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Case Study: Centralized Recruiting Saves Time and Money

Business Issue

A Fortune 500 automotive parts retailer with four separate brands in the U.S. had a decentralized recruiting structure. Individual store managers were responsible for recruiting non-exempt positions in 1,200 stores. Meanwhile, two corporate recruiters handled all of the exempt management roles in each market.

The decentralized structure created a significant time investment on the part of managers in recruiting employees, reducing the amount of time they had available to spend on their core responsibilities. Sourcing and recruiting talent fall outside of a typical store manager’s expertise, so the results were not always ideal with lengthy time-to-fills and high turnover. Additionally, the inconsistent approaches to recruiting and hiring nationwide created an inconsistent employer brand and candidate experience for thousands of potential employees who are also often customers. 

Talent Solutions was chosen to partner with the company to streamline and centralize its talent acquisition function. The client required a solution that could address high-volume, nationwide hiring needs while gaining the support of store managers and presenting a consistent employer brand.

Solution

The Talent Solutions Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) team designed an end-to-end program that combines close contact between recruiters and hiring managers. Program recruiters are supported by centralized domestic and offshore resources, delivering significant cost efficiencies.

Twenty recruiters work in local markets and interface directly with store managers. These client-facing recruiters are supported by 20 additional recruiters in Milwaukee and 30+ sourcers and screeners located in Lima, Peru and Manila, Philippines. Three coordinators are dedicated to the candidate experience. They work directly with candidates, answering any questions about available jobs, the application process, technical issues, etc. Finally, a reporting analyst ensures data collection and reporting on program metrics. All of these resources report to a national program manager.

One of the most important aspects of program design involved the rollout strategy. With 1,200 store managers, adequate buy-in, onboarding and training were essential. At the same time, the client was interested in achieving their goal to centralize recruitment as quickly as possible. The team created an aggressive phased approach that launched 35-125 stores each week depending on location. Client-facing recruiters reached out to each manager individually – both in-person and by email – to introduce the program and process, and answer any questions. This was followed by webinars and training with open requisitions transitioning the following week.

Another key feature of the program is the inclusion of detailed analytics to understand which approaches are most effectively delivering on client objectives. From the outset, the RPO team worked with the client to gain visibility into baseline metrics and establish objectives that would ensure cost-savings and more effective talent acquisition. 

Results

The centralized recruitment strategy led to significant economies of scale and return on investment. In the first year for the partnership, the following results were achieved:

  • Filled 7,092 openings.
  • Time-to-fill fell from 77 days pre-RPO to 47 days with the RPO solution.
  • Reduced time-to-fill resulted in increased client revenue of $5.9 million per week.
  • The attraction of higher quality candidates translated to an annual savings of $11.4 million resulting from reduced attrition and turnover. 

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