How centralization of the RPO model helped a fast-growing corporate reign in unwieldy hiring hassles…faster!

Here’s a company that had acquired over 70 new branches in less than a decade. The rush of growth felt good, except that the teething problems of manpower were becoming a spanner in the works. On the one hand, rapid expansion made their traditional third party vendor based talent acquisition system unsustainable. On the other, most of the regional branches were smaller shops whose managers were accustomed to controlling hiring decisions first hand. Compounding it all was the fact that most of the roles that needed filling were typically high attrition ones like drivers, customer service and warehouse staff.

The team decided enough was enough : That the time to centralize and streamline recruiting company-wide had come. What they needed to steady the ship was the head and experience of hiring veterans. The company approached a leading player in the manpower solutions space.

The approach the latter’s RPO division took comprised:

1. Centralize the process by deploying a dedicated yet flexible team to handle client management leads.
2. Host regular sync-up calls with regional offices to both get in-depth understanding of roles that needed attention, and allow local managers to continue to play an important role in the recruitment process.
3. Maintain a provision to scale up sourcing capacity at short notice for sudden and immediate hiring contingencies.
4. Develop a webinar to address common questions and streamline company-wide expectations.
5. Prioritizing establishing buy-in.
6. Participate regularly in operational meetings and organize trainings for local hiring managers.
7. Build the employer brand by leveraging key assets like longevity, work culture and longstanding repute in the industry.
8. Plans are already afoot to set up an applicant tracking system that was previously handled manually.

The RPO unit leveraged the potential of new-edge technology, knowledge of local markets (including legal and compliance) and proven expertise to centralize and streamline the recruiting and hiring process. The results were both immediate and measurable. Efficiencies were boosted across the hiring chain. The quality of candidates rose appreciably. The brand experience delivered across the nearly 40 markets in which the company operates became considerably more consistent. And for non-exempt roles, the time for requisition-to-offer now averages 30 days.

 

A far cry from the stuttering vendor-based decentralized hiring model in vogue till a new seasons ago.