Enterprise Level Recruitment Project
Case Study: A Business Transformation
Discover how we successfully recruited over 100 scientists and technical staff for a US Biotechnology company establishing its presence in the UK for the first time.
Through the implementation of a fully enhanced RPO solution, which included basic yet impactful employer branding, comprehensive advertising coverage, and augmented selection processes using Talent SM&RT modelling, we enabled the company to quadruple its existing workforce—all without incurring any agency fees.
Project Overview
Sector: Biotechnology, Manufacturing
Company Size: Start-Up
Client Contacts: Global Head of HR (US Basd) Global Director level staff All UK based Director & Senior Management level staff.
Service Scope: Talent SM&RT, Employer Branding, Talent Acquisition
Project Duration: 18 months
Project Features: A full RPO solution for a rapid business transformation including quadrupling the size of the workforce against an ambitious schedule.
Client Introduction
Following a strategic acquisition in the UK market, a US Biotechnology plans to establish a new manufacturing facility for a novel medicinal application. This expansion will require expanding all existing laboratory, clinical, and technical functions together with the creation of several entirely new technical functions at the UK site. With no in-house HR team, the company seeks a UK recruitment partner familiar with the biotechnology landscape, capable of delivering a 360-degree RPO solution in a cost-effective manner. Additionally, support is needed for salary benchmarking and related investigations.
Project Criteria
The client has set an exceptionally tight timeline for establishing a new manufacturing facility and progressing towards an IPO within a compressed timeframe. They are clear that certain criteria will need to be met, from the recruitment perspective, in order to achieve their ambition:
Expertise in Product-Relevant Technical Skills:
The client prioritises sourcing top-tier talent possessing specific technical expertise crucial for the development of their product. Given the diverse nature of the biotech sector, proficiency in specialised technical skills is considered essential for success in various roles within the project.
Timeliness and Flexibility:
With a tight project timeline, the client requires recruitment solutions that will swiftly adapt to changing needs and deliver qualified candidates within specified timeframes to ensure project milestones are met efficiently.
Ensuring Cost Efficiency:
Recruiting over 100 scientists could easily escalate in costs. Balancing the need for top-tier talent with budget constraints will be paramount. Efforts will be directed towards maximising recruitment efficiency while ensuring the acquisition of high-calibre candidates within budgetary parameters.
Navigating Commercial Sensitivity:
With an IPO targeted for some point in the near future, there is a heightened sensitivity regarding statements about the products under development. An inaccurate claim could significantly impact the IPO prospects. Balancing the imperative of creatively engaging the candidate market to attract top talent with the need to limit discussions about the potential of the product is essential.
The Challenges
This large-scale project presents a myriad of challenges that will demand strategic navigation with the implementation of innovative solutions:
Geographical Constraints – Outside the 'Golden Triangle':
The majority of UK Biotech companies are situated within the renowned ‘Golden Triangle,’ where science, technology, and innovation companies cluster in Oxford, Cambridge, and London. These regions boast a wealth of talent unavailable in other locations, presenting recruitment challenges elsewhere.
Lack of Existing Employer Brand:
The US company is entirely unfamiliar within the UK market, while the acquired company, despite delivering high-quality work, lacks the brand recognition necessary to attract talent due to its small size. Establishing a strong employer brand is crucial for enticing top talent away from their current career paths.
Challenging Project Timeline:
The project’s stringent timeline dictates that specific new functions must come online within predetermined months. This adds an extra layer of complexity to an already challenging recruitment process, requiring precise synchronisation with the project’s timetable and associated operational requirements.
Emergence of Unforeseen Talent Requirements:
Given the project’s dynamic nature, it’s impossible to anticipate all talent needs in advance. Critical roles may arise suddenly and unexpectedly, necessitating immediate recruitment efforts with little to no prior notice. This unpredictable aspect adds complexity to the recruitment process, requiring agility and adaptability to address emerging needs swiftly and effectively.
Disparity in Recruitment Approaches & Expectations:
The significant differences between recruitment methodologies/employment relationships in the US and the UK, coupled with the US executive team’s limited understanding of UK practices, can lead to misaligned expectations. This disparity may colour their perception of what recruitment outcomes are achievable in the UK market.
What We Did
This was a large project and utilised aspects of most of the services we offer from Employer Branding and Talent Acquisition delivered as an RPO function to some coaching and, of course, Talent SM&RT modelling.
A New Careers Website
The existing website did not reflect the new company and the huge array of opportunities that offered, so we designed and built a new career site:
Using the new corporate branding so it blended seamlessly with the main site
Integrated with the ‘Applicant Tracking System’ so it had a jobs listing and an application procedure
Introduced key departments to showcase the expansion and scale of recruitment
Hosted the site on our web server and consulted with the client IT contractor to point a sub-domain (careers.maindomain) at the appropriate IP address
- Using the new corporate branding so it blended seamlessly with the main site
- Integrated with the ‘Applicant Tracking System’ so it had a jobs listing and an application procedure
- Introduced key departments to showcase the expansion and scale of recruitment
- Hosted the site on our web server and consulted with the client IT contractor to point a sub-domain (careers.maindomain) at the appropriate IP address
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
The ATS is an essential component for any medium to large scale recruitment project enabling a small team to manage huge volumes of applications to large volumes of jobs simultaneously:
Employer SM&RT selected, implemented, customised and branded the ATS to reflect the client’s business
Created a workflow to automate as much of the communication as possible – optimising the candidate journey and the hiring manager recruitment process
Created a bespoke reporting system so every vacancy could be monitored with a red flag system to identify bottle necks and process delays
- Employer SM&RT selected, implemented, customised and branded the ATS to reflect the client’s business
- Created a workflow to automate as much of the communication as possible – optimising the candidate journey and the hiring manager recruitment process
- Created a bespoke reporting system so every vacancy could be monitored with a red flag system to identify bottle necks and process delays
A Fully Costed Recruitment Strategy
A workforce plan (headcounts) developed around the training requirements for new teams and bringing the new manufacturing facility online had already been developed by the client’s program leader. Employer SM&RT created a recruitment strategy to deliver the headcounts required at the key time points for that plan to succeed:
An advertising and recruitment marketing strategy to deliver maximum exposure – delivered with full costings for 12 months and a contingency budget
A ‘Service Level Agreement’ between all key stakeholders with KPI metrics for each stage of the recruitment process
A contingency plan to escalate outside the defined recruitment process in the event an urgency and/or difficult to fill vacancy arose
An agency handling process – communicated to all hiring managers – for the inevitable sales calls from agency recruiters submitting speculative CV’s/requesting meetings to sell their services etc.
Conducted benchmarking research and input into pay scales for all positions (data had already been bought for this but some pay scales had limited data points)
Negotiated rates with all vendors (including job boards) that were needed to run a successful recruitment campaign
- An advertising and recruitment marketing strategy to deliver maximum exposure – delivered with full costings for 12 months and a contingency budget
- A ‘Service Level Agreement’ between all key stakeholders with KPI metrics for each stage of the recruitment process
- A contingency plan to escalate outside the defined recruitment process in the event an urgency and/or difficult to fill vacancy arose
- An agency handling process – communicated to all hiring managers – for the inevitable sales calls from agency recruiters submitting speculative CV’s/requesting meetings to sell their services etc.
- Conducted benchmarking research and input into pay scales for all positions (data had already been bought for this but some pay scales had limited data points)
- Negotiated rates with all vendors (including job boards) that were needed to run a successful recruitment campaign
Managed and Delivered The Recruitment Function
Employer SM&RT executed the recruitment process operating as an extension of the client business:
Engaged with hiring managers to develop a clear understanding of the core criteria for each role in their function
Wrote and posted the adverts for all roles
Processed all applications, handling initial rejections for those not meeting the basic role criteria
Performed the initial interview pre-screening by telephone/video for all applicants – checking skills, experience against role criteria and gathering availability, salary and other data
Participated as an interviewer for some roles in first, second and/or panel interviews/assessment day activities
Held a weekly reporting meeting updating on progress and issues with each vacancy
Scheduled all interviews and handled the rejection, offer and salary negotiation process
- Engaged with hiring managers to develop a clear understanding of the core criteria for each role in their function
- Wrote and posted the adverts for all roles
- Processed all applications, handling initial rejections for those not meeting the basic role criteria
- Performed the initial interview pre-screening by telephone/video for all applicants – checking skills, experience against role criteria and gathering availability, salary and other data
- Participated as an interviewer for some roles in first, second and/or panel interviews/assessment day activities
- Held a weekly reporting meeting updating on progress and issues with each vacancy
- Scheduled all interviews and handled the rejection, offer and salary negotiation process
Talent SM&RT Modelling
The Talent SM&RT Modelling process utilises correlations between communication styles and the underlying motivations/attitudes that drive behaviours. The modelling process was implemented at several points in the project:
Developed a value proposition consistent with the opportunity in each function and the types of skills, attitudes and behaviours desirable for roles
Modelling existing team members in some of the functions to create a ‘model of excellence’ that could be used to make recruitment decisions more objective
- Developed a value proposition consistent with the opportunity in each function and the types of skills, attitudes and behaviours desirable for roles
- Modelling existing team members in some of the functions to create a ‘model of excellence’ that could be used to make recruitment decisions more objective
Performance Solutions – Coaching
To enhance the employer branding and the candidate journey – and given the low brand recognition and small amount of data available about the company on the main company website – we suggested and implemented an interview preparation phase conducted by telephone or video call. This call was offered to all candidates invited to interview and could incorporate whichever of the following aspects they felt would benefit them:
A fuller introduction to the company with an overview of the technology being developed and the role of the specific function being interviewed for
A description of the interview process and details of the people conducting the interviews and an opportunity to ask their own questions prior to interview so they felt comfortable
Generic coaching on interview preparation – specifically how to prepare for competency based interviews to identify and maximise the potential of personal experience (it was agreed this would be to the benefit of candidates and hiring managers)
- A fuller introduction to the company with an overview of the technology being developed and the role of the specific function being interviewed for
- A description of the interview process and details of the people conducting the interviews and an opportunity to ask their own questions prior to interview so they felt comfortable
- Generic coaching on interview preparation – specifically how to prepare for competency based interviews to identify and maximise the potential of personal experience (it was agreed this would be to the benefit of candidates and hiring managers)
Our Results In Numbers
120+
Total Hires
The headcount represented a fourfold increase in the staff numbers for the company.
£0
Total Agency Spend
No agency fees were paid for recruitment of staff in the duration of this project.
c6%
Gross £Spend
This includes all costs for all advertising, websites, ATS and Employer SM&RT time.
90%+
Offer Acceptance Rate
A high offer acceptance rate is testament to the effort in providing a high quality candidate journey.
10,000+
Total Applications
Comprehensive advertising yielded healthy responses to virtually all positions advertised.
>26%
Career Site Applications
The career site generated a good proportion of total applications whilst it was live.
The Benefit of Professional RPO
We delivered a comprehensive 360-degree Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) service. This allowed us to meticulously track all metrics throughout the recruitment lifecycle, a critical aspect in project managing large-scale recruitment endeavours. While each of the individual metrics reveal notably favourable results, together, these numbers cohesively demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our approach in delivering successful recruitment outcomes.
It has been over a year that you have worked with us in a very challenging, constantly evolving environment, both in terms of the stage of the company and also with COVID and Brexit having impacts, however, have successfully expanded our workforce from around ## to around ### individuals from all levels of management – we could not have done it without you – and we are very grateful for your help!