Clients often approach us with urgent IT development needs and staffing shortages. Common requests include: “We needed it yesterday; deadlines are tight, and we don’t have enough people to complete the tasks. The client is already waiting for the launch,” or “The result has to be like this, but we don’t know how to make it happen.”
Tight deadlines and resource shortages are not new to us. Many cases share similarities, and we are always eager to leverage our expertise to assist. We've previously shared our experiences with developing ready-made solutions and technical details in our blog, such as our experience with BBG through Employer of Record services.
When it comes to hiring, we support our clients' desire to break down geographical, cultural, or social barriers. In this material, we will explore a case where we helped our clients build a remote team using the PEO (Professional Employer Organization) model and how this situation led them to recognize the need for internal reforms.
Let's delve into the context. Imagine a large tech enterprise with over 2,000 employees developing products for internal use, as well as mobile and web applications and e-commerce platforms for clients. The company regularly hires new employees exclusively through its internal HR department.
Problem Description
Our client was in the process of developing an innovative solution that was not yet available on the market. The processes were running smoothly, with the usual challenges. However, as often happens in high-tech projects, they encountered issues with a shortage of qualified specialists, specifically in micro services, big data, and cloud technologies. Senior candidates turned out not to be as senior as expected, and finding people with niche experience proved difficult. Additionally, integrating new hires into existing teams under tight deadlines slowed down development processes and overall team productivity.
Eventually, while the company was preparing the product for launch and simultaneously searching for specialists, one morning, the product was already on the market – but launched by competitors.
Solutions Implemented and Their Results
This was a shock for everyone involved in the project. Having invested ****a significant amount of money, the company decided to revamp its recruiting scheme. By studying competitors' experiences and global practices, they considered different solutions. Our client decided to explore the international hiring market to access a broader talent pool, including professionals from both other states and other countries.
At the outset, to expedite the hiring process, the decision was made to engage freelance recruiters for less critical projects. This approach appeared to be the fastest and most suitable option, and it is familiar to many. Freelance recruiters were instrumental in urgently filling necessary positions. Initially, this strategy proved effective, as it allowed for the acquisition of qualified professionals with competitive offers who were able to fully address the required tasks. However, in the long term, a challenge emerged: this approach turned out to be significantly costly for larger projects.
Our client was seeking a team of 12 specialists exclusively for a new 18-month project. Freelance recruiters identified candidates from neighboring states and provided the following estimates: $6,500 (average monthly salary per person) x 12 employees x 18 months = $1,404,000. Additionally, since each freelance recruiter charges an extra 100% of the salary of each hired specialist, this amounts to an additional $78,000 in commissions. This does not include severance pay at the end of the project, which totals approximately $30,000 for all 12 employees. After calculating the projected expenses for this project, our client decided to explore alternative solutions instead of using freelance recruiters, considering options that would be more suitable for long-term projects.
You can calculate the cost of each hiring approach for your company using our calculator available at the following link
The Director of Talent Management in the company, besides transforming the hiring strategy, given the context and the highly competitive market, sought more efficient solutions for attracting and retaining talent. Hence, he decided to test the waters with an international agency specializing in IT recruitment. The main tasks for the agency were:
The goal was to speed up product launches while maintaining competitiveness despite increasing project volumes and tight deadlines.
24 hours to receive the first ideal candidate resume → 1 week to onboard them → high-quality selection with an acceptance rate of ≈ 95%