significantly decreased. “We’ve made other changes within the organization as well, but hiring people that are the right fit for those positions has made a huge difference,” she shares. “It’s better to take the time to find the right candidate than train someone for a year and then they’re gone.”

6. It Aids in Coaching, Development, and Mentorship

At times, the company hires folks whose TRAITS aren’t in perfect alignment with the position. In this case, Reiniger says that the team understands where potential challenges might be—and they’re better able to support that person with coaching and development.

“It’s one thing to recruit the right person, but it’s another to develop that same person,” shares Theiss. “TRAITS helps with both.”

The TRAITS results help the organization compare potential candidates to current employees who are similar. “We then pull up the profile of the employee that the candidate reminds us of and talk about what the challenges are of managing that particular person and what they add to the organization,” she continues. “That’s proven to be very helpful. Then, if we hire that person, we’re going into it with eyes wide open because we know what the coaching and development strategy is.”

Above all, Theiss is thankful that TRAITS helps her hire competent people that she doesn’t have to micromanage and are specialists in their area of expertise. “The more help they need in their job, the less you’re doing in yours,” she says. “My goal is to hire individuals who contribute positively and work independently, reducing the need for unnecessary management and allowing the team to operate more efficiently”

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Ultimately, the TRAITS system has helped Ennis Fabrics create a more effective and efficient recruitment process. By prioritizing alignment with job models, improving interview quality, and reducing bias, the company has been able to hire better candidates faster—with less cost. With TRAITS, Ennis Fabrics isn’t just hiring employees; it’s building a strong, sustainable workforce that drives growth.

Interested in introducing TRAITS to your organization? Book a call to learn more, or see how it works.