Enterprise RPO

Building a globally-competitive workforce is no small task. When you're talking large numbers, managing recruitment costs and ensuring a solid recruitment ROI are critical. Seven Step's enterprise solutions are proven effective at delivering ongoing results with great efficiency and program manageability.

High Volume & Complexity

IBM's Human-Capital Management unit was building an enterprise recruiting relationship with a Fortune 100 insurance company. The project's scope included positions spanning all levels and functions. Hiring managers were distributed across hundreds of locations throughout the US.

In the initial implementation, IBM chose to execute via their offshore recruiting facility in the Philippines. It was a short-lived decision. Not long into the project, the client asked to re-locate the effort domestically. IBM reacted quickly to meet the insurer's request.

To minimize the time lost in the transition, IBM decided to hire several RPO providers to help deliver the insurance company's objectives in the US. The idea was that by putting several different RPO companies to the task, IBM could focus each one's initial efforts according to their strengths, and that an eventual strategic RPO partner would eventually come to the fore. Seven Step was one of the companies chosen to address the challenge:

• Very high hiring volume (400+ hires per month)
• Large backlog of open positions (1,000+ reqs older than 90 days)
• Complex logistics, with hiring managers spread across hundreds of locations nationwide
• Wide range of skill sets and experience levels being sought
• Total loss of hiring manager confidence in the talent acquisition process

Seven Step Solution

This project provided the first big test of our theory that the recruitment productivity process we inherited from our parent company was applicable to high-volume, high-complexity recruitment challenges. We dedicated five recruitment teams to the effort, and went about executing with great salesmanship, energy, and focus. We measured ourselves carefully, reported on our performance daily, and made adjustments when necessary.

To win back hiring manager trust, we put a great deal of emphasis on individual hiring manager relationships, and on building strong hiring manager lines of communication. Seven Step's professional recruiters held detailed, cooperative conversations with each of the hundreds of managers. And, true to the principles that define the first step in our process (Step 1: Setup), we made sure that the candidates we delivered matched each manager's true hiring profile, and not just the lower-threshold worth-an-interview profile.

Seven Step delivered highly qualified candidates quickly, and didn't waste managers' time with mere interview fodder.

Measured Results

The project was a great success for the insurance company, for IBM, and for Seven Step Recruiting.

• Successfully filled 9,000 open positions (and counting)
• Eliminated the backlog in less than 5 months
• Raised measured hiring manager satisfaction from 17% to 95%

When Seven Step's work on this project began, we were one of several different RPO companies – including some of the biggest names in the business – slugging it out to prove ourselves for the long-term assignment.

Due to our almost-immediate success, and especially due to the fact that we were able to perform quickly while increasing hiring manager satisfaction so substantially, Seven Step's share of the assignment increased gradually, until we became the last firm standing. Along the way, we expanded our efforts to include managerial positions, extremely hard-to-fill actuarial positions, technical positions and corporate finance positions. With each new piece of the engagement, Seven Step continued to perform at a high level, delivering quality with efficiency, and building stronger relationships between hiring managers and talent acquisition at every step of the way.

Based largely on this success, Seven Step's was formally named IBM's preferred RPO partner in February, 2010.