Cate Sprout has over 15 years of experience in talent acquisition. She is currently the Director of Talent Acquisition at CHS Inc., a Fortune 100 agribusiness company, where she has established staffing processes, implemented an applicant tracking system, and oversees recruiting initiatives including military and internship programs. Previously, she held talent acquisition roles at Datacard Corporation and Medtronic Corporation, where she developed recruiting strategies and tools.

1. Cate Sprout
Experience
CHS Inc. St. Paul, MN July 2008 - present
CHS - Energy, Grain, & Foods Fortune 100 company
Director Talent Acquisition
 Established and built staffing function and processes from inception to
present.
 Driving innovation & best practices, along with identifying and
implementing efficiencies, into our talent acquisition processes on an
enterprise wide level.
 Direct and manage a team of Sr. Talent Acquisition specialists,
Campus Programs Manager, Staffing Coordinators and HRIS Systems
Analyst
 Partnered with vendor to develop & implement an Applicant Tracking
System, and rollout system enterprise wide.
 Provide staffing support for Sr. level positions and backup support for
recruiters.
 Selected, negotiated and partnered with vendor to develop & buildout
online employer branding presence.
 Created and implemented Military recruiting initiative which resulted in
150 military hires within first year.
 Create and oversee College Programs and Internship program.
o Summer 2015 Intern program 225 interns.
 Strategically partnering with the CHS Foundation & Corporate Giving to
align & improve college relations, relationships with scholarship recipients,
and enhance visibility of CHS in the agribusiness industry.
o 2014 Introduced first Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day events
to honor veteran employees and those who served and lost
loved ones.
o Hosted 2014 Ag Careers Roundtable Conference.
o 2015 IFAMA World Conference
o 2015 Lead sponsor of annual International Agronomy &
Entomology meeting
 Create and oversee our recruiting out-reach strategies and tools,
including online, internet search, and social media partnerships.
 Implemented new processes to ensure OFCCP compliance for candidate
selection to include training & writing job postings.
 Conducted hiring manager training on the behavior based interview
selection process.
 Establish, build and maintain relationships, working effectively with
business unit leaders, management, peers, employees, and vendors.
 Immigration: partner with HR Generalist and Legal department on VISA
transfers and new sponsorships.
 Development of short and long term objectives to meet the strategy of
the business and create and manage budget 1.5m plus vendor
contracts.

2.  Partnered with Marketing and Communications on numerous articles
relating to employment within the Agriculture sector for the C
Magazine and other publications.
 Member of HR leadership team, selecting vendor for e-verify
management and rollout
 Full cycle Talent Acquisition: source, screen, interview, offer, relocation
Special Accomplishments
 Applicant Tracking System creation, implementation and rollout across
organization.
 Selected and build out recruiter toolbox
 Selected and negotiated with on-line vendors (Monster, Linked-In, Ag-
Careers, Indeed, Military.com)
 Partnered with Military.com to create proprietary military job translator
 Co-lead and collaborated with Marketing Communications on
enterprise Employer Branding initiative
 Presenter at CHS annual meeting last four years on topics related to
hiring: creating an intern program, creating a campus recruiting
program, creating a military recruiting program, how to hire
international interns and trainees, and hosted Col. Lanceta from
Washington D. C. Soldier for Life.
 Attended 2013 annual Farm Broadcasters meeting and jointly
conducted over 75 interviews for radio and television relating to hiring
in the Ag sector and hiring our heroes.
 2014 Created and proposed first annual C magazine exclusively
dedicated to recruitment, employment brand and stewardship.
Circulation 300k plus and currently in year two.
 2014 Introduced first Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day events to honor
veteran employees and those who served and lost loved ones.
 Hosted 2014 Ag Careers Roundtable Conference.
 Created on-line New Employee Orientation tool.
 Creation of Interview Competency questionnaires to align with CHS
Leadership expectations.
 Consulted and trained Coop Board of Directors on General Manager
Selection.
 Selected to attend CHS University at Carlson School of Business:
Leading for Results, Project Management, Foundations of Leadership,
Strategy and Finance
Datacard Corporation Mpls, MN Oct 2006 – July 2008
Talent Acquisition Manager / Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist
 Direct management for 2 dedicated recruiters and a staffing coordinator.
 Oversaw College Programs, college recruiting and internship program.
 Oversaw and evolving our recruiting outreach strategies and tools,
including online, internet search, and partnerships.
 Drove innovation & best practices, along with identifying and
implementing efficiencies into our recruiting processes on a Global
level.
 Managed relationship development and utilization of external agencies
& vendors, including retained & contingent placement firms &
temporary agencies. This includes vendor selection, contract
development, negotiating terms, & documentation.
 Established appropriate and relevant metrics related to staffing
effectiveness.

3.  Partnered with HRIS & IT to develop & implement PeopleSoft Applicant
Tracking System Globally. Traveled to China to rollout system for
ASIAPAC
 Implemented new processes to ensure OFCCP compliance for candidate
selection to include training & writing job postings.
 Implemented a Turn-key behavior based interview process.
 Project Manager for a real-time online New Employee Orientation process.
 Implemented onsite College Fair for internal Datacard employees to
promote an environment of continued learning.
 Conducted I-9 training for internal and US field staff. Oversaw I-9 audits.
 Conducted PeopleSoft training globally for managers & HR staff.
 Immigration: transfers and new sponsorships.
 Developed and updated policies related to staffing.
 Full cycle Talent Acquisition: source, screen, interview, offer, and
background screening.
Medtronic Corporation Mpls, MN Jan – Oct, 2006
Sr. Talent Acquisition Consultant - CONTRACT
 Support 6 Talent Acquisition Consultants within CRDM & MECC Business
Units
 Sourcing technical talent for R&D, Product Development, IT &
Manufacturing
 Full Life Cycle Recruiting
 Team member of Special Task Force for OFCCP compliance
Sysdyne Corporation Mpls, MN 2000-2004, 2005
Sr. Technical Recruiter
 Sourcing for medical device, avionics, aerospace, defense, and other
technology based companies located in Twin Cities
 Participate in Job fairs & Networking meetings
 Proactively identify & recruit high quality technical candidates
 Sourced R & D Engineers / Extrusion / Software / Hardware / Mechanical
Engineers, Technical Writers, Electronic Technicians, IT Consultants
 Partnered & Built relationships with internal hiring managers of Sysdyne
client base to better understand their industry, need, & recruiting strategies
 Conduct professional references on qualified candidates
 Coordinate phone / on-site interviews between candidate / client
 Administer orientation to new Sysdyne Consultants
 Assist consultants with relocation assistance as needed
 Developed Training Manual for internal Sysdyne Staff
 New Business Prospecting, Top Lead Sourcer 2 years
 Top Technical Recruiter 2 years

4. Express Personnel Services Rochester/Winona, MN 1999 - 2000
Operations Manager – Staffing Solutions
 Recruiting / Screening / Hiring Internal Staff & Temp Associates
 Interview, hire, orientation, counsel, mentor, and terminations
 Training & skills testing
 Unemployment & workers compensation I-9 Audits / W-C Audits / Database
Management
 On site management - 80 associates
 Diversity training, benefits administration, team building
 Advertising : print & radio
 EEOC / ADA / Right to Know
 Experience with a multi-cultural environment
 Experience with Professional / Office Services / Production placements
 Staffing solutions for manufacturing in medical device, automotive, &
electronics
Education
2006 Northwestern College St. Paul, MN
 FOCUS – Adult degree program
 Area of study: Psychology
1992-1994 College of St. Catherine St. Paul, MN
 Liberal Arts & Psychology
Additional Training / Skills:
 CHS University: Finance & Planning, Foundations of Leadership (2014),
Leading for Results (2015)
 Project Management Training (2014)
 Go Make a Difference Training & Certification (2014)
 HR Connections Talent Acquisition Training Series
 Lean / Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification
 Immigration / OFCCP
 MS Office Suite, Several proprietary systems / databases, Web tools,
PeopleSoft, IBM Kenexa Recruit 2X & Brassring
Memberships:
 Minnesota Recruiters Network
 Affirmative Action Compliance Council