Challenge

Grandis Engineering needed a construction manager with a broad range of experience that covered Civil, Utility and HVAC disciplines, but it was critical they had Cryogenic experience for this specific facility which added another layer of difficulty to the task at hand.

Furthermore, this was the biggest project Grandis had ever worked on, the Construction manager needed to speak Dutch and the facility was in a remote location.

With the project due to start and the Managing Director having no success in finding the right talent after 8 weeks of working other recruitment agencies, it looked inevitable that the work would suffer costly delays with this gap in expertise.

Solution
g2 picked up the role and were able to help them qualify what requirements were less important, to focus on what was essential.

As experts in Engineering/Project recruitment within the Chemicals sector, we were able to get to grips with the vacancy quickly, providing suitable candidates within days. g2’s database was crucial in providing a shortlist of 3 candidates with 20 +years of experience and solid gas knowledge.

The successful applicant was eventually from g2’s exclusive immediate network, and, the relationship between them and the recruiter proved to be of fundamental importance.

A tight budget and remote location meant the trust we had built over a sustained period was critical to getting their commitment to take on the role, but more importantly complete the project.

Result
Over the following 15 months, this candidate became an invaluable member of the project team, involved in every aspect of the facility’s construction.

Due to his extensive and relevant experience and ability to see both regulatory and real-time build issues on site before the manifested, he ensured that any lost time from initial delays was comfortably made up.

He added real value by supporting the package managers of Civil, Structural and Electrical & Instrumentation works, contributing considerably to consistent completion of deliverables on site. He is still working on the facility to this day, ensuring the successful commissioning and handover of the plant, providing the incoming operational team an ideal platform to get the new facility up and running without a hitch.

We went on to support Grandis in other areas and was actually referred on by them to the site operator to assist them with their search for O&M staff.

The Recruitment Challenge
When we first spoke to Blom Maritime’s Operations Manager, they’d been searching for a Naval Architect for four months in order to complete a ship design project in Oslo and
Krakow.

They’d originally been looking to hire a permanent employee, however, a three-month notice period, which is common in Norway, meant getting someone started would likely take even longer.

Coupled with the niche skill set that Blom were recruiting for, they found a real shortage of viable options available and had only seen three CVs in four months. Without this resource, and at risk of losing the project to a competitor, Blom had a call with one our specialised recruiters.

The g2 Solution
Our recruiter suggested using a contractor to get the work done, however, Blom made it clear that they wanted an employee of theirs to do the work.

We provided a compromise and suggested a contract to permanent option whereby the candidate would initially work as a contractor to get a taste for Blom before becoming a permanent employee after an initial period.

This opened a pool of candidates that Blom hadn’t been aware of previously, and, as a result, we were able to find a niche contract candidate within five days of the initial call.

This candidate had a two-week notice period, rather than a three-month one like a permanent employee would have. Furthermore, having someone who could work in house, meant Blom had to outsource less, giving them more control of their work.

The Result
The candidate started working for Blom within one month of g2 getting in contact with them, where there would normally have been a three-month delay whilst the candidate worked his notice period.

This saved valuable time and money for Blom and gave them the flexibility to start work on other projects. Additionally, the contractor is now working at Blom as both a
Naval Architect and a project manager, proving the contractor’s knowledge and experience which has helped prevent further delay or even losing the project.